The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-06-18
THE coRN-FIELD.
dow the Hoe Should Be Used in ConneCl'
tion with the Cultivator.

Did days when all these operations
were performed by the use Of hand
.ools. The fields are much larger, and
the amount of corn raised would have
astonished the farmers of former age.
The introduction of machinery has
| ightencd toll in the corn-feld and
greatly incle ased the crop. 1t is like
~, however, that most Western farm
srs rely too much on machinery in rails
ing corn. They seem to expect that
machines operated by horses will per-
form all the delicate operations that
were performed by men US
ing hand tools. They appear to forget
| that even the best machines are not en-
lowed with intelligence. They use
| them not as aids in corn culture, but
they rely on them for the performance
of all the work They were not orig
inally intended to do all this. They
were designed and introduced for the
purpose of making the work of hoeing
| easy. But the Introduction of the inn
proved cultiyator resulted in the aboli-
ton of the hand hoe from the corn
field.
That the judicious use of the hand
hoe will greatly increase the yield of
corn is shown by numerous reports.
Almost every year the National De-
| partment of Agriculture credits Maine
with producing more corn per acre
than any of the Western States. The.
soil of the State is very poor and the
climate unfavorable to the crop. But
| all the land planted to corn.is worked
with the hand hoe. AS the corn-felds
are small and the ground generally
abounds in small stones, the planter
and riding cultivator can not be used
to advantage. A cultivator drawn by
one horse, a light pillow or narrow har-
row is run between the rows to kill the
weeds and loosen the soil, while the
| hoe is employed to work the ground
immediately about the stalks Of corn.
Corn in gardens generally yields twice
as much as in fields, for the reason that
it is tended with the hand hoe The
farmers who compete for the corn pre-
miams at our State and county fairs
use the hoe as well as the horse cult
vator in tending the crop. They are
not satisfied with the work done with
riding cultivators. They use them, but
they do not expect that they will do all
the work required. The hand hoe is
used in connection with them.
The hoe should be used in tending, a
crop of corn before the cultivator is
| brought into the field. AS soon as the
young plants appear above ground SO
that the rows can be plainly seen, men
should go through, the field and inspect
the condition of every Hill. In many
cases bits of stone, pieces of turf and
hard earth will be found lying above
the spot where the seed was dropped.
If sprouts are. visible they do not ap-
pear in an upright condition. They
have been bent by the weight above
them. These fragments of stone, turf
| and hard earth should be carefully re-
moved, the plants raised in an upright
position by the hand, and some fine
soil thrown about them. In portions
| of some fields where there is consider
able clay, ahard crust will be found
| about the young plants. This should
be broken with The hoe, pulverized,
and then placed about the young
| plants If a rain occurred while the
corn was coming up, some of the
| sprouted corn will be found partially
exposed. In such cases fine earth
should be drawn over it with the hoe,
SO thatit will have a better chance to
grow. Some hills, perhaps majority
of them. will require no special atten-
| ton.
1t is not hard work to go over a
field of corn in this way. Persons too
old or too young to perform ordinary
field labor can engage in it, If, for
any cause, the. team is disabled or en-
gagged in other work, the ordinary
| field hands can use the hoe for the
purposes named If the yield of corn
can be increased ten per cent. by using
the hoe in advance of the cultivator,
there will be economy in hiring extra
help at the time when the corn is COM
| ing up. TO insure the largest crop of
| corn possible, the hoe should be used
in connection with the cultivator dur
| ing the entire growing season. The
| improved cultivator can be relied on
to keep the soil between the hills in
good conditions, but it will not work
the soilin the hill itself. 1t is not I'M
| frequently the case that weeds appear
in hills, to the great damage of the
corn crop, when there are none be-
tween the rows Sometimes the cult
vator throws pieces of turf or hard
earth against the young stalks of corn,
and when this is the case they should
be removed by the, hand hoe before
they have caused serious damage. 1t
is a good plan to have boy follow
the cultivator, and to repair any dam
age it does
70 insure good work and ease in
handling, the hoe used for this pur-
pose should be kept sharp and clean.
Hoes are generally well polished whom
they are bought, and by taking suit
able pains they can be kept in this con-
dition till they are worn ont. They
should be thoroughly cleaned at the
end of each days work, dried and
oiled. When not in use they should
be kept under cover, as scythes and
other cutting implements are. There
is as much reason for sharpening hoes
as scythes The latter are used for
cutting grass and weeds above the sur
face of the ground, and the former for
cutting them below the surface. A
man can do twice as much work in a
day with a sharp hoe than he can if it
is dull and covered with rust, and he
can do the work much more easily A
hoe may be used up in single season
if it is sharpened every day it is used,
but it will be worn out to good advan-
tage. 1t will keep the user from wear
ing out, and will increase the crop it
was employed to cultivate. The loss
of steel on the grindstone will result
in gain to the crop that is harvested in
the fall. - Chicago Times.
LITTLE WASTES.
The Man Who Never Reaches the Goal of
ha guccessful FARMER