The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1893-04-07
THE FARM AND HOME.
HOW AN IMMENSE YIELD OF
CORN WAS PRODUCED.
Credited Largely to Ashes-Give the Cows
. Variety - Using an Incubator
Pig Eatlng-Farm Notes
and Home Hints.
Immense Yields Of Corn.

Immense Yields of Corn.
A writer in the Practical Farmer
tells how he produced 12O bushels on
fve-eights of an acre which seems
fabulous. He says the ground sloped
slightly to southwest being hill land
and clay soil. It had been in COW
pasture several years, was plowed
about May 20th about six inches deep,
turning all growth of grass made up
to time of blowing. He narrowed
Immediately after, and planted i'll
rows three feet apart, hills about
twenty inches apart, and from three
to five kernels in a hill; burrows about
four inches deep, for low lands or wet
ground it should be more shallow.
After planting he mixed hen drop
pings, ashes and plaster about equal
parts, and put handful on each hill.
No other measure was used. AS soon
as the rows we're visible, he began
stirring the ground with cultivator
and hoe keeping it mellow and free
from weeds until it was too large to
admit further cultivation, killing but
very little, and thinning in all cases
| to not more than five stalks in hill,
and the average not more than four.
The corn cared we'll, and every ear
was filed up TO the tip. He credits
this very largely to the ashes. He
says:
!. believe that with plenty of clover
to pillow under and ashes for top dress
ing, l can produce as large crops as
can be raised with any other manure.
Of course, good crops can also be
| raised with stable manure, but /
would not attempt to raise corn on
ground not fertile enough to raise
good corn with sod and top dressing
in the hill as before stated. prefer
putting on the manure when seeding
to grass, or more properly clover, NOV
one year, then pillow under all the
| growth possible up to the time of
| planting. In this way you get the
manure plowed under for the corn,
together with good sod and green
| growth, which is worth much more to
produce good crop of corn than to
skim the ground up to time of plow-
ing, and then depend on lot of fresh
manure plowed under. find that the
best safeguards against drought are:
| First, a good growth of clover, and
| clover sod plo we'd under; second, a
good dressing in the hill, of ashes,
plaster and hen droppings; third, a
good and thorough cultivation, keep
ing the ground loose and mellow;
fourth, keeping down all kinds of
weed growth, thereby giving corn
the benefit of all the moisture to be
had. l do not wish, however, to be
placed on record as having any OBJ
| jectiOns to stable manure for corn; if
the ground is light, or you have not
the clover and sod, then substitute q
heavy dressing of good stable manure,
| but pillow as early as possible. Then
follow with the fertilizer in the hill,
and fair crop would probably be
| the result.
Give the Cows q Variety.
! Cows are kept for the milk, butter
and cheese they will produce. But
they cannot produce these in salts
factory manner, either as regards
quality or quantity, unless they have
the elements Or material in their food
from which to combine them. A COW
may be we'll fed in one way and yet
fail to produce profitable quantity
of milk.
| Unless variety is supplied some
of the functions will be impaired for
want of proper material from which
to manufacture the secretion of pro-
duct. When only one or two mate
rails are supplied it is nearly always
necessary to supply an excess of some
materials in order to secure a SUI
ficient amount of others. BY giving
a larger variety a more complete ra-
ton can readily be made up, lessen
ing the quantity, and in this way to
some extent reducing the cost. I'm
der present conditions, with every
farm product it is an important item
to reduce the cost as much as posi-
BILE, and with the mich COWS the
manner of feeding is an important
item. 1t is always best to feed liber-
ally, to feed a variety, supplying as
fully as possible the elements needed
in the right proportions to secure the
results desired.
In addition to securing better re-
suits at less cost. giving a variety
will keep the animals with better
appetite, and COW must of necessity
be a hearty eater if she is good
mixer. But the ration must be a
proper one; corn and straw may make
fat, but will rarely prove prof table
milk ration. Bran. Oil meal, oats,
clover hay and any kind of succulent
food will help make milk. We may
not be able to increase the richness
of milk TO any considerable extent by
feeding. That is, it is difficult to
make cow that naturally gives thin,
poor milk to give richer; but by lib
.eral feeding of a good ration it is
easily possible to increase the guam
tity. AS a rule COW should be given
all that she will eat up. clean at each
meal.
The rations should be varied to
keep her with good appetite and
supply her with the needed elements
for the production of milk. The ex-
act ration that will be most econom-
ical will vary in different localities,
depending largely upon the value Of
the different products. In almost all
localities bran can be made part of
the rations, in very many, oil meal,
1 L L