Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-05-17
FOR THE FARMER.
ONE FARMERS METHOD OF CORN
CULTURE.
Soil, Flowing, Planting, Cultivation,
Selection and Care. of Sc~ed-Sense
in Crossing-A Practical Farm
Fence-Itules for the Dairy.

Our soil is 4 good, sandy loan. level
with a firm subsoil of gravelly clay be-
ginning perhaps a foot beneath the sur
face. The corn is planted on clover
sod which has been top dressed with
direct from the stalls and
spread as drawn. The blowing is done
the first of May with an Oliver plow
and jointer, turning about five inches
without II break. 1t is then thoroughly
pulverized to n depth of three Or four
inches by narrowing with Il heavy steel
tooth drag. Most such tools are too
light. Mine is made of 212X212 inch
timber, five bars in n section, ten bars
in a drag, containing sixty %s-inch teeth.
The ground is chcCkrowed four feet
each way, care being necessary not to
make the marks deep. The planting is
done about the middle Of May with a
two-handle hand machine, my prefer
nee for this machine over the plunger
pattern being due to the fact that it
cuts it's way through sod or other OBJ
structions and drops the seed where it
will not dry nor get dragged out. Nor
does it crack the kernels against Jumps
or stones. The dropper is set for three
grains and the stand is made as near
that as care can get it.
The depth of planting varies from
two TO three inches. If the ground is
too wet to cover we'll, the foot is used
to fill the hole after the planter. as
birds will rarely trouble a field where
all the seed is covered. Just before
the corn appears above the surface, the
ground is dragged. Thereafter it is
cultivated with a spring tooth sulky
%cultivatOr until too high for that and
continued with a Planet Junior until
the corn tassels out, when, If the sea-
son is favorable, 1t is laid by" If,
however, a drOuth prevails the cultiva-
ton is continued once a week or oftener
until it rains, if it takes all summer"
The first or second time of ~cultivating,
according to the size of the corn, a pair
OF shovelS about the size of Il mans
hand are put on the inside teeth in
place of the ordinary tips, to cover any
weeds that may be in the hill. A man
follows the team with a hoe and thins
to three stalks. Our planting is usually
Sc even and blowing so well done that
n man can hoe as fast as a team can
cultivate. When the latest ears are
well glazed the cutting is done. From
80 to 100 hills are put in n shock
which, although large enough to pre-
vent rains driving through them to in
jure the fodder, will cure well. Bind
with two bands of marsh grass or bind
ing Irvine. The second band prevents
the shock from twisting down.
The ears are thrown directly into
crates or bOXeS-never on the ground.
The crates are IA inches wide, "a inches
long by 10 inches deep. Heads are OF
common 1O-inch boards, sides of 13-inch
strips sliding or old packing box ma
teriaD, bottoms of nearly straight
slaves saved from sugar or cracker
barrels. Use six or seven penny" wire
nails. The boxes are drawn on a fiat
rack and emptied directly into the
cribs. Last year we planted on May
26 and began cutting Sept. l, thus
reaching maturity in 81 days. This
short season was Tue to the continued
dry weather, which also shortened the
yield. The longest season Of growth
was in 1SSS-112 d~ays-caused by such
cool weather from Aug. Is to Aug. %
that growth was retarded. The yield,
however, was better than last year.
AS will be seen, the average time of
maturity is 104h days, the average
yield 96 bushels for these two years, a
little below the true average. The seed
Is saved while cutting to secure the
earliest ripened ears. This grain in
time of maturing is accompanied by a
loss in quality and size. The best
Qargest ears are saved at husking.
From this double source our seed for
planting is carefully selected. In this
the corn continually grows better and
earlier. The big butts have been elm
mated, the length of the ears become
regular, the time Of ripening so even
that a whole field is ready at the same
time with no soft corn at husking time.
The ears are tied by the husks in
strings of a dozen ears each, and kiln
dried in an attic heated by the kitchen
fire and properly ventilated, the latter
being quite as necessary as the former.
Sense in Crossing.