Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-12-14
THE NATIONAL CORN SHOW
By Frederic ]. Haskin

is poor farming as compared with that
which the national corn exposition aims
to teach.
The old saying that ''blood will tell"
applies with as much force to plant life
as 1t does to animal life. In one of the
recent text books on corn there is an IL
lustration of the old-fashioned pod corn
ear and the celebrated Pascal Ear"
which was the champion of America in
1907, and which sold for $3.50, or nearly
Is cents per grain. The difference be-
tween a "razorback" and a prize-winning
Poland China hog was never so marked.
A few years ago the various experiment
stations throughout the corn belt began
systematic study of corn. They give
free information and advice to farmers.
The railroads, with an eye to the mil
lions that may flow into their Golfers d.
roctly and indirectly through an enhanced
proauseion of corn, have given their aid
to the movement by furnishing Corn
Gospel Trans" which carry the good news
of the new evangel of progressive farm
ing to all sections. The farmer is given
object lessons of what may be accom-
plished by correct methods. For instance,
he is shown that at a cost of only six
cents per acre TO test the seed he sows,
the farmer may vastly increase his har-
vest. One striking picture held up to him
is that of two fields with only barbed
wire fence dividing them. The seed of
the one was tested. That of the other
was not. The result in the tested field
was n bushels to the acre, and that in
the INFESTED field was IS bushels. All
careful students of corn culture agree
that the application of scientific methods
na frxr oh
easily be brought up to 60 bushels per
acre. At that rate the United States
could supply the world with its corn, and
have enough left to substitute every grain
of wheat grown on the globe.
The versatility of corn surpasses that
of any other grain. At recent EXPOSE
ton no less than 100 separate and distinct
commercial products made from corn
were exhibited. Besides furnishing hu-
man food in many forms, and the cup
that cheers in many varieties, 1t yields the
glucose that constitutes the base of doz-
ems of by-products, edible and otherwise
It produces dextrin and gums used in
sizing and printing cloth. 1t furnishes
starch for the table and starch for the
laundry. The stalk furnishes fodder for
the cattle, cellulose for the protection Of
the vitals of war ships and for the max
ing of smokeless powder.
America expects to make much out OF
its foreign market for corn in the next
decade or two. Eastern Asia is becom-
ing interested in corn as a foodstuff,
and those who have studied the situation
declare that there are not enough yes
sells on the Pacific ocean to carry the vast
stores of corn that will be required to
meet the demand which may be created
in the Orient. Furthermore, other parts
of the world are becoming interested In
this peculiarly American product, and
while Argentina shows some signs of be-
coming a competitor as a corn-growing
nation it will be many years before 1t
will be a formidable rival.
PeIlagra, said to be due to damaged
corn used for human food, is a disease
occurring most frequently I'm Italy and
other southern European countries, where
the corn is of an inferior quality and
where it is improperly curec. Instead OF
jnjuring the export trade in American
corn for human consumption, pellagra
NAV increase the demand, since export
corn is usually the best grown on Ameri-
can soil and can therefore be used with
more confidence than the inferior kinds
grown in southern Europe.