The Forrest City times., 1911-02-24

township being the
 standard unit of organization-and there are
 county clubs in about 600 different counties
 Circulars of instruction. prepared by Dr. s. A
 Knapp, the government expert, who is the Sol
 omon of this movement, prepared and
 sent several times during the year to each n
 divdual boy who is enrolled in this work.
 Seed selection and the preparation of the
 soil are taken up first in these courses of in
 struction by mail Supplemented by the advice
 Of the field workers of the department who
 are continually travelling about to supervise
 and give practical instruction.) All the boys
 who the biggest prizes paid very careful
 attention to the instructions this and plowed their acres from eight to sixteen inches deep and thoroughly puverized their seed beds Even careful advice is given the boys on the very vital subject of fertilization and why many of these lads have at the first go of gotten better corn crops than their fathers have ever been able to produce with all their perience back of them Is that the youngsters have of the contempt of the old fogies for new-fangled ideas and have been not only willing but eager to master a general knowledge of nitro gen. potash, phosphorus. etc, agricultural aids and the effect of leaves wood mold. barnyard manure, etc.
 The whole plan of computing and comparing yields in this country ywide corn growing competi- tion is done in the most systematic and business like manner With swarms of keenly interested boys watching each others crops like hawks there is not much opportunity for deception of any kind, but in addition to this insurance of pub licity of methods and yields the department of agriculture has it's officers in the field all the while and they rigidly investigate any pcious reports just the field workers of the United States have been probing into the enumeration in any town city that seemed to show undue increase in population since the last census Be 1t said to the credit of the boy corn growers that almost none of them have fallen under suspicion any score.
 In making up the records of the young corn growers and awarding the prizes that offered the government officials take into consideration other things than the mere crop yield, regardless of cost of cultivation and every other factor Indeed. in making awards there are considered in addition to yield the cost per bushel the best ten ears of corn raised and the written history of the crop prepared by the boy who raised It. Not all the boys who won the big prizes and were personally congratulated by President Taft in the White House at Washington made the largest yields in their states. The economical side was ayways taken into consideration in giving out the prizes and in apportioning the diplomas of merit which Secretary Wilson personally pre- sented to the boys who called him at Wash ington
 The boys who have won rank as Uncle Sam's champion corn growers in every instance made good" by exhibiting their prize products at their respective county fairs where their neighbors could with their own eyes what they accom-. plished by the new method of tilling the soil In many counties the distribution of the county prizes for growing was made a redletter event this past autumn and many as 000 to l.500 persons have assembled at a county seat