The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-08-16
WILSON HOPEFUL.
Corn Crop Considerably Injured, But
Other Crops are Good.

Traer, Iowa, Aug. 12.-Secretary
wilson OF the department of agricul-
ture, has completed his tour of the
corn belt and is resting for few days
on his farm and among his townsmen
of this place.
The weather of the future, said the
secretary to an associated Press re-
porter, will have much to do with
regard to corn, and the final figures
cannot be given by anybody at the
present time. Late corn will be bene-
fitted by favorable fall weather and
early corn, growing under the best
conditions, will fill out better with
sufficient rainfall in the near future.
have been travelling through the
corn belt more with a view of study
ing the conditions that have brought
about present results than to ascertain
the precise amount of damage done
to the corn crop by the hot weather,
in order that l may have bulletins pre-
pared in the department for distri-
button among the farmers showing
them where they may improve their
methods.
observe that the corn is seriously
injured in a good many localities and
promising in others. The reasons for
the variations are found in conditions
tracing back to the planting season,
| and also TO the system of agriculture
pursued by the several corn growers.
There has been some injury owing
to the protracted heat, to all corn
fields, but much less where rotation in
crops has been observed than where
the land is perpetually cultivated and
crops are grown for the purpose of
selling the grain.
A common observation regarding the
corn crop this year is that the tassel,
upon coming out, has been withered
| by the heat and failed to fertilize
| through the silk. This is the case
more or less in all the fields that have
visited; but pollination has been much
| more perfectly performed where the
soil was full of organic matter from
plowed under grass roots, than where
corn has been grown so long that the
| organic matter has been oxidized-
| burned out of the soil. Where there
was plenty of organic matter in the
soil and thorough cultivation had, the
effects Of the heat upon the tassel has
been to great extent balanced by the
amount of moisture that the plant
could get to offset evaporation. In
cases where the ground was saturated
by excessive rains in the spring land
| this has occurred in many felds), the
roots spread near the surface. They
could not get into the saturated soil
because they could not find oxygen
there The growth under these condi-
tions was retarded, and when the heat
came such fields were in bad condi-
ton to resist, particularly where Gull
| tivation was not as frequent and as
| thorough as it should have been.
In many cases corn fields under the
| latter conditions seemed stunted-un-
der-sized, and goodly per cent should
| be cut up for fodder. Some farmers
are cutting such corn for fodder and it
| will make better fodder than the aver
age, because the stalk will retain the
strength that otherwise would have
gone into the ears. Early corn has
suffered most, where alb the conditions,
including organic matter in the soil
and through cultivation, have OBJ
| tanned but where these conditions
| have obtained, early corn is the finest
Conditions cannot be altogether de-
termfned by latitude. Some of the fin
est corn fields have seen are west of
the Missouri river, and l hear of To-
calities in western Nebraska that have
had rain and give promise of good
crops.
The oat crop is abundant and vari-
able. 1t may have ripened prema-
| turely in some cases, but there will
be plenty of oats. Wheat is excellent
everywhere. The hay crop is abun-
dant and, of course, put up in fine con-
dition. Northern and extreme western
states have an abundance of potatoes
to supply the states further east, where
they have suffered. The sugar beet is
entirely healthy everywhere and has
withstood the drought admirably. 1
have visited no locality where the
people need help from anybody. Their a
is an abundance of forage in the west
to winter all kinds of stock, and.sthe
damage done to.the..corn ropemay re
suit in management in the future that
will enable the farmer to avoid to a
large extent repetition of this years
experience.