The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-08-26
AgriCu ire.
q
CULTIVATIO CORN.
CULTTVATI0
Dr. ]. W. Sanders Sends q Reply to the Ar.
ticls of Mr.. 7. J. Wear in The Pro-
grdssive Farmer Of August IL.

Cor. of The Progressive Farmer.
In your issue of 18th inst, some
North Carolina farmer q don't re-
member name nor home as paper mys-
teriousIy disappeared) criticised some
other farmers for planting their corn
in rows less than AZ feet, which your
critic averred was the right distance
between rows. / read the communi-
cation with two surprises: (D that
any farmer in North Carolina should
ever plant corn in rows less than Az
feet apart, and % that any good
farmer should advise AZ feet as the
proper distance for corn rows.
Now I make the unqualified asser-
ton (and can maintain my position
in argument and by the experience of
our best farmers) that corn rows
should never be less than 5112 or feet
apart.
The best acre of corn that has ever
been grown was in South Carolina a
few years ago, in rows 3 feet and 6
feet apart. That acre yielded nearly
% barrels or over 200 bushels. Moth
ing saved it but the feet rows, per
hitting the light and heat to feed the
plant long after the feet rows had
been filled up with corn blades, OBJ
structing ingress of both light and
heat. Every planter needs to study
his soil, and plant and cultivate his
corn according to the character of
the soil, and varying both according
to the differences found on his place.
But I care not whether he is 20 get 10
or 100 bushels per acre, 6 feet is the
best distance to yield the crop and
allow the proper cultivation.
On land that will make but 10 bush
els an acre, plant 1,5OO hills, and on
land that will yield 25 bushels plant
$500 hills, regulating the number of
hills on the acre according to number
bushels the land will produce in feet
rows.
Now as to cultivation. Dry, elevat-
ed lands should be cultivated fiat and
with sweeps as shallow as they can be
run. Plow out every other row every
week as you do in cotton, securing a
mulch of plowed land .Over the roots
of the corn. This is especially adVan-
tageous in dry weather, the dry mulch
on top protecting the roots from the
hot sun and preventing evaporation
of the moist soil below. On low ground
and land not well drained, slightly ele-
waited rows are necessary, and the turn
plow is the proper implement for cul-
tivating the crop. Some root cutting
Will do in a moist soil where healing
is. rapidly carried on in the root, but
even in these soils this should be done
as little as possible. The first fur
rows ought to be made with very small
pIOws, so the large ones may be able
to lap up the dirt close to the corn
even to the third furrow away, and
the plow should be run as shallow as
the nature of the soil will allow, wet
and undrained lands needing deeper
cultivation than others drier and bet
ter drained.
Let me illustrate our system of cul-
tivating the light soils along the coast.
Bed the land in five furrow rows, open
deep by running Boy Dixie twice In
same furrow, drop and cover with
foot or harrow. Thin corn to one
stalk. PIow out the middle with Boy
Dixie without moldboard run both
SIDES of corn. II done well, no grass
will be found. Remove such weeds
and any grass left. Every week go to
one side of corn witt, Stonewall sweep
without the face or moldboar ! or
Clean out every other row weekly IN
Il. the corn begins to tassel and you
will have a clean crop on a fiat field
and under the most favorable condi-
ton TO produce a full crop. The old
way Of barring corn is suicidal, set
ting back the crop fully two weeks and
rcguiring much more labor to culti-
vace, For low lands would cultivate
d-tferently-doing the work with har-
Tow and turn-plow.
j. W. SANDERS.
Jarteret Co, n. @.