The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-18
increasing the Corn Yield.

1t is upon corn rather than any other
farm crop that the commercial and indus
trial prosperity of the country depends.
says the American Cultivator. Every
year the point of greatest interest among
those who look out for the future of
transportation industries is the condition
of the corn crop. Individual farmers
and particular localities may be prosper
Gus in other ways. but none of these
are sufficient as a large corn crop is to
make the whole country share its pros
perity When we have a large corn crop
the prosperity is universal.
There can be little doubt that it is year.
ly growing more difficult in many local
tiles to grow good corn crops. Corn loves
the warmth which it finds I'm the open
texture of new lands filled with vegetable
matter, the accumulation of ages of decay
ing vegetation. Cultivation rapidly les
sens the proportion of vegetable matter
and the roots, whether in clay, or sand.
do not run so freely as they do in vege-
table loan. All over the country the
proportion of new land full of vegetable
matter on which corn can be grown is
each year growing less With this de-
crease Of good land for corn will fol-
low increasing difficulties in growing large
crops of IT. We suspect that this, rather
than exceptional seasons and climatic diff
ficulties is the cause of some recent par
tial failures of the corn crop.
The great drought extending all over
the northern states last summer is given
as the explanation of last seasons re-
duced corn crop. But drought affects most
the lands that have been longest under
cultivation. Soils filled with vegetable
matter hold moisture from the spring
,fre NJ In fff.H No
the corn crop will not utterly fail on them
Thorough cultivation is also in most parts
of the country a preventive of the worst
effects of dToughts. In all the states east
of the arid region of the far west there
are occasional showers and heavy dews
during what are called dry times. If the
moisture from these is made the most of.
a good corn crop can be grown in the
dryest seasons. Those who from the first
cultivated their corn crop last summer
did not fail to secure good yield.
The most common cause of failure Of
the corn crop in the western states is a
poor stand, owing to defective seed. The
extreme cold weather which has lately
been experienced in all parts of the coun-
try makes it certain that poor corn seed
will be common this year. The Dent
corn has always good deal of moisture
in 1t until spring, and whenever subjected
to severe freezing the germ is swelled by
freezing OF the moisture IN II. mat great
" impairs if it does not entirely destroy
its vitality 1t is the swelling OF the germ
after planting that generates warmth,
and also compacts the soil around the seed,
so that the first rootlets put forth get i'm
mediate hold of it. When the seed has
been swelled by frost the bulk remains,
and the seed corn does not get the close
contact with the soil that IL can when the
grain is swelled by termination.
Nv arofuI galaQfiOn of seed good
and thorough cultivation, which i'm
proved harrows and cultivators make pos
sible, the corn crop per acre may be in
creased That, in these times is the
only way to insure an increase aggregate
yield The reliance on larger acreage
planted in corn has repeatedly been shown
to be falacious. We had an unusually
large acreage of corn a year ago early
in the season. but before fall a consider
able part OF this acreage had been aban-
doned for grain. II the same. or
smaller acreage be planted each year
and the effort be directed 70 getting a
greater yield per acre, the result viii be
better for the country. The large yield