The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-04-10
BIG CORN CROP.
A WesterH Farmer Tells Hew to RIake
One.

A EesterE Farmer Tells Wew to Make
one.
"Like produces like" with seed as
with animals. One can not therefore
produce g large crop Of corn from seed
that has been used to grow among 8
number of barren stalks. Where Eve
stalks have grown in hill, and but one
has borue an ear, that corn is useless for
seed. SEED should be selected from
crop where escb stalk bears at least Cne
ear, and If there is an attempt a. two,
If 1t be only IN the shape of q husk
vi hout even nubbin, the ear from that
stalk should be chosen. This habit of
shesting out ears at the joint may be
encouraged in this way, and varieties
with stalks producing several ears have
thus been originated. But unless the
seed has been selected with care it is in
vain to expect a large yield of corn.
The ee7 is the first requisite. The soil
is the next Too 1ich soil is not prolific
OF grain. Enormous stalks often appear
with the smallest rubbins, OF only mode
rate ears. Excessive manuring will not
help the yield Of grain so much as the
production of foliage. The popular
method of planting corn on q clover sod
may not be advisable in sll cases. This
Is an eastern practice, and is disregaTied
In the west. 1t grows under the neces-
slty for some auxiliary feTtilizing by 70
tation OF crops, the preventing OF weeds,
and the saving of labor in cultivation !;
an eastern farm being unable to grow
weeds and corn both. We have come to
that now in the west, although we follow
wheat with corn, or corn with corn ana
do not depend much upon breaking up
sod for this crop. It may be a question
If 1t is not wiser to carefully nurse sod
and try to get more permanent meadow
than we used to have, rather than break
it up 50 frequently. But to grow good
crop OF corn it is not necessary to turn
under sod. Stubble land will produce
heavy crop, if it is rich enough in the
right sort of fertilizers, and is kept free
from weeds. Where the soil is not IN
good condition manuTing is necessary
TO put the manure in the hill or drill, is
the best method: The crop then gets its
foed when and where it needs it the
most,
An early start is the great point. One
ear may be matured on stalk with a
late start, but to mature the secondary
ears and give them their full growth, is
impossible unless the crop makes a start
from the first and keeps it up. If we
use only a small quantity of manure In
the hill to start the plant and the roots
have then TO grope several inches, or
feet, away into the soil for food, time is
lost and the crop is sacrificed. No after
start can make up for this lost time. An
excellent fertilizer to start the growth is
good handful of mixed poultry manure,
wood ashes and plaster. This old
fashioned fertilizer mas in it all that the
modern formulas provide - nitrogen,
phosphOric acid, potash and lime and
the useful effect upon the soil, in a
che mical way, of these materials, as we'll
But there must be something else If
stimulating fertilizers are used in the
| hill or drill, manure must be provided
outside and near at hand to furnish iood
| as soon as the former have been ex~
| hsusted. So that there should be either
a bountiiul provision of manure in the
| hill or drill and good dressing of soluble
'ertilizer in the soil outside OF those, or
vice veTsG. Either will answer the pur-
pose required.
The next point is cultivation. This
should be Immediately after the seed is
sown or at least before a weed is TO be
| seen. By running the cultivatOr in the
rows very soon after planting, the soil
| Is lOOseDed, the young, sprouting weeds
! are killed outright before they nave done
any harm, and The manure and soil are
more closely inteTmingled. Whatever
NAV be the effect otherwise of cultiva-
Jion of the soil, we know that it helps
| the crop. The best crops are raised by
! the use of the plOw, occasionally, in the
rows. It may be the root pruning, as
| it is claimed by DR. Sturtevsnt; it may
| be the melloWing and aeTating of the
soil it may be that the soil Is kept moist
al out the roots by covering them more
| deeply; or it may be all of these but it
| is certainly true that the big crops that
| have been grown have been cultivated
| with the plOW mcre or less. SuckeriDg
may be dispensed with. Indeed with
| some varieties of corn, this habit OF
suckeTing adds to the yield, as the early
| suckers often bear ears. The stripping
OF the suckers stimulates the growth of
| the stalk, and that is to be avoided
| when we are enveavoriDg to produce
| grain. Nothing remains to be done after
| this, but when the attempt Is made to
grow crop of unusual yield, dressing
OF one hundred and fifty pounds per acre
of dissolved bone or Peruvian gusnO of
I, low grade in ammonia, may be cultivated
! in at the last working. This will help
the formation Of ears, and as it will cost
| from $3 to 81 80 per acre, six to ten
| bushels of corn per scTe extra will pay
| Tor it. The filling out of all the impeT
feet cars will far mora than make up this
gusntity. and every corn grower knows
now many imperfect ears there are in
the best crop grown. From recent sue
cesses. in growing large crops of corn, it
is difficult to say what the full Possibili-
ties of this crop may be; one hundred
I hTrEhalu gPFa are nnu frenmpn flE
grown, and it is thought possible that
this yield may be greatly surpassed.
The truth is We are about now beginning