Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-03-27


by Western Farmer In Rural New Yorker
An early start is the great point.
One car may be matured on a stalk
with late start, but to mature the
secondary ears and give them their
full growth, Is impossible unless the
crop makes start from the first and
keeps IL up. If we use only n small
quantity of manure In the hill TO
start the plant and the roots have
then to grow 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 a good handful of mixed
poultry manure, wood ashes and
plaster. This old-fashioned fertilizer
has in it all that the modern formu-
las provide-nitrogen, phosphoric
acid, potash and lime; and the use
full effect upon the soil in a chemical
way, of these materials, as well. 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
food as soon as the former have been
exhausted. So that there should be
either bountiiul provision of ma
nure in the hill or drill and a good
dressing of soluble fertilizer in the
soil outside of those, or rice versa.
Either will answer the purpose re-
quired.
The next point is cultivation. This
should be Immediately after the seed
is sown or at least before n weed is TO
be seen. BY running the cultivator
in the rows very soon after planting,
the soil is loosened, the young
sprouting weeds are killed outright
before they have done any harm, and
the manure and soil are more closely
intermingled. Whatever may be the
effect otherwise of cultivation of the
soil, we know that II helps the crop.
The best crops are raised by the use
of the plow, occasionally, in the rows.
IL may be the root pruning as is
claimed by DR.. Sturtevant il NAV
be the mellowing and aerating of the
soil 1t may be that the soil is kept
moist about 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
more or less. Suckering may be dis
pcnsed with. Indeed with some va.
rieties Of corn, this habit OF suckering
adds TO the yield, as the early suck
crs often bear ears. The stripping OF
the suckers stimulates the growth of
stalk, and that is TO be avoided
when we are endeavoring TO produce
grain. Nothing remains to be done
after this. When the attempt is made
TO grow a crop OF unusual yield.
dressing of $50 lbs. per acre Of dis
solved bone or Peruvian guano Of
low grade in ammonia, may be cult.
waited In at the last working. This
will help the formation of ears, and
as 1t will cost from s. TO $3.50 per
acre, 6 TO 10 bushels of corn per acre
extra will pay for it. The filling out
Of all the imperfect ears will far more
than make up this quantity, and
every corn grower knows how many
imperfect ears there are in the best
crop grown. From recent successes
in growing large crops Of corn, it is
difficulty to say what the full posi-
bilities of this crop may be; 100
bushels per acre are now frequently
grown and 1t is thought possible that
this yield may be greatly surpassed.
The truth 10 we are about now begin.
ming to learn how 10 grow corn.