789 
not turn in nntil nftaiiy ready to cut for hay. Stock 
prefer them nearly mature. We had a few of an 
early kind and these were eaten first. 
“Our cows milked as though on June pasture. We 
took cows out Oct. 20, putting them on silage; even 
the springers bagged up, and in over 25 years’ ex¬ 
perience I never had such a bunch of Winter milk¬ 
ers. all in A-1 condition. We give the beans the 
credit. We laid in our concentrates in the Fall. 
We get two cents per gallon more than our neigh¬ 
bors owing to the high test. We feel safe, as Soy 
beans will carry our cows through the Fall short¬ 
age in pasture.” f. r. finch. 
Ohio. 
Does It Pay to Sucker Sweet Corn? 
T HIS very important question is arousing con¬ 
siderable discussion at just this time, when 
labor is scarce and the early sweet corn is just at 
that stage in its growth when the suckers may be 
most easily removed. Therefore it is well to con¬ 
sider what the so-called suckei’s are and what 
economic elfect they have on the crop. 
On early sweet coi’n, especially on rich soil, side 
branches will develop from the ba.se of the main 
stalk, i.e., at the crown of the root (see Fig. 31.3). 
From two to five will usually develop on each plant. 
When the main stalk is about 15 inches high these 
“suckers” will be from six to 10 inches long, but 
when the stalk is full-grown, the suckers will be 
so large that it will be quite difficult to distinguish 
them from the main 'stalk. Sometimes these suckers 
will produce 'an ear of corn, but generally these are 
of inferior quality. Field corn, and sometimes late 
sweet corn, develop few or no suckers, but with 
early sweet corn the suckers demand careful con¬ 
sideration. 
Very accurate experiments by the extension divis¬ 
ion of the New Jersey State Agricultural College 
have proven that the earlier the suckers are removed 
from the growing plants the earlier the sweet corn 
will be ready for the table. A difference of from 
three to five days was observed between that suck- 
ered early and that suckered late or not at all. 
Furthermore, to remove large suckers late in the 
growth of the main stalk has a tendency to reduce 
the yield. 
The extensive and successful growci's in New 
Jersey invariably sucker their early sweet corn 
when the main stalks are about 15 inches high. At 
that time the suckers are from six to 10 inches 
long; they are easily removed l)y pulling them 
downward, then sidewise. Just at that time the 
brace roots,are about ready to develop as can be 
seen by the Avhite knolis in Fi.g. 314, which is the 
same stalk as Fig. 313, except that the suckers have 
been removed. These are laid along close to the 
I’ow so 'as not to interfere Avith cultiA'ation and a 
little soil is then Avorked up against the row of corn 
to hold the stalks from blowing over, and to pro Aide 
an excellent opportunity for the development of the 
set of brace roots Avhich sends its strength into 
the development of the crop. When making a prac¬ 
tise of removing these superfluous branches or suck¬ 
ers the main stalks of the sweet corn may be al¬ 
lowed to groAA^ closer together, .so 'that the number 
of high quality ears is increased and the number of 
nubbins is decre'ased. 
The accompanying illustrations, Figs. 312 and 
31.5, show a row of drilled early sweet corn before 
and after removing the suckers. The effect of re¬ 
moving the suckers is much greater durin.g dry sea¬ 
sons than Avhen there is plenty of moisture to sup¬ 
port the exces.sive foliage AA'hen the crop is forming. 
Growers of early sweet coi*n, Avho are in the habit 
of removing the suckers from their groAving crop, 
should realize that best effects are had by doing it 
reasonably early. Those growers who Inn-e neA’er 
suckered their early SAveet corn may find it Avorth 
Avhile to treat part of their field Avhen it is about 
15 inches high and then to observe carefully the 
Early Sweet Corn Before Removing Suckers. Fig. 312 
Tshe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
results as compared Avith those roAvs Avhich Avere not 
suckered. R. av. de kaun. 
The Brewing Industry and Grain 
T he enclosed advertisement Avas cut from the 
last issue of the Cape May County Gazette. 
Certain facts in it arc true, but the advertisement 
seems to be a distinct liquor advertisement to me. 
I Avanted to knoAA' Avhat you thought of the author¬ 
ship of the article. It is a fact that there are a 
great number of dairy coaa's being sold for beef at 
this time. The unusual high prices received for 
the loAV grades of coav beef, the unnecessary high 
prices of the dairy feeds, are forcing the medium and 
loAA^-grade coaa's out of the farms. The only dairies 
that AA'ill keep iqi to their normal capacities or Avill 
be increased, are those Avhere tlie ration is groAvn 
largely on the farm, i.e., silo both Summer and Win¬ 
ter Avith home-groAvn Alfalfa, Soy bean hay and Soy 
Cornstalk After Suckering. Fig. 314 
))ean silage. Higher milk prices are coming and 
comin.g soon, and tlie farmer Avho is farsighted 
enough and is up enough Avith modern methods of 
dairy feed production, to produce tlie major part 
of his ration on his oavii place AA’ill make money and 
Avill make quite a lot, in the A’ery near future. It is 
quite a noticeable fact that high-class grade and 
registered dairy stock is in very good demand, and 
finds ready sale at hi{/h prices, but the buyers are, 
for the most part, men Avho produce the main part 
of their oavii rations and are not necessarily depend¬ 
ent on “brcAvers’ grains" as a main part of their ra¬ 
tion. Previous to my coming to this firm, I Avas 
with the farm department of the Hershey interests 
at Hershey, I*a., and there had a chance to observe 
the producer’s side of the dairy question. The 
Hershey Chocolate Co. takes most of the milk jiro- 
duced in this section, and at the present time is pay¬ 
ing $2 for 3.5 milk delivered to their branch sta¬ 
tions or hauled by their oavii trucks; 10c per hun¬ 
dred is paid extra for milk hauled to the factory and 
a premium is paid for milk richer than 3.5%. 
Pennsylvania. c. av. a. 
K. N.-Y.—An extract from this adA’erti.sement Avas 
printed last Aveek on page 774. It is evidently pre¬ 
pared and paid for by the brewing interests, and is 
a very shrewd method of enlisting the sympathies of 
cattle men in aid of the liquor trade. We told our 
readers this Avas coming, and we must give the 
brcAvers credit for approaching the subject in a very 
smart and plausible way. At first reading the ad¬ 
vertisement seems only a frank and benevolent 
scheme for increasing the milk supply by feeding 
breAvers’ gi’ains but a moment’s tliought Avill show 
that these grains could not be made Avithout making 
beer, Avhile the bailey from Avhich the grains are 
made Avill contain more animal food than after the 
beer is manufactured from it. The present indica¬ 
tions are that during the war this barley Avill be 
used for bread and cattle feed, and not for broAv- 
ing. You are right about the future of the dairy 
business. It is likely to go back to the farms Avhere 
most of the coaa^’s ration can be groAvn at home. 
This may mean smaller herds not highly grain fed. 
At any rate the sections Avhich depend on high- 
priced grain can hardly hope to stay in the dairy 
business. 
The Hired Man’s Side of It 
I HAVE read Avith interest the various opinions of 
farmers in regard to farm help, but I have .seen 
very little of the farm hand’s OAvn vieAvs on the mat¬ 
ter. As my experience covers a period of about 25 
years as a farm “hand” I thought it might bo of in¬ 
terest. 1 began Avork “by the montii” at the age of 
14, and, Avith the exception of tAvo years (Avhen I 
Avorked by the day) luiA'e continued by the month 
ever since, until last year, Avhen I started farming 
myself. In that quarter of a century I have Avorked 
for many different men, and on many different 
farms, although I have stayed, in many cases, two, 
three and four years on the same farm. My expe¬ 
rience has been that the “boss” or OAvner of nearly 
every farm has about the same ideas in regard to 
Avhat is expected of a hired man. In the first place 
they expect you to Avork 14 or 15 hours a day; get 
up in the morning at from 4.30 to 5 o’clock, feed 
the horses, milk six or eight coavs, and go in to 
breakfast, after Avbich feed *he i)igs, clean out the 
horse stable, clean off and harness the horses, then 
go to the field. At noon the horses are given about 
hour “nooning,” and if the hired inan gets the' 
chores done before it is time to take out the team 
the chances are he is set at some “odd job” until 
their nooning is up. Then you are expected to work 
in the field till six o’clock, go a distance of one-half 
mile or more to the barn, take care of five or six 
horses, milk the six or eight coavs, feed pigs, and 
oftentimes calves, and eat your supper. If a man 
got through by seven o'clock he had to “go some.” 
In many places Avhere I have Avorked it has been 
nearer 7.30 or S o’clock nights Avhen I have finished 
up. Then if a Avet day came there Avere half a dozen 
jobs Avaiting, not tbat I do not approve such man¬ 
agement on a farm to a certain extent, I practice it 
noAV myself. Thei’e are many jobs that should be 
done AA’hen it is too Avet to Avork outside, such as 
cleaning up seed grain, grading and shelling seed 
corn, getting the seed potatoes ready for planting, 
fixing or oiling harness, cleaning out the henhou.se or 
hoghouse, and many other jobs to get the Avork 
along. But I have in mind places Avhere if you got 
caught out in the rain in the field and got to the 
barn in a more or less Avet condition, you Avouldn’t 
have more than time to put on a <lry coat before the 
boss Avould be there Avith some job of little impor¬ 
tance, simply to keep you busy, or if you had 
Avorked for 10 days or more like a horse, and often 
overtime in a dry spell, in haying or harvest to get 
the hay and grain housed, and there came up a 
shoAver or a Avet half-day, j'ou Avould not be given 
a breathing spell. 
I remember I arose one morning Avith a bad head¬ 
ache, and Avent to the fiehl to “bunch up” hay. In a 
short time it began to rain, and Ave had to (piit Avork 
in the field. The l) 0 ss Avent to the house, and I to 
Drilled Sweet Corn After Removal of Suckers. Fig. 315 
