Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1909-01-20
1855 ,'.s-,s OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
SJUTHERN
AGRICULTURE
SUCCESSFUL CORN CULTURE.
An Instructive Article on the Raisin!
Of Corn, by e. Mclver Williamson,
In Atlanta Constitution.

In 1885 l began to farm on sand.
slightly rolling place. 1t had been un
der exhaustive cultivation for man!
years, and the soil was thin, making
about six hundred pounds of seed co;
ton per acre, when well cultivated b!
the use of four hundred pounds of fer
tiIizer, costing 81, or ten bushels o.
corn with so worth of fertilizer.
/ followed the old way of early fer
tilizing, planting high, working rapid
ly, and buying corn. 1t always made
a big, flo~rishing stalk, and was an an
nual joy in the spring, and in the fall
was in annual sorrow. ! knew that
the farmer who dill not make provis
ions always failed sooner or later, and
in my ease all signs pointed to it be
ingssooner. So I applied more fertiliz'
er at planting times, and gave 1t more
work. 1t grew still larger than before,
and made even less, and | continued
to buy corn. was getting out OF
trouble nearly as fast as the frog was
getting out or the well.
l had seen real farmers make more
corn on much smaller stalks. i had
laughed at them in the spring and
they at me in the fall they always
however, laughing last. So profting
by their success, as well as my fail
ure, | began to plant lower, and fer
ttize later, but ii was not until | had
allowed it to stand on a small ridge
with the second working burrows left
open on both sides, that the stalk
could be forced to give proper atten'
ton to making its ear
The sma.ness of the stalk itself now
suggested that it could be planted
thicker in the drill.
Thus for more than ten years / KEPT
on studying and experimenting, plant
ing lower and thicker, and stunning
the stalk growth, after which all fer,
tilizers were applied, nitrate OF soda
being saved for last ploughing. My
WELD gradually increased, until in
1904, when with $11 worth of fertilizer
per acre, the yield was "a bushels per
acre, on my crop of ten acres, the
land being good rows six feet apart,
and corn eleven inches in drill.
was then convinced that the principles
of the method were correct, and that
by it's use corn could be made more
profitable than cotton. So in 1905
increased my crop to seventy acres on
poorer land and made 50 bushels per
acre, with SOL in fertilizers; rows 6
feet apart and 16 inches in drill. In
=. 1906, on rs acres, with $3.50 fertili-
gers per acre. l made 60 bushels per
acre. rows six feet apart and Is inches
in.xdrill In 1907, 65 acres yielded
So bushels per acre, with 1887 ferti-
Sers per acre, stand irregular from
Mil; rows feet apart.
1905 was very dry here at earring
time.
1906 was entirely too wet
1907 crop was greatly injured by hail
on June -.
This method, which has been so
successfully followed in this section, is
given in detail. With such modifica-
lions as any practical farmer can
make to suit his own soil and climate
believe that it can be used with
much profit throughout the entire
south, especially upon sandy soils.
The tools named are such as every
enehorse farmer has Labor-saving
implements can be u Cor l have
known crop practical hade with
twohorse riding disc cttivator. 1t is
my purpose, however, to keep this
method within reach of the one-horse
farmer, and to so describe it that he
MAY derive it's full benefit with the
tools that he has and under the con-
ditions by which he is surrounded, and
not to tell him how well he might sue
coed by using things that he cannot
get This method may seem to call
for a great deal of work and much
running up and down the rows making
corn than up and down the road buy
ing it.
and subsoiling than light, sandy soils.
Therefore Asplough your land as it may
require during the winter. | Go not
break up more than one-fourth deep
err than land has been ploughed before.
Do not plough land when it is wet,
no matter how far behind in your
work it will pay to wait until it is in
proper condition, even though you
plant less, for it will produce more,
Especially is this true at planting
time and when ploughing near grow.
ing crops.
Lay off land in rows six fet apart,
and bed on these burrows with turn
plough until only a tive-inch balk is
left between these beds When ready
to plant break out this balk with six
inch shovel, or scooter, and follow