The Robesonian., 1910-10-06
CORN GROWING.
Remarkable Success of a Farm
er at Stedman-What lntelli-
gence, Grit and Energy Will
Do,

The following, which appeared
in a recent issue of the Wllmln-
gton Star as a contributed article
and which was called to the at
tention Of The Robesonlan, will
be found of interest:
Mr.. B. F. Keith, of this city,
hearing considerable of the fine
field of corn that Mr.. j. D. Ses-
SONS at Stedman has produced on
land that a few years ago was as
poor as any in this section of the
State, ran up to Stedman especial
" to I.arn Nlr. Seasons mode of
cultiv. ia, and says that there
has been no eXaggeration about
this wonderful growth Of corn,
and the cotton is equally as fine.
1t is sufficient to convince any
pessimist, he says. that the Won
ders and opportunitiesof our east
ern section is away beyond con-
ception. He says furthermore
that 125 bushels per acre is con-
servative estimate for the eight
acre plot of land. Ten or fifteen
years ago three to five bushels
per acre was an average crop on
the same land. The soil is sandy
loan with a clay subsoil and has
been in cultivation near 80 years.
For the last three years he has
cultivated it under the improved
method of farming, changing
the crop from corn to cotton.
Last year he made two and one
half bales of cotton per acre and
the weed is equally as fine this
year where he had his corn last
season, though owing to con-
tinuous rains it may not be so
we'll fruited. Mr.. Seasons COM
menced, as stated, three wears
ago by putting from 5 to Is hay
rack loads of straw and litter
pei acre broadcast, and broad
cast over this, 500 to 800
pounds of IA per cent or 16 per
cent acid phosphate and the same
amount of kainit and from 500 to
1000 pounds of lime, then broke
it up as deep as TWO heavy mules
could turn, then rebroke it until
he had gotten it from II to l6
inches deep. This he does in
December or January, then he
harrows it until he breaks up all
of the clods and lets it remain so
until about the 18th or Goth of
March, when he uses a middle
buster" in laying off his rows,
AZ inches apart, four to six inch.
es deep. He then takes his corn
planter and plants in the furrow
that his middle buster" has
opened, his corn, five to eight
inches apart. which puts it down
several inches below the top of
the ground and prevents the
frosts from injuring it should
there comes a cold spell. He lets
it remain until the corn gets
three to six inches high; then he
uses his cultivator with small
teeth, straddling the rows very
shallow to break the crust tt
kill out any grass or weeds tina
nigAt be coming. In a week OF
ten days he goes over the middle
again with a large tooth cultivat
or, running from three to 81,
inches from the corn, from one t,
TWO inches dep. Up to tais tim
the corn would not indicate !
would make over five bushels pc
acre. Before the st co id work
ing of the cultivator he puts a
pounds of high grade guano
the acre with his distributor
cultlvator, not over two inche
deep, then when his corn
punching for tasse ing he take
his weep and throws a little din
to IL, making the dirt around tn
corn a little above the leve
When the ia ,sels begin to con
out he pats out, broadcast, e
to 25O pounds of nitrate Cf so;
to the &C e il every other hall
on top of the ground. not ALLOW
ing it 10 touch the corn. The
he runs his sweep in the ba
one to two inches deep whit
mixes the nitrate Of sot
thoroughly in the soil I'd pus
es it up near the corn, and t,
days later he puts the san
amount of nitrate of soda in t
other balk and treats it the sar
way. When he does this
field is practically level. with :
least bit of dirt to ;he cor d. N
withstanding there has been
stable manure on this plot
eight acres in % years, yet