The Colfax chronicle., 1896-07-04
FARMER AND PLANTER.
CORN GROWING.

station for three consecutive years
Some of the more important points
brought ont in the trial are summar-
lied below:
i. Golden Beauty gave the highest
average yield-57.4 bushels per acre,
Of the varieties tested three years, fol-
lowed by Leaning, with nm average
yield OF 56.s bushels. Both of these va
rieties are medium maturing yellow
dents. Pisa King, St Charles White
and Chester County Mammoth, all re-
quiring 130 days or more for maturity,
were the best of the white varieties
tested.
2. An increase of 10 bushels por acre,
or 81 z per cent, was secured in 1891
from an application of ten tons of
fresh barnyard manure to the acre on
the average of eight manured and un.
manured plots. This amount of ma
nure applied twice in three years pro-
duced an average increase in yield of
566 per cent.
Little difference was shown in the
productiveness of fermented and un-
fermented manures when applied to
corn.
Ten tons of combined solid and
liquid manure gave larger talyield
each year than did ten tons of solid
manure, although in 1891 more corn
was grown on the plot to which the
solid manure was applied.
Horse manure proved more produc-
tive each year than did an equal
weight of cattle manure, the average
difference for the three years, amount
inh to IA per cent. In 1899 the in
creased yield of corn was SO bushels
per acre, or IL per cent.
Decidedly larger yields were OBJ
tanned from blowing cattle manure
under for corn than from either spread
Ing it on the freshly plowed land and
narrowing it in or applying it to the
surface after the land was ready to be
planted
3. Breaking the ground to depth
Of four and one-half inches gave uni
formly better results than were OBJ
tanned from plowlng nine inches deep.
Tile drained land, plowed, to depth
of eight inches and sub-soiled seven
inches deeper. stirring the soil to a
depth of Is inches, produced slightly
smaller yield of rutabagas, corn and
sugar beets than did similar soil not
sub-soiled.
.. Averaging the three years work,
when corn was planted in hills three
feet nine inches apart each way, the
yield increased as the number of
stalks in the hill increased. Two
stalks per hill gave "a bushels per
acre, while three stalks produced un-
der otherwise similar circumstances,
077 bushels. Where four stalks were
left the yield was 5s bushels. The
large proportion of unmerchantable
oats, or ''nubbins," produced, and the
increased cost of husking from four
stalks per hill, however, more than
counterbalancee the increase in yield
obtained. Barring excessively dry sea
sons, these experiments indicate that
on strong land this thick planting
would be profitable when the fodder
Is to be fed without huslxing.
On poor land the largest yield, 3f
bushels per acre, was obtained by
thinning to two stalks per hill, three
feet nine inches each way. On this
land four stalks per hill gave &C bush,
els per acre less, and more than hall
of the crop was too small to be mar
ketable. One stalk produced within
one bushel of as much as two stalks
on the poor land, and almost every cal
was marketable.
A single seasons trial showed that
when IS per cent. of perfect stanf
had been ATTAINED it was more profit
able to leave it undisturbed than tt
either replant the missing hills or re
plant the entire field Ninety-four pei
cent. of stand, however, gave g.:
bushels more per acre than was OBJ
tanned from IS per cent. of q stand.
5. Shallow. level culture gave tn,
largest yield each year. Tho gair
from this method over deep tillagt
ranged from 2.1 to 14.3 bushels pei
mere, or from to 80 per cent In 1891
nearly one-third more corn wes pro
duced on the shallow-tilled plots thar
on those receiving the ordinary dcel
tillage. Anaverage of the results fol
the three years shows gain of O.,
bushels per acre, or 17.9 per cent.
8. Tile drainage on upland clay
with fair surface drainage, has no
thus far given sufficient increase il
the yield of corn, mangles and sugal
beets to warrant the expense of til
Ing.
Weekly moisture determinations in
dicatc that the drained soil is slight,
dryer than the undrained soil, whel
an abundance of moisture il present
and that the reverse Is true during (
drought, the drained soil containing
the most moisture. The difference
does not apear to be great enough
however, to materially affect the or o.
growth. II. Waters, Director.