The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-09

makes corn one of the foundations OF
mis- farm venture he should try to
make The most Of it possible. 1t is very
easily shown that it is the least pro-
fitable crop that is grown by any far
mer anywhere, yet there is not one
farmer in a hundred that seems TO be
able to farm without it even though
his average production is only nine
and a half bushels to the acre. so long
as he clings so tenaciously to the con-
Viction that corn is the only grain he
can probably grow to feed his mule
with so long will he continue to put
such an exaggerated value upon nine
and a half bushels of it. That is the
average yield per acre in Georgia to-
day.
The question is. as Mr.. Martel of
Downup says, will it pay to cultivate
any land that will not make as much
as twenty bushels of corn, either with
or without the 81 worth of fertilizer
that should be used on the crop, II no
more.
Recognizing the true value of corn
on the farm to be so cents, and its aV-
erage value 1t not more, TWEEN
ty bushels bushels give a gross
return of only $40. With the
implements that he uses can any aver
age farmer plow and prepare, cultivate
and gather the crop from an acre at
an expense of less than 50? we troW
not.
In a recent discussion of Southern
corn growing at Downup a most intel
liCent and very successful corn grower
asserted his opinion that not one far
mer in a hundred raised d really proht-
able crop of corn, that the average
farmer manifested no intelligence
-, ho nf ~ that
experience Of many years taught him
nothing in regard to it. He cited as
illustration that the average farmer
still planted his corn in clean water
furrow in rows six, or at best five,
feet apart, and a stalk left to grow ev-
cry three feet in the row. The crop as
a rule was given three plOwings and
two hoeings. This has been the prac-
tice of the Southern farmer for nifty
years. With the natural deterioration
of the soil il was no wonder that the
average yield was less than ten BUSH
els.
Where corn is planted in siX-foot
rows and a stalk left every three feet
there would be with a full stand only
9, APO stalks. Now if one always had
a perfect stand and there were no bar
rem stalks, and if each stalk produced
two good-sized ears. a hundred of
which would shell out a bushel of corn,
why it would do we'll enough to thus
limit the stalks on rich as well as on
POOR land. But considering the ma
ture of the plant, its natural tendency
to produce only one good-sized ear, its
steadily increasing tendency to produce
barren stalks and poorly developed
ears, it behooves every farmer that
would make this crop worth anything
to him to review his methods and
adopt practices more in accord with
the requirements of the plant. The
grower can still maintain his wide
rows-letting them be five or
even six feet apart with a
view to planting peas in be-
tween, as he always has done-but
he must increase the number of stalks
so that he can have at least 5000 pos
sible ear-making ones. Then he must
not trust to any kind of corn thai
comes in his way for the purpose OF
seeds He must learn now II ever
that good crops of corn can only be
grown from good seeds. Allowing ever
the wider distance of six feet for the
corn rows, If a stalk is left every
eighteen inches apart in the row there
will be 4,S00 stalks; at fifteen niche:
there will be something over 5000
Practical tests made over and agar
prove that our ordinary Southern corr
with such distance as this-six fee
one way anu uIleeH lHCneS the OtHeT-
will mature its single ear as well as
If it had the room usually given it, i
does not cost any more to cultivate g.,
600 stalks than it does ?, 400. On real.
ly good corn land, with the cultiva
ton what il should be, ii will be found
that twelve inches in the row is am
pie for the production of one good eal
TO the stalk with the rows having six
foot distance. Let any farmer tina
wishes prove this for himself. VIII,
make only ten or fifteen bushels whel
1T is about as easy to make the lanS
produce twenty or thirty
With corn like the Dent and tn,
Blount Prolific il is quite possible L
average two and oftentimes more ear
per stalk at the distances given above
AS our Downup friend wisely observe
the Southern farmer still has yer,
much to learn about growing corn an,
he has promised to tell us exactly how
to double the yield on any given quail
tty of soil.