The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1881-05-12
for the farmer.
row TO GROW A BIG CROP OF CORN.

sJ.ike produces like with seed as with ami
mails One can not, therefore, produce large
| rrnp of corn from seed that has been used TO
| grow among a number of barren stalks. Where
five stalks have grown in hill, and but one has
bnrnr an ear that corn is useless for seed. Seed
shouid he selected from crop where each stalk
bears ut least ear, and If there is an attempt
at two IL il be only in the shape of a husk with
ont even a nubbin. the ear from that stalk
| should lie chosen. This habit of shooting ont
| 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, il Is vain to expect
a large Weld of corn. The seed is the first requi-
site The soil is the next. Too rich a soil is not
prolific of grain. Enormous stalks often appear
with the smallest nnbi'liIs, or only moderate ears.
Excessive manurimg will not help the yield of
| grain so Inuch as the production of foliage. The
popular method of planting corn on a clover sod
| NAV not lie advisable ON all occasions. This is
| an Eastern practice, AMI is disregarded in the
West II grows out of the necessity for auxiliary
| frrtilizing by rotation Of crops, the prevention
| of weeds and the saving of labor in cultivation,
| an Eastern farm being unable to grow weeds and
| corn both. We have come 10 that now in the
| West, although we follow wheat with corn, or
| corn with corn, and do not depend much upon
breaking mp n sod for this crop. 1t may be a
question if il is not wiser to carefully nurse sod
| and try to get more permanent meadow than we
| usually have, rather than break il up 50 fire.
| uuently But to grow a good crop of corn it Is
not necessary TO turn under q sod. Stubble land
will produce n heavy crop if il Is rich enough in
the right sort of fertilizers, and is kept free from
/ weeds. Where the soil is not in good condition,
mauuring is necessary: to put the manure in the
| hill or drill is the best method. The crop then
| gets its food when and where it needs it the
| most.
An early start is the great point. One ear may
| be matured ON a stalk with late start, but 10
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. II We use
| only small quantity of manure in the hill to
start the plant, and the roots have then to gropc
several inches, 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-fashoned fertilizer has in
| il ali that the modern formulas proyide-nitrO-
| gen, phospOric acid, potash and lime; and the
useful effect upon the soil in 4 chemical way, of
| these materials well. But there must he some
| thing else. If stimulating fertilizers arr used in
| the hill or drill, manure must he provided ont
! side and near at hand to furnish food soon as
| the former have been exhausted. So that there
| should be either a bountiful provision of manure
| in the hill or drill and good dressing of sou-
BILE fertilizer in the soil outside Of those, or rice
rersd. Either will answer the purpose required
| The next point is cultivation. This should be
| Immediately after the seed il sOwn, or at least
| before q weed is TO he seen. BY running the cnl-
tivatOr in the rows very soon after planting, the
| soil is loOscned, the young sprOnting weeds are
| killed outright before they have done any harm,
and the manure and soil are more closely inter
| mingled. Whatever may he the effect otherwise
| of cultivation of the soil, know that il helps
| the crop. The best crops raised 10y the use
of the pillow, occasionally, in the rows Ii may
| be the root pruning, is claimed by DIR. Sur
| teyant; it may he the mellowing and aerating of
the soil; it may be that the soil is kept moist
| about the roots by covering them more deeply /;
it may be all of these; but it is certainly true
| that all of the big crops that have been grown
have been cultivated with the pillow more or less.
| Suekering may he dispensed with. Indeed, with
some varieties of corn this habit of suckering
adds To the yield the early suckers often bear
ears. The stripping of the suckers stimulates
| the growth of stalk, and that is to lie avoided
| when we endeavOring 10 produce grain.
Nothing remains to be done after this. When the
attempt is made to grow 4 crop of unusual yield,
n dressing of 80 pounds per acre of dissolved
bone or Peruvian g,uano of low grade in ammo
mia, may he cultivated in at the last working.
| This will help the formation of ears, and it
will cost from 50 to $3.50 per acre, six to ten
The filling out of all the imperfect 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
success IN growing large crops of corn, 1t is diff
cult to say what the full possibilities Of this crop
may be; 100 bushels per acre are now frequently
| grown, and it is thought possible that this
| yield may he surpassed. The truth is, are
about now beginning to learn how to grow corn.
Rural Seto Yorker.