The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-01-31
ALL OTHER CROPS ARE
JUST SOIL BUILDERS
While Maximum Crops Are Be-
ing Grown in Every Neigh
borhood, the Average Yield
OF State Too Low.
r. A. Coleman.
ARTICLE NO. !.

The initiated may ask why all
this talk about corn?' The answer is
very simple. Corn is Indiana's great
money crop. The other crops are
grown merely to complete the rotation
or as soil builders while corn, either
cashed in or fed to live stock. Is the
great revenue producer OF our agri
sculturists.
ask, rs all this expenditure OF money
and energy worth while?'' Are We
mot growing enough corn" Granting
that every neighborhood has men who
are growing maximum crops, yet the
average yield OF the state is far below
what 1t should be and IL this is true
what about the fellow who is at the
bottom of this productive scale? On
the other hand IL all the corn work,
corn trains, farmers institutes, and
district corn schools resulted in the
increase of our yield but single BUSH
el to the acre, with our four and a
half million acres annually devoted to
the production of this cereal, and the
value Of that increase placed at the
low price of forty cents per bushel,
we can see at q glance the vast mater
Sal increase in our agricultural wealth.
We do not desire these additional
bushels merely that We may have more
dollars. but more dollars that we may
have better necessities, more Injuries,
more education, more culture, a bet
ter farm folk.
The First Step Taken.
The first step in the matter of corn
improvement is of course suitable
variety, a variety that has producing
power. If we have not that variety
but rather one that has run out, let
ais not waste precious years in an en-
deavor to bring up this variety, rather
buy seed from near neighbor who
has been improving his corn from
year to year until he has it at high
standard of excellence.
After we have the variety of corn
1--WE desire, the next step in this matter
OF more and better corn is to select
out those ears that will grow. Since
It only requires fourteen ears to plant
each acre, and il we expect to harvest
seventy or more bushels from each
acre planted to corn, it is evident that
shach seed ear must produce Ave or
more bushels. How important then is
It that each Of these fourteen seed ears
have strong vitality.
Should Test Each Ear.
The only sure way to know that an
ear will grow is to see it growing. So
let us test each ear that there may be
no failure attributable to our negli-
gence. To do this take box about
three inches deep and as large as may
be desired. About half an inch below
the top bore small holes two inches
apart around the box. Through these
holes run No. 16 wire across and
back from side to side and from end
10 end, the intersections forming
small squares similar to those on q
checker board. Fiji the box with clean
sand or garden soil up to the wires.
| Lay the corn out on the floor Of an
unused room placing the ears side by
side. From the first ear take five kerr
nels In such manner that they repre-
sent all parts of the ear. This is i'm
portant for it not infrequently hap
pens that an ear Is damaged on one
side while it Is good on the other.
Keep at 70 Degrees.
Place these five kernels In the up
per left hand square Of the seed test