The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-10-12
HUGE CORN CROP
RAISED BY CAPT. j. W. BUNCH AT
THE ASYLUM FARM.
Will Gather an Average of One Hun.
dred Bushels Per Acre OIL One
Hundred Acres.

dred Bushels Per Acre Oh One
Hundred Acres.
The Columbia Record of Thursday
tells of a wonderful corn crop made
by Capt. J. W. Bunch on the farm of
the State Asylum in Columbia. Here
are the facts as given by the Record:
Capt. j. w. Bunch has grown on
the farm of the State Hospital for the
Insane a 1O0-acre crop of corn that
will easily run 100 bushels to the
acre-and this within ten minutes
walk of the State capitol. No fancy
figuring is required to arrive at this
estimate of the yield. So many tests
have been made and these have been
so distributed over the fields as tc
indicate on their face a production
considerably in excess of the amount
mentioned; but Capt. Bunch prefers
to err on the side of conservatism
and says: Let 1t stand 100 bushels;
at that, 1t Is probably the best corn
crop in South Carolina"
And the value and interest of Capt
Bunch's exemplifcation of the gentle
art of corn culture is the greater fol
the reason that it Is on a large scale
Capt. Bunch has not taken a selected
acre, of special fertility, spent money
extravagantly upon artificial manures
and endeavored to force a prize yield
| without reference TO the cost pei
bushel of the product. Such exam
pies have little practical value as
contributions to the sun of agricul'
tural knowledge. Capt. Bunch has
taken a problem such as every far,
mer faces; he has had in mind, JUS
as the private planter has, the show
ing of a balance on the right side Of
the ledger at harvest time, and ht
has worked it out with just labor
tools, machinery, seed and fertilizer
as the average farmer planting or
this scale has.
1t may be urged that the land!
Capt. Bunch used as In fine tiltn
rich, we'll drained and in good me
chanical condition. This may be suf
~fciently answered by saving tina
when Capt. Bunch took charge o
these lands they were considered o
low value for agricultural purposes
typical Richland sand, with a ella.
subsoil, their fertility low and consid
cradle tracts swampy. If now the.
are among the most productive land
in the South, rich and well drained
it Is simply because they have BEEF
we'll used. Capt. Bunch has mixe'
brains with his fertilizer-and hi
knowledge Of farming was not &C
quired In college either. He is n
mere dabbler in agriculture. Las
year he made this fam, with its %
acres under cultivation, yield $50,
900.
Capt. Bunch, you do not let you
land rest even at night" visitors hav
Frequently said, after an inspection
of the farm. 1t is true that ever,
acre is required to yield its maximum
and that constantly, but then Cap
Bunch for his part plays fair wit
his soil. C~rop-making constituent
taken from it this year are faithfully
returned to it the next.
Stable manure produced on tn
place goes back into the soil. TIL
necessity of humus Is never forgot
ten The variety of crops grown |
not sufficient to permit of a four
crop rotation, but two exhaustinl
crops are never required of the sam
tract in succession. The swamp,
low grounds are tile drained. TIL
asylum farms gets a square deal ant
responds with bumper crops. 1t ha'
enjoyed Capt. Bunch's equal give
and-take policy for 20 years and th'
result is that it is a farm which
gladdens the heart of any man wht
ever loved the soil.
Capt. Bunch does not follow the
Williamson method Of corn-growing
Il would not be understood as con
demning 1t. though" he said Thurs
day For the lands on which il
was originated. level, sandy. Pee DEF
soils, it is, I believe, the best sys'
tenn; but to use it would be a mis-
take on lands of such filth as these
here. We tried 1t and found tina
on our farm it caused a decrease OF
25 to 35 bushels per acre below the
normal yield"
1t is figured that the al corn
harvested from corn tracts on the
asylum farm is clear profit. the ex'
pense being met by the fodder, and
stalks and the ensilage yielded by
grass and the peas broadcasted
through the crop. The bulk of the
corn crop this season is of the MARI
borough stock. Experiments with
the Bats corn have been ~disappoint-
ing. This is the seed with which
Mr.. Bats of Raleigh is said to have
secured a prize-acre yield of 226
bushels per acre last year.
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