The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-03-28
IN Il CORN FIELD.

AhNAN -
by the thinking farmer of the Middle South than
that pertaining to the Imperial Agriculture
plant of America, corn. The raising of this crop
is particularly important to our Southern agri-
culture because, under the present system, the
farmers are obliged to bring into our section OF
the country large quantities each year from the
West. 1t is all right to benefit one section IT 1T
is not at the expense of another, but under our
present system our own agriculture is not bene-
flied. Without further discussion let us go at
once into the corn field and see what is necessary
for the most economic production of this impor-
tant plant.
Soil, It's Tillage and Preparation.
IF a tomato is put into a can and carefully
sealed so as to keep out the air it will be pre-
served for a long time. If. on the other hand,
the lid of the tomato can is removed or a pune
ture is made so as to admit the air, decay and de-
composition at once take place. This is an
analogous case to our corn lands. A compact
light soil infrequently plowed, and shallow
at that. which means but little access of air, pre-
vents decay and decomposition of the soil parti-
cles. Where the soil is stirred up so that the air
has easy access into the soil, decay and decompo-
sition follow and change the unassimable plant
food into forms that plants can use. You see,
then, that plant food exists in the soil in two
forms: available and unavailable. We have plow-
ed our Southern soils and cropped them in such
a manner that they have become hard and dead
and lifeless, simply because there is so little cir
~culation of air and so little humus in them the
unavailable plant food is too slowly changed into
available forms.
Our Southern soils do contain plant food, and
considerable quantities of it. 1t is principally
there in the unavailable form which will be re-
leased only by frequent and thorough tillage. In
this connection it is only necessary to say that a
good pillow that makes a good cut so as to turn
the soil in a way that will pulverize it when it is
dropped in the furrow, is necessary. A good
plowman should be behind the pillow to make the
furrow regular and even. When the plow strikes
a stone or root it should be pulled back and put
in again SOFAS to make thorough work the rule
not the exception. This feature is the
most CALLING of all to the enthusiast and practi-
cal believer in tillage-the seeing of so much
sliF-shod, careless blowing. In a way good plow-
ing has almost become a lost art with us. Our
forefathers, with poorer implements, did better
work than the majority that hold the handles of
the pillow to-day.
Judicious Flowing and Narrowing.
The most of our Southern soils-especially
those of clayey formation-can be handled better
in the winter than in the spring. 1t gives the air
and frost a longer time to work on the PARTICLES;
in other words, there is a longer time for unavail-
able plant food to be changed into the available
form. Sandy soils and those that easily leach
by the spring and winter rains, perhaps can bet
ter be plowed in the spring. They readily dry off
in the spring and planting is never materially
delayed. When spring comes, and the frost has
gone and the soil is dry, then comes the use of the
disc and spring tooth harrows. But do not hurry.