The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1906-08-18
WILL GROW IN
UPPER PENINSULA
NEW VARIETY or CORN FOR NOR
THERN CLIMATE.
WAS DISCOVERED BY A 500 MAN
Combines the Good Qualities Of all
Varieties Grown Successfully in
This Region.

The experiments looking TO the de-
velopment Of field corn that will
ripen in the upper peninsula that Leo
NJ. Geismar. the superintendent Of the
state experimental farm at Chatham,
has under way will ultimately be
worth more than the farm has cost the
state IL the unqualified declaration
Of Marquette man. and one thorough
ly conversant with practical farming.
who paid the experimental station "A
visit Sunday. says the Marquette Min
ing Journal.
For some years past Mr.. Geismar
mas been going up and down the upper
peninsula looking for farmers VINO
have been successful in raising corn
that would ripen Ia this latitude. He
hasn I found many of them, only a
handful One Of the corns successfully
grown has been raised by James X.
Ryan and his father for the past
thirty-six years on small plot OF
ground at the 500. Mr.. Ryan, senior,
got the seed corn from which he raised
his first crop from half-breed, and
II has been traced back sixty years in
the upper peninsula This corn can be
depended ON 10 mature each year.
MIR. Geismar found one corn which
ripens in this latitude that has been
grown for twenty-three years past, and
another corn with record Of having
been grown successfully for thirteen
years Also he has at the station a
corn developed by himself that ripens
Apd reaches good growth. This year
Sir Geismar has IN progress an ex-
pertinent with these several corns ont
Of which will eventually be developed
variety that will ripen and give good
results In the entire upper peninsula
reigon. with farreaching effect on
agriculture practice in this territory.
Mr.. Geismar is seeking standard
variety. the Mining journal s in
formant went on, the corn grown 10y
Mr. Ryan at the 500 is dependable
IL ripens and ripens early, but its
stalk is comparatively short, and the
number Of ears 20 the stalk il small
Furthermore the ears have but eight
rows 81 corn. Now, the desideratum
is 10 evolve corn that shall have all
the hardness Of the Ryan corn and
which shall have, in addition, a four
teen rowed ear and a greater number
Of ears 20 the stalk This is the pro.
blem on which Mr.. Geismar is work
ing.
AZ the experiment farm he has "A
field planted with alternate rows Of
the several corns which experience has
shown win ripen in this region, and
by controlling the fertilization Of the
corn plants, 10y devices practiced by
experimental farmers, he will presently
evolve a corn which will strike an
average Of good qualities of the several
corns experimental with. That IL.
when Mr. Geismar' work is complete
his corn will have the early ripening
and frost proof qualities of the Ryan
corn, together with the more numerous
and heavier ears Of some OF the other
varieties entering into the experiment.
This prospective new corn will ripen
all over the upper peninsula and the
farmer will he able 10 feel when he
plants IL that he will surely get crop
~ merchantable corn. Now practically
all the corn grown Il cut up for fodd
er. There will be no end to the benefit
conferred on the agricultural industry
Of the upper peninsula by the success
ful outcome o. Mr. Geismars experi
ment
An experiment only second 70 that
being carried OH 10 develop an upper
peninsula corn is conducted with a
Wv TO getting valuable data on potato
lowing. Alternate rows Of the same
variety Of potatoes are being grown,
but one set OF rows was sowed in the
fall the other in the spring One row
has been sprayed with the Bordeaux
mixture as protection against bugs
and blight. the other receiving treat.
ment, the more ordinary one, OF Paris
Green The potato plants treated with
the Bordeaux mixture are now as
green and a. healthy looking az when
they were young in the spring and
those treated with Paris Green are be-.
ginning 70 show the effects of blight.
and are in by no means as healthy
condition a. the others
There are also rows of the same