Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1907-06-19
STUAT|NG PLAN OF GROWING CORN.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY OF CORN CULTURE
BY e. N. WILLIAMSON.


we reproduce in detail the discovery of
this successful Darlington county far
mer. 1t follows: &t..
"For number Of years after began
to farm followed the old time method
of putting the fertilizer all under the
corn, planting on level or higher. six
by three feet, pushing the plant from
the start and making big stalk, but
the ears were few and frequently small.
planted much corn in the spring and
bought much more corn the next
spring, until finally was driven to the
conclusion that corn could not be made
on uplands in this section, certainly not
by the old method, except at a loss.
II did not give up, however, for
knew that farmer who did not make
his own corn never had succeeded, and
never would, 80 / began to experiment.
First, planted lower, and the yield
was better, but the stalk was still too
large, so I discontinued altogether the
application of fertilizer before plant
ing, and knowing that all crops should
he fertiliZed ut some time ! .scd mixed
fertilizer as side application and ap-
piled the more soluble nitrate of soda
later, being guided in this by the ex-
cellent results obtained from its use as
n top dressing for oats. Still the yield,
though regular, was not large, and the
smallness Of the stalks now suggested
that they should be planted thicker in
the drill. This was done the next year
with results so satisfactory that con-
tintied from year TO year ~ increase
the number of stalks ami the fertilizer,
with which to sustain them, also to ap-
ply nitrate of soda at last plowing, and
to lay by early, sowing peas broadcast.
This method steadily increased the
yield until year before last Q9O4) with
corn IL inches apart in six-ioot rows
and $11 worth of fertilizer to the acre,
l made 81 bushels average to the acre,
several of my best acres making as
much rs 125 bushels.
Last year U9O5) 1 followed the same
method, planting the first week in
April 20 acres which had produced the
year before 1000 pounds seed cotton
per acre. This land is sandy upland,
somewhat rolling. Seasons were very
unfavorable, owing to the tremendous
rains in May and the dry and extreme
ly hot weather later. From June IL to
July II, the time when it most needed
moisture, there were only five-eighths
of an inch Of rainfall here, yet with
$7.9l cost of fertilizer, my yield was Sc
bushels per acre. Rows were six feet
and corn 18 inches in drill.
"With this method, on land that will
ordinarily produce 1 900 pounds of seed
cotton with 800 pounds of fertilizer, so
bushels of corn per acre should be made
by using 200 pounds of cotton seed
meal, 200 pounds of acid phosphate and
400 pounds of kainit, mixed, or their
equivalent in other fertilizers, and 125
pounds Of nitrate of soda, all to be used
as side application as directed below.
"On land that will make bale and
one-half of cotton per acre when we'll
fertilized, n hundred bushels of corn
should be produced by doubling the
amount of fertilizer above, except that
300 pounds Of nitrate of soda should be
used.
"1n each case there should be left on
the land in corn stalks, peas, vines and
roots, from $l2 to $18 worth of fertili-
zer material per acre, besides the great
benefit to the land from 50 large an
amount of vegetable matter. The
place of this in the permanent improve
ment of land can never be taken by
commercial fertilizer, for it is abso-
lutely impossible to make lands rich
as long as they are lacking in vegetable
matter.
"Land should be thoroughly and
deeply broken for corn, and this is the
time in system Of rotation to deepen
the soil. Cotton requires q mere COM
pact soil than corn, and while a deep
soil is essential to its best development,
it will not produce as well on loose,
open land, while corn does best on land
thoroughly broken. A derp soil will
not only produce more heavily than a
shallow soil with good seasons, but it
will stand more wet as we'll as moro
dry weather.
lin preparing for the corn crop, land
should be broken broadcast during the
winter one-fourth deeper than it has
been plowed before, or if much vegeta-
BILE matter is being turned under, it
may be broken one-third deeper. This
is as much deepening as land will usu-
ally stand in one year and produce
well, though it may be continued each
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