134 THE BOOK OF CORN 



greater when nearly mature than when cut earlier, and 

 that the digestibility decreased at a slower rate than in 

 the case of other forage crops. The total yield of 

 digestible material, for instance, was thirty to thirty-six 

 per cent greater when the crop was fairly well matured 

 than at silking time. When the corn begins to get too 

 dry, the silage may be greatly benefited by the addition 

 of water, either to the cut corn as it comes out of the 

 cutter, or to the material as it is deposited in the silo. 

 Some Michigan farmers have been well satisfied with 

 cutting their dry fodder direct from the shock, putting 

 it into the silo and thoroughly moistening it. They 

 claim that the material becomes succulent, and is a 

 much more desirable stock feed than when, fed as dry 

 fodder. When corn has been frosted and allowed to 

 dry out it can be made into silage. Fair feed results, 

 although it is not so good as the green silage. 



Placing corn in the silo usually increases the diges- 

 tibility of the crude fiber. On the other hand, there is 

 always some loss from fermentation and a slight de- 

 crease in the digestibility of other food elements. This 

 partially offsets the benefit. Silage, however, is better 

 than cured corn fodder, as field curing decreases the 

 digestibility of many substances, particularly of the 

 fiber. Numerous experiments show that the decrease 

 in digestibility is about the same in some elements in 

 field-cured fodder, but the digestibility of the fiber is 

 greatly increased in silage and decreased in* fodder. 



Loading and Hauling — The modern corn binder is 

 very satisfactory for cutting corn for the silo. Where 

 only a small area is to be handled, say ten acres, the 

 old-fashioned corn knife or some of the sled cutters 

 answer very well. If the cutting is done by hand, the 

 corn should be deposited in bunches so that it can be 

 loaded easily on a wagon. 



A low wagon is very essential for transporting the 



