154 BULLETIX 1476, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
CORNSTALKS IN BARNYARD, FEED LOT, AND MANURE MUST BE DESTROYED 
The warning should be repeated against throwing large quantities 
of cornstalks and other corn remnants into the manure unless buried 
deeply within it. It is also dangerous to permit large quantities of 
cornstalks to accumulate in barnyards and feed lots. An examina- 
tion of the cornstalks in barnyards and on the surface of manure 
piles of five typical farms in Lucas County, Ohio, showed borers 
present in such cornstalks at the rate of 51 borers per 1.000 linear feet 
of stalks. Xo living borers were found in stalks buried deeply in the 
manure or in shredded corn plants which had been used for feed or 
bedding. 
Judging from the history of the corn borer in Europe and in 
America, the pest may be expected to cause more damage in areas 
where the farming practices allow large quantities of stalks to remain 
nndestroyed on farms than in areas where less corn is grown and 
stalks and other corn remnants are promptly consumed or destroyed. 
HUSKERS AND SHREDDERS VERY EFFECTIVE IN KILLING BORERS 
The existing types of husking machines equipped with shredder 
heads or cutter heads, or combination shredder and cutter heads, kill 
most of the borers in infested cornstalks. The efficiency of the 
machines is increased where special care is taken to apply sufficient 
pressure on the snapping rolls to produce a crushing effect. In six 
tests wherein cornstalks infested by the corn borer were run through 
six different types of husking machines an average of 98 per cent of 
the borers were killed by the machine. The greater part of the 
remaining 2 per cent undoubtedly perished during the process of 
storing the shredded material, feeding it to livestock, and using the 
residue as bedding, ultimately to be trampled into the manure, as 
results from the general practice. 
This method of disposing of fodder is strongly recommended, and 
its use in corn-borer territory should be greatly extended. 
The cutting box as ordinarily used has not proved effective in kill- 
ing borers contained in cornstalks, If used at all. it should be 
adjusted so as to cut the stalks in pieces not to exceed one-half inch 
in length. 
