Morris tribune., 1911-02-03
Growing Pop Corn.

sOta University Farm.
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i One of the grsatly.neglected crops
suitable for this state Is pop corn.
. There is practically NO portion Of the
Northwest which ought not to pro-
! duce all the pop corn needed for home
consumption, instead of buying 1t
through Twin City or Chicago jobbing
houses, as at present. It is of the
easiest culture, and any farmer-boy or
girl should easily be able to grow a
plantation large enough to supply the
family needs and have some left to
dispose Of to the local market.
It Is a crop which can be readily
! converted into cash when harvested.
! The price varies from so cents to $4
per hundred weight for the shelled
corn. The yield is about 1000 to 1900
| pounds per acre; often running up as
high as 1000 pounds with certain vari-
eties, on good soil and in favorable
seasons. Most of the supply nova
days comes from Northeastern Ne.
Iowa grower crops more than thou
sand acres annually. The cost of pro-
duction ranges from S12 to SIS per
acre, and the cash profit is seldom
less than S25 per acre.
The soil for the crop should be
given the same preparation as for
sweet corn. Fall-plowed clover or
stubble land will be best. The ground
should be fairly rich. A dressing of
manure may be given before ploWing;
but it should be disced thoroughly into
the top soil before it is turned under
In the spring the ground should be
disced or dragged as soon as it can
be worked Then replow it; pack it
If 1t seems loose, and disc thoroughly
at frequent intervals up to seeding
time, to save the moisture and cause
the soil to warm up.
In May, when danger of frost Is
past, it may be planted with an ordi-
nary corn-planter, drilling 1t in with
the smallest-holed blades to be had.
Another satisfactory way is to stop
up the required number of openings on
a wheat drill, set the drill to the
proper size, and drill it in. If this
plan is followed a press drill must be
used in order that the soil shall be
packed over the kernels. By this
method the rows can be made little
closer, thing which may be bene-
fetal if the soil is rich. The seed
as is used for field-corn seed. It
should be tested, tipped, and graded
just as accurately as for that crop.
When the plants come up, cultiva-
tion should be begun at once. Prob
ably as good tool as any for the cul-
tivation will be the harrow tooth cul-
tivator used for truck crops: The
crop should receive shallow and fire.
quent cultivation and the working
should be kept up until the ground
is completely shaded.
There are two ways of harvesting,
ing from the shock, and husking from
the standing corn. Generally the lat
ter method will be found the more de-
sirable, because of the loss often occa-
stoned by rats and mice in the shocks
while the crop is curing. Corn which
has been gnawed or which has be-
come "mousey'' from the urine of
these little animals, can only be used
for stock feed.
There is a general impression among
users that the kernels will not pop to
their best advantage until they have
been kept in storage at least year,
but this is not necessarily true. Pop
ping depends on the amount of mois-
ture contained in starch cells of the
corn. 1t must reach only certain
stage of dryness. This is usually
found in corn naturally dried at air
temperatures for a season. This cur
ing must be done on the cob. When
shelled, even at the proper degree OF
dryness, it's popping qualities deterior'
ate rapidly. On the cob it will keep In
definitely Corn that has lost its pop.
ping qualities from being shelled or
from becoming too dry can often be
restored by soaking it for twelve
hours in tepid water, then drying it at
about 85 degrees for twenty-four hours.
Any one anticipating the growing
of the crop on large scale should
be provided with ample curing cribs
or bins, and with storage-rooms which
are vermin-proef. In these it can be
stored in the ear, and shelled and sold
as the market demands it. Otherwise,
he will get the best results by selling
to a commission man Immediately
after harvesting. The price will aver
age lower, but he will not have the
loss from shrinkage, pests, and poor
storage.
The best varieties to plant comprise
the White Rice, the Red Rice, the
Pearl varieties, the Tom Thumb, the
Mapledale Prolific, and the Queens
Golden. The last two are heavier
.yielders and are usually good peppers,
but they are sometimes Disseminated