Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1908-01-16
A WORD TO FARMERS.
More Thoughts Concerning the Sweet
Corn Industry.

Through the kindness Of the editor of
the Herald and News and as farmer. one
who has made something of a study of
this industry, l wish to publish a few
statements. LIST year the Randolph can
ming factory put up about 5000 cases,
this year about 6000-very much more
than was expected, considering the cold
spring and dry August. Every case is
sold and was shipped long ago.
Some farmers had good yield, others
not ton per acre. tried to beat every
one else and if did not let's hear from
you. From ia acres actual measure
ment, my farm produced nearly ten tons,
or over five tons per acre. l had my ten
ant pillow under a coat of stable manure
and another put on top and narrowed in.
One-half of this field was planted early
and not half of it came up. The rest was
planted later and this came up we'll and
yielded probably over seven tons per acre;
the first half not three tons per acre.
The growth was very heavy, though not
quite so tall as Sanford corn. The vari-
ETY. was Early Favorite, and here IS the
secret and profit of raising sweet corn.
First, don't plant less than ten quarts
per acre. and have the ground rich. No
farmer should have over five acres. Bet
ter not have over three acres; yes, one
acre will bring you in the most money,
if well taken care of. In other words, l
believe that any farmer can just as well
raise seven or eight tons per acre as one.
have proved it from my own farm, and
yours is just as good, if made as fertile
and you use the hand hoe. That useful
article has not passed into history and is
worth not less than SOC. per hour, when
rightly used.
visited one large sweet corn field that
| am sure was not even touched with
cultivator. OF course the farmer did not
get or even expect one ton per acre. j
believe in raising some field corn to husk,
but not for an entire crop. 1t brings no
profit, only when fed to some animal, and
sometimes it is spring and even summer
ere we get our money back for raising it.
The sweet corn industry is the ''short-
cut" to get our money, which comes
about Dec. LIST. We have everything
which the field produces to put in our ST.
los except the kernels of corn and that is
worth $50 to $40 per acre, which can be
made if the field is properly taken care of.
The Demeritt & Palmer Packing Co. in
tend in a year so to add new machin-
cry TO can peas, pumpkins, squashes,
string beans and apples and this company
desires that the farmers raise all of the
Refugee beans, pumpkins and large yell
low-skinned squashes they can the coming
season.
The report that some canning compan-
les pay as high as S15 to 1862 per ton,
for sweet corn, if true, is not, l think,
under the same method which the Demer-
lit & Palmer Packing Co. uses, but some
thing like this, e. ga farmer draws a
load of picked ears to the factory. The
foreman takes from the load 100 lbs. and
husks it and clips one or both ends of the
ear. He weighs the corn back again and
it weighs 20 lbs. Then 80 per cent is dis
counted from the whole load. This takes
time, while perhaps dozen farmers are
waiting. Again farmers load shrinks
| 80 per cent, picked in the afternoon. He
picks a load the next morning. 1t
shrinks 80 per cent, taken from the same
| field, and he can't see why the shrinkage
should not be the same. Then again two
neighbors draw corn from fields standing
side by side, the yield being about the
/ same. One draws in the morning, the
other in the afternoon, and per cent
difference in the discount. Then there is
trouble.
! Now the farmer begins to splay
/ tricks" and you know that no class of
| people under the sun can be more tricky
than some farmers. Ii you doubt it, ask
yourself how many methods you have en-
ployed to make your produce fill up the
measure or make your stock tip the scales
! to the high notch. He begins to draw
his corn in sacks and plucks about 100
| lbs. of corn having the least shrinkage,
and rolls that sack off at the factory a
sample Then his neighbor, who is
not 'sonto the trick" can't see why his
chn chrir hi pip h.
! boris.
| So you see, brother farmers, there is
trouble all around, and do you wish to
use this method? Mr.. Demeritt says if
he had used this method he would have
saved over $500, for he has paid for tons
and tons of cob which had no corn on it.
L think our canning company is willing
to furnish the seed and pay SO per ton;
whether they can pay s12 per ton do not
know. As farmer, / would be glad to
get $40 per ton if the canning company
could afford to pay it.
Farmers, you should remember that our
eastern canning companies have to com,
pete with the West which can produce
corn very much cheaper than we can.
As farmers, we are against monopolies
and combines which raise the price OF
the necessities of life for the sake of max
ing money. We should not practice
what we condemn in others, or put such
price on our sweet corn that it will put
our canning factories "out of commits
sion.n There is tremendous expense
| and loss from the time the corn gets to
the factory until it is loaded into the car,
and before our farmers say that they
twill not raise an ear of corn if they do
not get certain price, 1T would be better
to invite the ID. & P. P. Co. to come here
and say what price they can afford to pay.
If the farmers will arrange some Saturday
afternoon or any other time convenient to
them, Mr.. Demeritt would be very glad
to meet them and fix price that he can
pay for canned goods the coming season,
which think would be the better way.
G. H. Slack.