The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-04-13
Farmers Plant for Three Billion
Crop for l910-Moden Methods
Are Adopted.
wmAr Acnn or COM COSTS.
az rues-E, KISSES.

KANSAS CITY, Mo, April l3.-To-
day million farmers and more in the
great American corn belt have started
upon wonderful campaign-they're
plowing the ground sowing the seed
/ and planning for next fall the record
crop of 5000. 1000 900 bushels Of corn,
valued at sl00S 00,001,000.
4 more corn to the acre. That's
the campaign cry OF the corn belt.
Which means: No more haphazar6
planting; no more neglect OF the soil;
no more poor seed.
The lesson has been driven home at
last Everywhere in this country the
farmer who has secured the best seed.
fed his SOIL well and titled the growing
acres scientifically. has had much big
ger crops that his neighbor who did IL
all In the old way. And so the neigh.
Dor has come TO it, tens of thousands
Of them as the etefy -ef-t this spring
planting shows.
The best example OF the new. for
tune-making farming | found in John
con county, Ind, on the farm OF Leon
ard B. Clore. corn king OF the world"
winner OF more medals and cups for
corn quality than any other man in the
country. | found MIN In his corn field,
directing the blowing force. The corn
king" rs now in his fortythird year, a
broad-shouldered man with pleasant
face and manner. He isn't corn
king" because OF his large production.
for he has only 12S acres, but because
OF the fac. that he gets more kernels
upon the ear and more ears TO the
stalk than any ether corn grower on
Garth.
Anybody can raise some kind or
corn" he told me. but when We see
the fat fields of the thrifty farmer, the
arched neck and noble bearing Of the
wellbred horse, the fat, sleek cattle,
we cannot but realize that there is
something in the principle OF breeding
end selection. Good corn is not an ac-
cideDt. Il is a development OF seed,
assisted by scientific treatment OF the
soil"
From the little farm where quality
Is the thing sought for, speedej
through the coru states. Everywhere,
KING Corn was coming into his own.
Millions and millions of acres were
being broken up; the plow everywhere
had the right OF way In a few ia
yored places the seed was going in.
The farms back east looked more
like truck gardens after | had been
ever the $4,000 acre farm of David
Rankin, near Tarl.io. Mo. After | had
talked with that S5-year-old corn raiser
/. ana s,oeS.naz IA hfs little loxl0 Office
back OF the Tarkio bank, 7 began to
understand how it was that America
raises more than three-fourths OF all
tho oOrt, eyro$up IN fba world
/ began TO see why We harvest near
ly four bushels Of corn to every bushel
of wheat. and why our corn crop last
year was worth three times as much
as our wheat crop. Wheat goes int
the family -four bin, while corn-s0
per cent OF it-comes TO the table IN
the shape OF pork chops, steaks and
roasts. That's how the corn farmer
gets biggest profits. And the more
bushels he can force out Of his acres.
the more profits.
Rankin has farmed for more than
65 years But he has not farmed the
way most farmers farm, for when T
asked him How many bushels OF corn
will you sell this fall?" he stared in a
manner that fully expressed his pity
for my ignorance.
SELL replied the biggest farmer in
Missouri, why | don't sell corn by
the bushel; sell it by the hundred
weight OF meat at the Omaha and Chi
cago stockyards. | am planting $4,000
acres Of corn right now and I'll have
to buy corn to get all my steers into
shape this fall
Two hundred horses and mules,
nearly as many men, all bossed by
Rankin, are blowing the ground. Upon
one of his corn fields, 6,O00acre field
the largest corn field in the world
I saw 40 big plows turning the stubble
under; as many harrows following
closely; and scores OF men ready 20
place the corn seed in the thousands
of rows
What" | asked Abner Funk. who
owns five large farms near Blooming
ton, H.. and who is the largest corn
raiser in Illinois, the king pin corn
state of them all, what makes good
corn PRODUCER"
We'll" replied he in his 1.000-acre
corn field, good seed, most OF all.
plenty OF contented help. and a knowl-
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