The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-02-07
KhF|R CORN is
profitable
Saltwater Experiment Station
Issues a Bulletin
ACREAGE HAS DECREASED
1t Is a Good Crop for Uplands
of Oklahoma.


has been one of the staple crops since the
onenine of the country but in other sec
tfons where it was grown quite extensive
Iv at first, particularly in the eastern
portion of the territory. the acreage has
been much contracted and very little Is
grown in some parts now. 1t is doubt
ful il the total acreage in Oklahoma III
1903 was as much as 1t was hVe years
ago. The cause of this falling OH III
acreage in Oklahoma cannot be denhlte-
" stated. In kansas the acreage mas
steadily and rapidly increased as Is SHOWN
by the last record in 1902. Since 1893 the
increase in acreage in that slnte IN the
nine years has been over 400 per cent
Some have given the following reasons
for the shrinking in Oklahoma. PROBABLY
It is due to the fact that the crop Is not
as easily and economically harvested anu
stored as Indian corn and for most pur-
poses must have special preparation 1of
feeding in order to obtain desirable re-
suits. which is not the case with Indian
corn Again. il is not as salable an artl-
Gle as Indian corn nor is it equal In feed
ing value. While it is true that Indian
corn takes the lead in these respects, the
difference II NOT SttetI- vi N'AS
hand each succeeding year has proven
kafir corn far better able to produce gram
and forage on the uplands in Oklahoma
On such land in the drouthy years, corn Is
a total failure while kafir corn ylelds
q. fair crop of grain and stover- In the
good seasons on the bottom lands, corn
EQUALS kafir but in a drouthy season the
katir will produce the most grain. Cen
orally. particularly on the uplands, where
the growing Of kafr has been abandoned
no grain crop is grown except wheat ana
a little oats. and the time will probaDly
come again when kafr will be much
more extensively grown on these up
lands.
To encourage better methods in raising
this crop and to answer the inquiries OF
farmers new to the territory who are
not familiar with the raising Of the crop,
the following summary is given: Kafir
corn responds we'll on rich, deep soil, but
its great value lies in the fact that II
will produce % to 30 bushels on grain on
stiff. heavy soil that will not produce
having crop of corn in the averoge sea-
son in Oklahoma Hence the selection OF
the soil is a simple matter.
Another very strong feature of the crop
&c It's drv weather resisting qualities 1t
has a very vigorous. deep and extensive
root system thatp jumps the water from
q great area Of soil. Again If all the
moisture within reach of the plant Is
exhausted. thep liant rests in dormant
state. which very frequently lasts Tor
several weeks. until rain comes and then
the croD takes a new start and completes
it's growth.
The statement is quite commonly made
that kafr corn is hard on the soil. This
is true only to the extent that it IS a
very heavy producer and draws on the
soil to that extent for plant food and
moisture. 1t generally leaves the ground
well sapped Of moisture and If sufficient
rain does not fall 10 wet the soil thor
oughly before the next crop is planted
it is likely to do poorly on account or
the lack of moisture The crop does not
remove any particular element from the
soil that is felt by following crops other
than is removed by most crops. The
very extensive and vigorous root system
of the kahr corn affords a larger feeding
surface than that of most of the com
mon crops.
In another bulletin the subject Of oats
is treated. The bulletin says;
The oats crop is not an extensive one
on the station farm as rule. but more
or less of it Is grown each season and
usually the yieids are good. many times
they are excellent and seldom very poor.
Few special experiments have been car
ried on with oats At this station, but it
* included every year in several rotation
experiments, and a few variety tests are
under way
RESULTS IN 1900.
During the season OF 1900 the work was
limited To one plat The soil. which is
classified as clay loan. was plowed Feb
ruary ?; to a depth Of seven inches. The
plat was narrowed i Immediately after
plowirg and again prior to seeding. on
March > the oats were put in with a
grain drill at the rate of 81 bushels per
acre. The soil was in good condition az
time Of seeding and the grain germinateI
promptly The crop made very fair
growth durinc the season and was har-
vested June l6 Texas Red variety was
grown and it gave a yield Of . bushels
OF grain per acre ard 2l9 tons f straw
RESULTS IN leI
In 1901 four plats were seeded to Texas
Red oats These plats are used in con-
tiuuous work and o three years rota-
ton s being followed on the series The
crops grown are: first year. corn. sec
ond year. oats; and third year. wheat
and sowpeas Two of tas rlats receive
manure from time 10 time as the yield
Of various crops indicate the need for
the season of lsu The two remaining
plats received no manure o-herw 50 they
received the same treatment as the ma
nUred plats The soI on these pats.
which Is designated as q clay loam hav-
ing a heavy impervious sub-soil. Is quite
uniform in character
RESULTS ~ 1872
Fo.r vlats Uere seeded 20 oa-s IN 81
Three q these rlats were ore-e.-hteert
of an acre IN extent a-d were used ir
making "a comparison q three different
var.e-ies namely I4ncoln. CUibers7n and
Texas Red oats Tho fourth plat con-
tanned ou--h II acre ard Vas seeded %
Texas Red oatS. The seil which was cutie
uniform in character. has he-n des.rIoed
under experiments for tHe years 800 aa6
Iss, In case OF the i-l.yi61al plat the
ground vas plowed -ae -lst II Jazua-y-
The pat Was seeded 20 eats With q grain
6vuI on March tfh at rats ~ sI bushels
er ac-e. The soil vas disksd and har-
rowed prior To seeding The chrssh.rc
was done June 2f-h and the crop save
a return % 65S bushels per acre with =
tons OF straw.
RESULTS ~ 1893
The work during the season II i.s may