The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-07-20
FARMER AND PLANTER.
TO GROW CORN.
It May be Done Successfully, Rain or n.
Rain.

1t May be Done Succsssfu'Iy, Rain or NO
Rain.
have never known seed that
would sprout or terminate without
some noisture; in fact. the moisture is
all that is needed to sprout seeds.
Seeds will sprout and come to the sur
face without drawing anything from
the soil but moisture and heat; then
they need some thing else; a new proc
ess takes place. and the new plant then
draws from the soil and atmosphere.
But after corn is we'll up, it can be Gull
tivated with very little or no rain-ac-
cording to the nature of the scil-and
then yield surprisingly. You at once
ask how it is done.
Well, it is very simple. yet it is done
upon scientific principles. Nature
makes the corn. but you must under
stand her doings, and give her the
necessary material with which to
work. The material consists of hard
bottom and plenty of loose soil. In
vestigation has proven to me that n
certain amount of moisture rises
through the earth every night Now
when the land is broken and planted
the moisture can not rise any higher
than to the depth to which the
ground is broken, hence. to begin
with, we must lay off, the ground to
be planted to corn very deep with a
turning pillow. nd drop the corn down
on the hard ground. Cover as deep as
you please, not to exceed six inches.
DO not plo~ your corn until it is six
inches high, unless it becomes very
foul; then plow deep as the ground
was broken, no deeper.
The other plowings should be fire.
quent and shallow, in order to keep the
surface loose and free from weeds.
Mr.. Wellborn is right. SO far as corn is
concerned, at least, when he says roots
l.
earth.
SO you see what roots your corn does
have are down in the ground where the
moisture will reach them. and you have
no roots near the surface to be withered
by the scorching rays of King Sol,
thereby injuring the maturity of your
corn.
Do not be fraid of blowing, no mat
ter if the dust covers you. so you do
not plow too deep. The more you plov
the more open and loose the top soil
will be. and the looser the soil the more
moisture it will absorb from the at
lnosphcre.
Keep weeds and graes down at all
events. 1t is surprising how much one
weed in or near a bill of corn will i'm
pede the maturity of the corn. More
especially is this the case in time of
droughts. when your crop needs all the
plant-growing elements it can get.
For the same reason that this method
makes corn in dry weather it will also
make it in wet weather.; because the
roots of the corn are down on the hard
ground where these pores carry off the
surplus of water from about the roots
no roots will appear except near the
hard ground, when corn is treated in
this manner.
DO not pillow your land too wet; bet
ter not pillow at all than plov too wet
and then let the hot sun pour down
upon it.
In 1890, cultivated four acres of a
fifty-acre field (all in corn). and made
more corn than the other forty six
acres made. This may seem unreason-
a BILE to some, but am responsible for
what say. and should only be glad to
produce any amount of evidence neces-
sary. My four-acre "pat ch'' was the
wonder of the season. The other
forty acres were Puiverized and
the corn was planted near the surface,
on (, fine, loose bed. Result very plain
to thinking man. The season was
very dry and this corn "burnt up" in
the hill. Again, the same thing was
tried with like results. I never fail to
make corn if it comes up and gets fair
ly started to growing before the ground
gets dry Many make the mistake of
blowing corn too young. If the weeds
grow faster than the corn use the
hand hoe-pretty tedious but it saves
money.-Southern Farm.