16 Maize as a Fodder and Silage Crot, [april, 



Maize as a Fodder Crop. — When wanted for green meat the 

 crop may be cut at any time, but in a favourable season it grows 

 so rapidly during July and August that to cut during those 

 months would entail considerable loss. It may, however, be 

 taken during September, and fed to stock in pieces about i in. 

 in length. Another plan, occasionally adopted on light soils in 

 East Kent, is to run sheep on to the growing crop, and when they 

 have cleared all they will, to cut and plough in the remaining 

 stalks. 



The composition of the crop depends very much on the season. 

 In warm dry summers the large crops produced are of excellent 

 food value, and contain a considerable amount of dry matter, 

 as will be seen from Table I. 



There is some similarity between these results and the figures 

 obtained for grass, indeed in many respects maize can be more 

 nearly compared with grass than with any other British crop. It is 

 characteristically deficient in protein and in mineral matter, for 

 which reason a large crop does not exhaust the land as much as 

 might be supposed. The great value of the crop is evident when 

 it is remembered that 20 tons of food stuff per acre was 

 obtained less than four months after sowing the seed, during 

 seasons when our grass ran short. It is not too much to say 

 that there is no other crop commonly cultivated which gives so 

 much food stuff in so short a time. 



Table I. — Average Percentage Composition of Green Maize, end 

 of September and early October. Good seasons. 



Year. 



Dry 

 Matter. 



Ether* 

 Extract. 



"Protein" 

 (Nitrogen 

 x 6-25). 



Nitrogenf 



Free 

 Extract. 



Fibre. 



Ash. 



Sugar. 





Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 





cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



cent. 



1901 



21 *9 



0-85 



1-9 



13-6 



4'25 



1-3 





1905 



iS-7 



0*52 



2*04 



9-88 



5-30 



0-98 



1 *o 



Pasture grass 



23-3 



0-9 



4*ot 



10-9 



5'2 



2'3 





* The "ether extract" is often called oil and the "nitrogen free extract" called 

 soluble carbohydrate." 

 t 1 • 1 of this is non-protein. Vide " Warington, Chemistry of the Farm," p. 130. 



In a cold wet season the crop is less, and there is also a lower 



percentage of dry matter. 



