. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. Fig. 637. Sectional view of a cylinder com-sheller. coarser parts of the stalks are less palatable and the grain may be so hard that much of it will pass through the animal undigested. On the other hand there is no other stage in the growth of the corn plant when the quantity of nutrients is being increased so rapidly as during the ten days just preceding full ma- turity, and the ensiling of corn too early results in very serious loss. Probably it will be better to err on the side of too great ma- turity than to put the corn in the silo to
. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. Fig. 637. Sectional view of a cylinder com-sheller. coarser parts of the stalks are less palatable and the grain may be so hard that much of it will pass through the animal undigested. On the other hand there is no other stage in the growth of the corn plant when the quantity of nutrients is being increased so rapidly as during the ten days just preceding full ma- turity, and the ensiling of corn too early results in very serious loss. Probably it will be better to err on the side of too great ma- turity than to put the corn in the silo too green. While there is doubtless one best time to put corn into the silo, yet there is fortunately a considerable range of conditions within which corn may be ensiled with excellent results. If put in very immature and without par- tial drying, it will become excessively acid and will sometimes develop disagreeable liavors. It is a mistake to ensile corn in this condition, for the amount of nutrients is very much less than at a later period. Sometimes, however, it may be neces- .sary to handle late corn in this condition when frost is at hand. For example, south of , in the truck- ing and canning sections, ex- cellent crops of silage corn are often secured after a crop of garden peas, but the corn may lack maturity when frost comes. Corn that is over-ripe or even badly frosted and dried will make good silage if there is a fair amount of moisture remaining. The less water in the corn when cut, the more serious the surface loss will be. When very dry, silage is almost free of acid, but it tends to spoil by white mold. It molds a long way down from the surface and near the corners of a square silo, or where, for any reason, it fails to pack tightly. Corn has occa- sionally been put into the silo with- out any shredding, by laying the stalks compactly, shingle fashion. It is pos- sible to make a very finequality of silage in this way, but the care and difficulty, both
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
