Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-02-24
:fartl1 aad fireside.
CORN PLANTING,

ate the advice to select, Where possible,
without two long repetition of the
same crop, the moist, low-lying, loamy
soils-the creek or river bottoms and
fresh virgin soils for corn. 1t is a crop
that "must make or break" in the next
four or five months. Unlike cotton,
it must gather its supply of food in
much shorter time, but more impor-
tant in its unlikeness to cotton, it has
to pass through the critical period Of
tasseling and silking in the course OF
few days and at a set time in its life
development. There is no correspon'
ing crisis in the cotton crop. Hence
lit is important that corn should be
given a moist or moisture retaining
soil, and conditions favorable to with
standing drouth at the critical peri.
cd. Thorough preparation of the soil
by deep breaking and shallow turning
are indispensable conditions, and liber-
al manuring very desirable always.
Then plant in the soil, not under it, or
in the cold wet sub-soil. We prefer to
break the land, either at the beginning
of the blowing season, or as prepa-
ration just before planting, into beds,
blowing out water-furrows we'll and
keeping it open as drain but plant
in a deep furrow drawn along the mid
die of the bed. On all rolling lands
where terraces have been constructed,
the rows, when once correctly estab.
lished, should be maintained, and all
blowing for succeeding rowed crop
should be done by the row. An ex-
cellent way to prepare a cotton field
for corn is to bar off the old cotton
rows and burst out with long shovel
as deep as can be pulled. Then, short
ly before plowing, bed up in the open
furrow and plow out to the middles.
We are beginning to believe that it
would be a good practice, as it GER
tainly is a convenient one, to adopt a
uniform width of row, whether to be
planted in corn, cotton, potatoes, or
similar crop, and preserve the rows
indefinitely. Four feet would be a
good compromise distance, reversing as
NAV be convenient the relative posi-
ton of row and middle.
1t has long been a tradition that
corn ought to be planted very early.
Our own experience favors a medium
between extremes. Very early plant
ing, say from the middle of February
to the first of March, in latitude 80,
does we'll about once in six or eight
years. We finally decided that March
10 was about the safest time, all things
considered, to commence planting
corn; and we tried hard not to be put
into fever of anxiety or a hurry to
plant because some of our neighbors
were planting q week earlier, or the
weather became warm and the birds
began to sing their spring sonnets. AS
"all signs fail in dry weather." so all
signs of an early spring fail when it's a
late spring; which means, if it means
anything, that no one can foretell the
weather or the seasons week ahead,
not even the birds of passage, or the
rust back llZZard.
Plant when the time arrives which
past experience tells you is the best
time in the long run, and when the
ground is not too wet to plow-wheth-
er the air be cold or warm. We
wouldn't care to commence when the
clouds and wind and other appear
ances betoken a spell, or day or two
of bad, rainy weather.
Of course our friends in the extreme
south, as we'll as those in the extreme
north of the cotton belt, will make
the proper allowances for differences
of latitude ; but the principle applies
to every latitude.
Another principle of general appli-
cation is that the conditions that i'm
mediately surround the seed when
planted, so far as we can control them,
should be as favorable as possible to
it's quick termination and the prompt,
vigorous and rapid development OF
the stalk, after it makes it's appearance.
1t is the care of many to provide now,
by proper preparation and planting,
against possible drouth and wet in the
labor stages of growth-along in June
and July, and without much regard to
the early wants of the young plant.
1t is very we'll to anticipate the con-
ditions that may prevail at silking
time and provide against them as we
NAV: but this should not be done at
the expense of the young plant. Give
the seed warm, dry bed in which to
germinate; place rich mellow soil in
Immediate contact with it; add at
least a moderate supply of soluble and
stimulating fertilizer within easy reach
of the tiny rootlets. Then commence
cultivating within a reasonable time
and repeat promptly at least every
two weeks, adding more plant 1000
during the earlier stages-say the first
half of the period of growth.
Broadcast manuring is doubtless ad-
visable when large amount is to be
applied, but not otherwise. Our OBJ
servation is that drill manuring gives
the promptest and the best results
not necessarily all in the planting fur
row, or evenall at one time. Part
may be applied with the seed, if
thoroughly decomposed, in contact
with it and along the planting furrow !;
the balance in the siding burrows or
the previous listing furroWs.