The evening times., 1898-11-28
THE CULTURE OF CORN
INiTHE SUNNY SOUTH
WILL BEooME LEADING INDUSTRY
fhere Is nm Increasing Demand for
the Prpdpct-soiI Best Suited
to Its Growth.


given publication to an article written by
frof. M. 5. Tracy. formerly director of
the Mississippi Agricultural Experiment
Station. on the subject of corn culture in
| the South
| Durlng the last ten years the rapid
| growth OF the livestock industry, the
continually decreasing price of cotton and
the more general apprecia tion of DIVERSE
| Tying crops have led to a marked increase
In the acreage of corn and corresponds
| Ing increase in the Importance of this crop
In all OF the Southern States. This in
crease has not been sudden or Irregular,
| but has come naturally with the gradual
| and constant change in conditions, and
| all indications point to still greater in
| crease in the near future. -n
| 1t Is true that the average yield rer
| acre of corn in the South is not equal to
| that secured in the corn States of the
| Northwest, but that this is owing more
to methods of culture than to differences
In soil or climate is evidenced by the fact
| that the largest yield of corn on record
23I bushels per acre-was grown in South
| Carolina, and that the census of 1880
| showed that the second heaviest yield
| per acre for any whole county i'll the
| United States was made in issaduena
| County. Miss. So long as cotton COM
! manded high prices the planter was sat
| isfied to exchange 1t for corn. The best
| land and the best labor was given to
| cotton, and the corn, il any was grown,
was given second choice in me division Of
| the fields and only such labor and atten-
| ton as could be conveniently spared from
the cotton. No more corn waS grown
than was used on the plantation. and the
supply was usually exhausted long before
the new crop was ready for use, and often
before 1t was planted. Under such contii-
Importance and was not relied upon a. IA
market a money crop.
With a continually increasing demand,
however. more attention is now being Civ
en- to corn, and wherever it has receiN ed
the same care and attention which have
been given to cotton the results have been
fully as profitable and satisfactory.
The South has special advantages for
the raising OF corn, in the long season
during which ii may be grown and in the
ready sale OF the crop at remiIneratiVe
prices Planting may be lone as early as
February in the Gulf States, or 1t may
be deferred until after a crop % oats or
clover has been gathered from the land
in June. Killing frosts rarely occur before
November. so that even the latest Plant
ings have ample time to mature. while
the early paintings may be harvested in
time for growing hay or for sowing winter
oats or some other crop on the same
ground Notwithstanding the great in
crease the local demand is not yet fully
supplied and in most localities the en-
tire crop finds ready sale in the home
market and at prices which Western corn
growers would regard as very high. In a
few localities IL has been sold occasionally
as low as p cents per bushel, buy that
price has been rare and local so cents TeT
bushel being nearer the average through
the Gulf States. the price being som wiia Il
less than that in the northern section and
higher farther south.
Prof Tracy is of the opinion that with
n soil and climate we'll suited to its
growth and with an increasing home de-
mand for the crop, the cultivation OF corn
Is certain to become one of the leading
farm industries OF the South. He says
that any soil which will produce good
crop OF cotton will also produce good
crop of corn, although upland, clay SOILS,
which will make a fair yield Of cotton
when well fertiiized, are not so
well suited TO corn as those
which are richer in decayed vege-
table matter. and so suffer less from
drought The best soil for corn IS a rich
sandy loan. which is well drained and
which contains a fair amount Of humus
As corn makes a rapid and succulent
growth 1t should be grown on soil which !
holds moisture well, and as the weight I
of the ears bears close proportion to
the size of the stalks, the soil cannot we'll /
be too rich. One of the best soils for
corn is one on which red clover has been /
grown.
Owing to the heavy winter rainfall in |!
the Southern States plowing should be I
done only n short time before planting. |
Fall plowing for corn is seldom good |
practice, excepting On new ground where |
a tough sod must be rotted before the |
soil can be made mellow. II is not a !
good practice TO leave the bare soil ex- |
posed to the washing and bleaching of !
the winter rains. For this reason. when I
tough sod land is TO be planted in corn /
it is usually better to plow in the preced- I
ing spring or early summer and SOW in I
peas. as the peas will rot and mellow |
the sod better than any other crop which |
can be grown, and corn seldom fails to |
make a heavy yield on land treated in |
that manner The plowing should be |
deep and thorough, but whether subsoil- I
ing is profitable is still an open question. I
Many who have tried subsoiling have |
found it followed by such a marked de- !
crease in the crop that they have aban- /!
doned the practice after the first season, |
while a few others have found-it to pro- |
duce a very satisfactory increase in the |
crop and regard it as u necessary part !
of the most economical method of pre- |
Daring the sol! Tor painting, Inc Dldck |
prairie and river bottom soils are usual |
ly improved by both deep plowing and |
subsoiIing while heavy clays and light |
sandy lands give better yields when the |
plowing is not too deep.
For all ordinary purposes the best |
variety of corn is the one which will pro-
duce the greatest amount of sheled grain |
per acre. regardless of the time of ripen- /
ing or of the size of either stalks or ears.
In the South the growing season is so |
long that it is not necessary to select |
varieties. The heaviest |
yields are commonly secured from varie-
ties which require from 140 to 40 days
for their full maturity. If the crop is to
be planted on ground from which oats.
clover or some other early crop has been
harvested, or on land which has been
overflowed until late in the season, some
of the earlier maturing sorts should be |
planted; but when the corn is planted
early in the spring, any variety will have
ample time to mature before frost. and
the longer period of growth will produce
the larger yield
An Old Alp Climber
Qrom the London News)
The exploits of septuapenarian Anime cl;,,F,a, |