The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-09-27
A Large Yield of Corn.

In the history of cereal productions
there has never been such an enormous
crop Of corn as is being gathered in the
United States this year. 1t will aggregate
2, $50, 951 900 bushels, or more than the
entire corn crop of the world for 1901.
The corn raised in the United States will
be sufficient to supply the needs of the
world for this and next year, even should
there be a total failure in 1903.
Corn harvesting is now in progress in
the United States, and not until snow flies
In December will this enormous task be
ended. Even then farmers further South
will not have finished husking the golden
ears standing in their fields Of brown.
| They know it makes little difference so fal
as prices are concerned. A record of sales
Of coin in the past ten years shows that
the highest prices are obtained in late fall
and winter, and that prices are 20 per cent.
below the average Immediately after the
gathering Of the crop begins in the early
autumn.
The crop for 1901 fell short of the ex-
pected yield by 40 per cent; this year it
goes ahead of the predicted yield by % OF
Is pei. cent. Eight States last year did
not raise enough corn for home copsump-
ton. The exports fell short 5000, 900
bushels. The yield was only sixteen
bushels to the acre, the 1000, 900 acres
were not cut at all.
The acreage of corn this year is much
larger than last. 1t is 3 per cent. more,
or 102, 869, 928 acres. This large acreage
is due to the fact that 3, 500, 900 acres of
wheat, sown the preceding fall, had been
frozen out and were ploughed up for corn
Corn is handled in much different
manner than dozen years ago. Then the
man did all, now machinery does it. Little
corn is husked by hand; in fact most OF 1T
is gathered as is wheat, husked by ma
chinery and shelled by patent shelter.
The cob is ground up with the fodder and
makes good feed in fact the fodder is con-
sidered l per cent. of the crop. There
are cornfelds in Kansas and Oklahoma
that cover ], 900 to 5000 acres, and from
10 to 20 corn harvesters run through them,
one following another. The corn stalks,
with the ears, are stacked in rows by these
harvesters; later they are hauled to a
thresher or shelter, the ears torn from the
stalk and the grain from the cob. The
cost is very small.
In 1900 the United States raised q
900, 900, 900 bushels of corn; in 1901,
l, 500, 900, 900 bushels. Last year, be-
cause of the scarcity, corn sold at excessive
prices. In Kansas the farmers obtained
80 cents bushel for the crop. The aver
age price was so cents. The whole crop
sold for 1929, 555, 768. In 1899, when
the crop was twice as large, the price OBJ
tanned by the farmers was 1923, 20, 10,
The value of the corn crops last year was
SO an acre, while in 1896-the greatest
corn year prior to this one-$6 was the
average price obtained by the farmers. In
1889 corn sold in some parts of the United
States for 10 cents bushel, the lowest
price ever known.
The corn crops of the United States are
worth from 5000, 900, 900 to 5000, 00O,-
600 every year. The exports average
from S175, 600, 900 to $500, 900, 600 an
nually, or one-tenth of the yield. Only
25 per cent. of the corn raised is exported
from the States where it is grown. Some
States never raise enough corn to supply
the home needs. The Middle West States
are the principal corn producers, Illinois is
the principal exporter.
Western Maryland Railroad.