Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1904-09-09

get the people down In the park. Every
body could be I'm it, 10: and around
the court house. The celebration will
be held in juno next year
The Corn Crop.
The anxiety on the part of@the rail.
roads, bankers. and business men in
general. a. we'll as the farmers, over
the prospects Of the corn crop is be-.
coming intense. A great deal Of the
prosperity Of the country for the next
year depends upon the condition OF
this crop, The railroads want bushels
because they get paid for hauling
bushels; the farmers want dollars. It
is not bushels bnt dollars they are
after. The bankers and the merchants
also want dollars The railroads will
not be satisfied without heavy yield.
The farmer and merchants and bank
ore @ FHant 9 heaNy "a e.rnn-nf dollars. and
it does not make go much difference
to them as to the number Of bushels
1t is pretty clear at sthis date that the
corn crop will show up we'll In dollars,
The farmer nsuaIIy receives more pay
for a two thirds crop at full prices than
he does for bumper crop at the price
which usually accompanies bumper
crops.
All classes outside the farm are
somewha. puzzled over the accounts
of the crops, and most Of them will
pronounce the farmer, as they always
have done. q chronic grumbler. They
claim that he grumbles when the days
and nights are cool that the corn
don't grow, and then when hot weather
COIL es and the lower leaves of the
corn begins to turn yellow he grumbles
because he don't have rain. They are
just now particularly concerned over
reports from Kansas Kansas has
been giving us Q tale Of woe in the
way Of floods, torrential rains. and just
now at the proper time of the year
(only few dsys late) comes the re.
port Of hot winds and fred corn
through lack of rain: It is, however,
just what one would expect in year
like this, and we will try once more
to make it plain to our readers why
they should expect it.
Corn makes four -fifths of its growth
between the time of tasseling and time
of maturity. That is, four. .fifths Of the
dry matter In the corn at maturity is
under normal conditions put In the
corn plant during the comparativly
brief period. Every pound Of this dry
matter requires 300 pounds of water.
not water in the soil, but water actu-
ally delivered through the root sys-
tenn to the plant; and the size of the
CROP other things being equal. depends
upon the ability of the root system to-
deliver the necessary amount Of water
in that time. 1fthe water supply for
any reason runs short, the crop isI
cut short. no matter what its promise
in leaf and stalk may he. The measure
of the corn crop therefore depends
upon the ability of the root system to
deliver the specified amount of water
to the stalk, 1t seems quite paradox
ical that in dry years in q good sol !,
we'll farmed, there is little complaint
Of corn firing; while in wet wears,
where the farmer in the early part Of
the season are praying for dry weather
we have complaints of drouth and Of
fired corn during the month Of August.
It ID all plain to him that under.
standeth, however paradoxical 1t may
seem to the man who has no; made
the subject q study. Let us explain:
It is an old maxium that dry June
makes big corn crop and wet June
poor corn crop. Whya In wet
June the corn roots naturally grow
near the surface One set Of roots
does not 60 any deeper than is neces.
sary to secure moisture, and in a wet
season they naturally run near the
surface A wet June means that corn
often has to be cultivated when it is
too wet; hence the land becomes
puddled, pasty. lumpy on the surface;
in short. out Of physical condition and
the upper two or three inches com.
paratively worthless for that season.
It is likely also to become weedy, and
the weeds have quite as good chance
to get supply of moisture as the
corn plant, and hence waste it. Then
if dry. hot spell should come in
August, these upper roots become use.
less because they can't reach water.
A heavy rain after the corn is laid by
will pack the surface. form crust,
and the water that is in the soil at
once evaporates into the air and does
the corn no good whatever. Hence it
is to be expected that after wet June
and July dry seasen in August will
find the corn short Of water. There
has been plenty Of water in the soil.
is plenty of water now far enough
down, but the corn roots can't get it
because large percent of them are
wrongly located, and the water that is
in the soil escapes into the sir without
becoming available for the corn crop.
Then again, when conditions favor
rapid growth during the early part of
the season, the cornstalk makes its
plans on large scale and is not able
to develop ears proportionate to the
size of the stalk. Hence many splen.
did prospect for corn fails to yield a
full harvest. while under apparently