Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-29
Director Chapel Says 80 Per
Cent OF Crop Was Beyond
Reach of Frost
REPORT
DISPUTES
coWNlE
Declares Many Fields Were Matured
Only in Spots and That Much Soft
Corn Will Be Fit Only for Fodder -
Chapel Issues Last Bulletin, Show
ing Season to Have Been Favorable.

Des Moines, Sept 29.--The weekly
crop bulletin, the last of tho season.
issued today by Director Chapel, OF
the Iowa weather and crop service, de-
claras that 80 per cent of the corn in
the state was out of the way of the
frost that fell Sunday and Monday
mornings, and that the remainder OF
the crop would not have matured until
early in November. John Cowr1fe, of
the state board of control, Isl one Of
several who disagree in part with
Chappers conclusions, and he says
there will be much soft CORN in the
state. ChappePs bulletin follows:
'The weather continued hot and dry
up to Saturday. the 26th inst, when
rain began breaking the longest Sep
TENDER drouth on record. There was
an average daily excess of temperature
of from ten to thirteen degrees up to
Saturday. but the temperature was de-
cidedly below the normal on Sunday,
ing frosts over the larger part of the
state With the exception of a few
light showers on the 18TH in the north
eastern counties, and on the 23d in THE
northwestern counties. there was no
rain in the state from Aug. 81 to Sept
&c. The drouth was very severe on
pastures, late potatoes. garden truck,
late fruits and the water supply, but
was the salvation of a larger part of
the corn crop.
The bulk of the corn was matured
sufficiently to escape any injury from
frost, but, as usual, there was small
percentage of the crop which would
have been benefited by a few more days
of warm wether. Over ninety per cent
of the crop was ripe al the time of the
first frost, and most of the remainder
was well dented, so that it will have
considerable value as fodder. The rains
of the past two days will revive pas
lures and permit the resumption of fall
plowing.
ION the whole the season has been
a profitable one Notwithstanding the
continued and excessive rains during
the period Of planting, and the severe
drouth at the close of the season. The
small grain crops. late potatoes, and
fruits were below the average but
the hay crop was abnounally, heaEx
and put UP in excellent condition. The
corn crop Will be nearly up to the av-
erage of former years, and much in
excess of last year"
cownie Says Much Damage is Done.
Special to Times Republican. i.
Des Moines, Sept. 29.-lWherever the
frost was killing i'm Iowa Sunday night
it did great damage to the corn crop,
some Of the experts claim. The corn
in Iowa was late in being planted
this year and it required just that
much later frost in which ito mature.
The fact that the frost has come early
will do a great deal of damage, some
say.
Hon. John Cownie, who has raised
fifty two crops of corn in the state OF
Iowa and so from the point of actual
experience is perhaps better able to
speak than any man in the state, de-
clares that in the southern part OF
the state there are many fields IN
which ,helf of the corn was not ma
tured sufficiently to be out of the way
of the frost, and while much of the
corn is matured there are many ears
i'm every field that are soft and the
frost will result in soft" corn.
"It would have been better for all
the corn to have had till the middle
of October and much of it should have
had till the 1st of November" said
Mr. Cownie today Corn needs full
five months in which to mature, and
when YOU consider THAT it lis planted
about the 10th of May lit must take
till the middle of October to mature
Some times it takes more. T. have
found in a long experience that 1t
needs from $50 to 175 days There
is some corn called NINETY day corn"
The. ears are small. It takes from 100
!, top120 days for it to mature. but the
corn is small. The large field corn
such as is raised all over the state of
Iowa. needs $50 to IT'S days.
".rhis last spring much of the corn
Was planted late and should have had
till Later In the year to mature
travelled thru the southern part OF the
state recently. Some of the corn IN
a field was dried and nearly matured
while another part of the field was
stilE green. The explanation was SIM
pie. The farmer had started ITO plant
about the 10th of May but it started to
rain and it was ten days or two weeks
before he got back to plant the rest.
That which was late planted was still
green.
"A killing frost at this time of the
wear is sure ito make soft ears all
thru the field On my own farm have
sometimes put in a division in the
| wagon box and as the men picked they
would throw the soft ears i'm one dl-
vision and the ,maltured ears in the
other. Then we would feed the soft
ears at once which would make quite
q saving. Soon after a frost the grains
ioR the soft ears will turn black and
aa old and the corn is of little value for
feed. : s.s.S:s
,aof course there are fields OF corn
IN Iowa this ysar,sr which, because OF
the late planting. could moi possibly
mature unless there, was no frost TIL
IN -Noyember. Such fields couldn't
possibly get thru.
q see some advice Is being given
the. farmers of Iowa not to use arti-
fetal heat in keeping their seed corn
over winter" continued Mr.. Cownie
.'Tiaat is directly opposite to the adj
vice l. have always given and oppo-
site to my experience. 1t cost me 81