The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-11-13
OUR AvERAeE CORN Y1E1p.

the system of farming, [if system it
can be called) is often conducted on
happy go, lucky methods Conse-
quent1y our cultivated lands as a
whole, rarely produce scarcely half
as much as they might.
The slip-shod happy -go-lucky me N
DDS of many corn farmers of the
present day are alone responsible for
our low average yield of corn. There
are nc. sensible reasons why our aver
age yield should not approach the
maximum yields obtained every year,
by our most enterprising farmers.
Our disgracefully low average
yield of corn, about 26 bushels per
acre throughout the United States,
combined with the very low prices
which have prevailed for several
years, are forcing the corn farmer to
employ every evolving means of an
nually increasing his yield. AS you
well know, the corn farmer has
barely managed with the help Of
COWS, poultry, etc., to live without
ceasing to produce corn. The burn
ing question of the times is, ''How
can we secure the largest yield?
Every farmer quickly admits that a
large yield on a small acreage is al
ways much more profitable than a
small yield on large acreage. 1t
stands to reason that the farmer is
most prosperous who gets the largest
yield from a given area. The ex-
penses incurred in so doing do not
increase in proportion to the in
creased yield. The bottom is out of
farming, in the old way.
Low prices cannot be met by
harder work or lessened expense
you've got to change your methods
and raise double the crops on the
same land, with less work. Can't it
be done? 1t is done. A, yield of 80
bushels of corn per acre barely COW
ers expenses. A yield Of 40 bushels
usually shows fair profit, and a
yield of so bushels a good profit. and
a yield of 20 to 100 bushels, hand
some profit. The writer knows OF a
variety of corn that produced 155
bushels per acre in 1899. Now this
shows big profit.
During my 20 years experience as
a corn breeder, have become con-
vinced that our low average yield of
corn is due in a great measure to
barrenness and its attendant degen-
eracy. believe that if the habit of
barrenness was bred out of our corn
that our average yield of corn would
much more than double The more
free a variety of corn becomes from
barrenness, the larger it's kernels be-
comes and the more free it is from
dry rot, smut and nubbins. Also its
crOp-prodUcing vigor and germinat-
ing power goes up, as its barrenness
decreases. And its barrenness de-
creases only by careful breeding.
Part of which consists in destroying
all the barren and lazy stalks in the
field before they, through the agency
of pOllenatiOn, contaminate and de
crease the yield of natures favOrite
stalks. By this simple, but import
ant practice, the breeder elevates his
corn as regards productiveness and
high terminating power in a geomet-
rical ratio, as the succeeding years
go by.
Let every farmer set aside an acre
of ground next year, and plant it
twice as thickly in the hill as his
main crop from seed which he selects
by the stalk this autumn, and when
the young plants are about one foot
high, go through his special patch,
and thin it to four stalks per hill,
being very careful to remove the
smallest and weakest looking stalks.
Then just before the remaining stalks
form their tassel, he will be able to
Judge as to which will be the barren
and nubbin stalks, and will know
that they should be destroyed. He
will then have a proper seasonable
stand of corn, that being endowed by
nature with the capacity to produce
maximum grain yield of the highest
quality, will surprise the grower at
the great gain in yield he will secure
by such roguing with all of his field
crops. I thus not only am assured
of securing a good stand, but largely
increase my yield, by allowing only
natures favorite stalks to monopo-
lie the nutriment-Of the soil, and
continually increase the productive
ness of my varieties. Try it.
j. G.. SUFFERN.
Voorhies, Ill.