Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-18
The Improvement Of the Corn Crop.

Corn is the king crop of this country.
Its aggregate yearly product is about
double that of all other grain crops Of
the country combined. No other crop
serves so many purposes as food forman
and animals. 1t is also the staple for
the production of starch, glucose and
whisky, and to some extent is suppressed
ing barley in the production of beer.
Our crop last year, regarded as a short
crop, aggregated 1000, 900, 900 bushels,
while the total of the crops of wheat,
oats, rye, and barley were but S13, OOO,-
600 bushels. 1t adapts itself to nearly
every condition of soil and climate from
Maine to Texas and from Lake Superior
to the Gulf of Mexico.
There is no other crop of which the
yield per acre varies so much according
to the condition of the soil and the cui-
tivation given it. By special prepara-
ton OF the soil and extra culture crops
OF over 100 bushels per acre have been
grown, showing what the capabilities of
the crop are. But as shown bv the
statistician of the Department of Agri-
culture for the last ten years the aver
age product per acre for the entire
country has been but twenty-six bushels.
The maximum and minimum product
per acre of ordinary field culture NAV
probably be placed at seventy and ten
bushels, though not unfrequently farm
ers have raised crops exceeding seventy
bushels. But taking these as the ex-
tremes the average yield ought at least
to equal the average of the extremes, or
forty bushels per acre. If this had been
the average yield last year our corn
crop would have been nearly 2,4OO,-
100000 instead OF 1000, 600, 900
bushels. There is no doubt that
within the next ten years the
farmers OF the country could easily
bring up the average yield to at least
forty bushels per acre. Most of the
causes of light yield are within the
power of the farmer to remove. They
are poor soil and seed, slovenly prepara-
ton of the grounght and after culture,
wet weather, drought, intense frost, the
ravages of destructive insects, and de-
%structive storms. OF these all but the
three last are either wholly or measur-
ably under control of the farmer to
remedy. If the soil is poor feed it with
stable manure, clover OF other green
manure, or the commercial fertilizer.
1t can soon be brought into good con-
dition. Poor seed is ~inexcusable I'M
less as in the past year in many parts
of the country the terminating power
of the corn is injured. In ordinary
seasons selection of seed az the proper
time and the careful housing of it will
insure good seed. Thorough tile drain
age is an effectual insurance against
loss by drowning out, and almost
equally so from injury by drought.
Frosts and destructive storms are be-
You'd human control, but u agricultu-
raj entomologists will probably be able
to point out methods by which the farm
er can at least in part protect his
crops from insect ravages. The most
potent cause after all of small yields is
probably imperfect cultivation. No
crop so quickly responds to or pays
better for a frequent stirring of the sur
face, and perfectly clean cultivation
during the growing season, and no crop
is subjected to such slovenly manage
ment as can be seen any day it the fall
in riding through the country on a rail
road train, and seeing cornfield after
cornfield with the weeds growing as high
as the corn Though corr has been
grown by farmers ever since the first set
Element of the country, and previously
by the aborigines, there are yet many
things in regard to the proper methods
and cultivation that have never been
satisfactorily or authoritativcly settled.
ReUieW,