The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1901-11-27
MAKING
CORN in
OREGON
How Fifty Bushels to the
Acre Is Being Raised.
Judge Davidson Develops a
Variety Well Adapted ito
this Climate. aA

r. II. Boney, a German farmer, this
year raised crop of fifty bushels to
the acre Of fine yellow corn. The spring
was cold and backward and month
late. but he made the crop and is rais-
with It.
According to recent estimates OF the
corn crop of the United States for 1901,
the average yield per acre is ia BUSH
els The average yield last year, under
favorable conditions, was 25.6 bushels
per acre. Judge r. L. Davidson, Of
this city, says his corn crop this year
will yield him so bushels per acre Of
shelled corn, or 100 bushels of ears.
This is not a bad showing for poor
corn state.
Judge Davidson has been raising
corn for the last 30 years, and has di-
rected his attention to making" corn
as well as raising It. That is, by Sc
lecting his seed carefully, and studying
the requirements of oregon climate
and soil, he now has a kind OF corn alto
gether different from what he had 30
years ago, though he has not changed
his seed in the meantime. He now has
corn that can be depended upon to pro-
the right season and yielding good
measure per acre. 1t is in this respect
that Judge Davidson has the advantage
of others who have tried corngrowing
in Oregon, with unsatisfactory results.
other farmers have planted seed re-
gardless Of it's adaptability 20 this cli-
mate, and this In no small degree ac-
counts for their failure. In n state
a.. ~ 10 az atlTa
Judge Davidson gave a detailed ac-
count of his methods OF planting, culti-
walton and harvesting, and the good
crop he has now stored In his barn Is
the best evidence that his ideas are
founded upon the experience of years
When asked whether Il pays him to
raise corn, Judge Davidson said that
he does not sell his crop, but feeds II TO
his hogs and chickens. It would
bring co cents per bushel in the mar
ket, or $50 per acre. He thinks this is
n little more profitable than wheat
raising, for the reason that he has no
threshing bill to pay and does not em-
ploy much labor. The work does not
come In rush, and can be done al
most entirely within the family. No
complicated and expensive machinery
IL NOlA AtAAih hNNN
not be summer-fallowed. The corn,
however must be cultivated, and this
probably offsets the threshlng bill of a
wheat crop.
The experience OF Judge Davidson
does not prove that oregon may be-
come great corn producing state,
but does demonstrate that farmers can
prohtably raise corn In such quantities
as they may need for fattening their
livestock. II shows that n farmer
must grade up" his soil crops just as
he does his livestock, and improve the
quality. II is related OF q New York
farmer that he started I'm with corn
whose ears grew four feet from the
ground. The butts OF the cornstalks
were practically worthless and were n
detriment TO the corn. BY selecting
for seed the best ears growing closest
to the ground, he finally had a kind of
corn whose ears grew within two feet
OF the ground. In this way Judge Da-
wilson has changed the nature OF his
corn until he has seed that will pro-
duce a maximum of perfect ears, ma
turing at the proper season.