The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-01
WILLIAMSON CORN METHOD EXPLAINED Interesting Letter By the Origi-
 nator of Plan FAMOUS CORN PLANTER Finding Himself In Desperate Straits Like the Majority of Southern
 Farmers MT. Williamson
 Evolves His Ildea.

A great deal has been said and writ of corn growing. Many farmers in Ala bama have tried the method with emil nent success. Many others are not fa- miliar with the method. The following letter by E. McEver Williamson. the or iginator of the method, which was con tributed to the Columbia, S. C.. State, will be read with interest,"
 In 1885 I began to farm on a sandy slightly rolling place. It had been un- der exhaustive cultivation for many years and the soil was thin, making about 600 pounds of seed cotten per acre. when well cultivated by the use of 400 pounds of fertilizer. costing s4, or 10 bushels of corn with s2 worth of fertil- izer.
 followed the old way of early ferti- lizing. planting high. working rapidly. and buying corn. It always made a big. flourishins stalk. and was an an- nual joy in the spring and in the fall I was in annual sorrow. I knew that the farmer who did not make provi- sions always failed sooner or later and in my case ell signs pointed to 1t being sooner. So I applied moro fertilizer at planting times and gave it more work. It grew still larger than before. and made even less, and I continued to buy corn was getting out of truoble near ly as fast as the frog was getting out of the well.
 ho1 al fn, r,olr corn on much smaller stalks. had laughed at them in the spring and they at me in the fall, they always. how ever, laughing last So profiting by their success, as well as my failure, l began to plant lower, and fertilize later. but 1t was not until I had allowed 1t to stand on a small ridge with the second working furrows left open on both sides that the stalk could be forced to give proper attention to making its ear.
 The smallness of the stalk itself now suggested that 1t could be planted thicker in the drill.
 Thus for more than ten years kept on studying and experimenting. planting lower and thicker. ana stunting the stalk kTOWtLe Hlt0I Wn4Cn dli lcTlllZ6IB W0To applied, nitrads of soda seing saved for last blowing. My yield gradually in- creased, until in 1904, when with $11 worth of fertilizer per acre the yield was s4 bushels per acre, on my crop of ten acres the land being good rows six feet apart, and corn Il inches in drill. I was then convinced that the principles of the meth cd were correct, and that by its use corn could be made moro profitable than cotton. So in 1905 I increased my crop to 70 acres on poorer land, and made 52 bushels per acre, with N.e1 in fertil- izers; rows six feet apart and 18 inchea in drill In 1908. on 75 acres, with $6.6s fertilizers per acre. I made 60 bushels per acre; rows six feet apart and 11 inches in drill In 1907. 6 acres yielded 65 bushels per acrs, with ss.N fertilizers per acre stand irregular from hail; rows six feet apart
 The year 1905 was very dry here at ear ing time.
 The year 1908 was entirely too wet
 Tho 1Su crop was greatly injured by hai1 on June 12.
 This method. which has been 90 sue csssfully followed in this section. is gfver Aa dstaii. With such uodincations q