The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-04-15

per bushel to raise the crop. 1t is notice
able fact that the yield per acre has gradual
decreased on this field. The appearance OF
the soil has been changed. 1t is claysh,
white color, compared to the rich black color
of the adjoining rotated fields. The yield
varies with the season, but is less than halt
that of rotated fields or the ordinary fields OF
the station farm, with similar original condi-
tions Of soil fertility.
There is a marked similarity between these
results and the results of continuous wheat
growing for SO years on the Broadbalk fields
of the lawes & Gilbert experimental farm III
| England. Continuous cropping and taking the
| crop off the field exhausts the fertility of the
SOIL and it has been found that soils SO treated
are very difficult to bring back to their origi-
| nal state of fertility. The mechanical as well
as the chemical condition of the soil is chang
ed. and it requires many years OF careful and
expensive treatment to renew soil productive
ness This is found to be the case in ordinary
practice, and the problem before every corn
grower is to keep mp the fertility of the soil,
so that it will continue to produce profitable
corn crops.
There are several practical methods for ac-
complishing the desired results, which will be
treated briefly 10 this discussion.
One of the most important ways OF getting
the soil in good condition for the corn crop is
by means of the leguminous or ''cOver crops
e. g., cow peas, soy beans, clover and alfalfa.
The soy bean and cow pea crops have been
found to be specially beneficial to the soil,
valuable as food. and successfully grown under
widely differing conditions. In Illinois and
Missouri The crops grown in the fields for
single year have been found to increase the
yield of corn from 5 to lS bushels per acre.
The hay has been found to be at least as
n, kla ali hnu nd hp
crop is harvested in much the same way. As
the land becomes more and more exhausted,
it becomes more difficult and expensive to
secure Il stand of ordinary red clever. Where
alfalfa can be grown, this crop is very valuable
for preparing the soil for corn. In most sea
sons cow peas and soy peas drilled between
the rows OF corn, Just after the last cultivation,
give good results. These crops will produce
from l to . tons of hay per acre, and will in
crease the fertility of the soil. Where the
soil is rich prairie loan, the soy bean is more
successful than the COW pea. On such rich
soils the cow pea runs to vines and does not
mature seed crop. 1t is in such soils the soy
bean gives the best result The rich soils stm
ulate the production of plant and seed, and
the crop becomes increasingly valuable. The
soy bean is easily harvested, but great care
must be taken to secure good seed.
II the cover crops are grown and rotated
with corn, and the crops taken from the fields,
the soil will eventually become exhausted
The legumlnous crops add TO the supply of
nitrogen in the soil, but they do not add the
other elements of fertility, particularly potash
and PHOSPHORUS. With continuous cropping
OF any kind, the fertility is bound to run out
eventually. The only way by which corn
growers can continue to grow profitable crops
| Is by feeding the corn and hay crops to live
md he
There is no fertilizer so valuable as BARNARD
manure, and it is only by the careful conser.
vaton OF the manure from the corn and other
crops ted to live stock, and its judicpus
application TO the fields, that the soils will
continue to produce profitable corn crops.
Improved Seed Corn.
The second important feature of the grow
| ing OF corn crop is seed corn. Ii has been
| found that corn can be bred like cattle From
| the fact that we secure complete crop in
| single season, the results from corn breeding
| are secured more quickly than from animal
breeding. 1t costs no more to grow a large
| crop upon the field than small crop. The
| expense of cultivation, interest on investment
and labor are the same in both cases. If by
breeding the yield can be increased five
bushels per acre, this increase is pure profit to
the grower. Therefore any advantage from
breeding is of great Importance to the farmer.
Development of Corn Breeding.
| Previous to 1897 little was done in the way
of Systematically breeding corn. Some few
men, early in the past century, realized the
far.reaching importance from we'll bred seed
and began crude attempts at improving their
strains of corn. One of these men, ]. S.
Leaning, of Wilmington, Ohio through selec.
ton, so changed and improved the type of
corn grown on his farm that other farmers
began to secure his seed corn for their use.
This work was begun, according to his sons
account, about 1926. AS a result this type of
corn was brought West to Illinois and rapidly
became popular with Western corn growers.
In Ohio, the corn was tapering, short cared
type, with particularly large butts. When the
cora was brought West, the ear was lengthen.
ed by careful selection, the shape changed
from the undesirable tapering type to cyl.
indrical shape, and the enlarged butt bred out
little or no resemblance to the original Lean
ing, the smooth kernels have been replaced
by rough, deep kernels, and the whole type
of the variety has been changed through less
than 15 years selection by Western breeders.
The valuable results from such long period
of attention to selection are found in the fact
that in the comparative test of varieties at the
Illinois station, since its establishment in 1888,
the Leaning variety stands at the head of the
list of the many varieties tested in yield per
acre.
Another pioneer in this work was James
Riley, of Thorntown, Ind. Mr.. Riley was
live stock breeder of high standing, and, ap
plying the same principles to the production
of corn that he used so successfully in the
improvement of his breeds of live stock, de.
veloped an improved variety of white corn,
He began selecting seed from the ordinary
white corn grown in Indiana at that time, and