This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ...principal money crop it is usually only the grain which is utilized, the stalks and leaves being allowed to go to waste in the field. When the corn is fully dry, wagons are driven into the field; the ears are husked by hand as they stand on the stalks and are thrown in the wagon. When this is full, it is driven to the ...
Read More
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 Excerpt: ...principal money crop it is usually only the grain which is utilized, the stalks and leaves being allowed to go to waste in the field. When the corn is fully dry, wagons are driven into the field; the ears are husked by hand as they stand on the stalks and are thrown in the wagon. When this is full, it is driven to the cribs where the ears are temporarily stored or direct to the corn sheller. When shelled, the corn is shipped in bulk to elevators, where it is stored, or it may be sacked for retail shipment. In the South corn is usually only grown as a subsidiary crop for home use in the feeding of animals. Since the stalks and leaves if properly harvested contain, roughly speaking, as much-stock food as the ears, it becomes a matter of considerable importance to see that they are properly utilized. It is a common practice in many parts of the South to strip the leaves from the stalks at the time that the corn is beginning to harden. These "blades," as they are called, are tied in bundles and, when dry, are carefully housed and make most excellent feed for horses and mules. They are a great resource for the small farmer of the South. Stripping the blades requires a considerable amount of expensive hand labor, and careful experiments show that the practice reduces the yield of grain from two to three bushels per acre. Sometimes also the tops above the ear are cut and shocked until dry. The Northern practice of cutting and shocking the entire stalk, afterwards shucking out the ears and utilizing the stover as fodder for cattle, is but little practiced at the South. This is perhaps partly on account of the heavy winter rains which injure the shocked corn and fodder, but the falls at the South are usually dry enough so that a large amount of the crop co...
Read Less