Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-03-17
Mistellaneous 8eadins.
MAKE CORN RAISING PAY.
Here Are Some Rules That Are Inter
estinu and Valuable.

1
| esting and Valuable.
| AS grain crops go, corn is com
paratively new one; and hence offers
correspondingly greater opportunity for
improvement under careful methods
as we'll as for rapid deterioration un
der careless methods.
The best and most practical method
Of breeding it up is Systematically to
/ plant seed from a single ear in sim
gle row, to plant other rows the same
way, and then weigh the yield from
each row separately; then keep roc
ord of each row, select the best for
next year and so on from year to year,
to the end that the seed corn may
have a pedigree that is definite and II
true guide. From the few rows plant
| ed, seed will be selected for the in
creased plat that is to supply seed for
| The larger fields. Those who want to
pursue this kind of breeding will be
able to get from their state expert
ment stations or the department of
agriculture at Washington bulletins
/ that explain the plan in detail. The
next best plan is to select the seed ears
! in the field. and to observe whether
| the stalks that bore extra fine ears
had choice locations. rich spots, much
room. etc, which might make large
yield was not really in the seed the
ears came from. If We wait till the
corn is in the crib, we cannot do more
than select good ears, irrespective of
whether they grew on specially favor
ed stalks. But even such selection as
this will be better than none.
| If one does not have corn from
which really good seed can be selected
strain that is a good yielder, he
ought to buy good seed. He ought al
so to test his seed before planting, to
learn whether it is going to sprout we'll
and grow with vigor. Much will
sprout well and not have vigor to grow
well. Skips in the row cost just as
much to cultivate as like srace in
which corn is growing, and produce
nothing. The unshaded soil may even
be injured by being exposed unneces-
sarily to the sun.
| Much is said and written about deep
breaking for corn. 1t is one Of those
questions that will never be settled, for
the reason that some types OF land
need one treatment and some need an
other. 1t is rare that deeper than six
inch plowing will pay: and sometimes
il will be detrimental. If land is plow-
| ed much deeper than formerly, plow in
! the fall. Loose soils and bottom lands
can be plowed deeper than black prai-
, rie soils. Never go off to dinner or to
the house for the night before all the
land that has been plowed that half
day is narrowed. Later the use Of the
disc will put the seed bed in better
condition, but do not abuse the land by
turning it up to the air and sun to dry
out before it is narrowed. The seed
bed is more important than usually
supposed Make it fine and mellow. 1t
| does not take much work, as harrOWs
and discs cover much ground at time.
| SllOulu IlOl DC lOO uCSpiy iii
spring, when the soil is cold and much
moisture is in the ground. At that
| time the warm soil is the layer next to
the surface. Deep planting is also bad
when the seed bed has not been well
prepared Some sort Of drill or me-
chanical planter should be used, since
all seed will be put in the ground APP
proXimately the same distance. Then
there is either a stand or not stand.
The grower will not be in doubt as to
whether he should replant: but he may
be in doubt if the seed Is dropped by
hand and some are deep and some are
shallow. so that Il part meet favorable
weather conditions and come up. while
the rest do not come up. Watch the
drill carefully for some time, and dig
out enough hills to know how deep the
planting is being done. 1t will be a
costly corn crop If labor saving imple-
ments are not used for cultivation and
they can be used with greater success
when the rows are straight. so that the
cultivators can run so close to the
young stalks that very little unculti-
waited earth will remain in the drill.
Many neglect corn for two or three
weeks after the seed is planted Mean
while grass and weeds get well started.
Harrows or weeders, or both should,
in most cases. be run over the corn be-
fore the young plants get out Of the
ground, and even later-just as long
as the corn is not injured too much
by such working. The young grass
and weeds will be easily killed and q
crust is not allowed to form over the
young corn plants to make it hard for
them to get out Of the ground. Fur
thermore, this stirring of the soil pre-
vents evaporation of moisture from
the land In the hands of a careless
workman a team of mules and har-
row can do much damage To corn af-
ter it is out of the ground. Suppose a
thoughtless workman permits corn
stalks to catch in the harrow and
drag out the young corn row after
row. Such a thing has been done more
|
| for the work. The writer knows of
one good farmer who thinks 1T pays
him to plant corn considerably thick
er than he wants it to grow, so that he
can harrow it over and over as often
as he likes, uprooting part of the young
crop, but leaving enough for good
stand. While his plan has its draw
backs. it also has its good points.
| Corn is very shallow rooted
plant. Most of its feeding roots are
near the surface of the soil Roots al
so feed only at their ends; and when
they are cut off they cannot nourish
the plant much till new feeding hair
like roots put out to gather the food.
These facts show that deep cultivation
during the early life of the crop may
not be injurious; while deep cultiva-
ton later, when the roots have spread
across from row to row near the sur
| fooo Of tho coil cut off the roots lust