Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-05-05
Cultivation of Corn.

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Power. The fertility of the soil de
ponds largely on its original makeup,
with which man has nothing to do.
Man can, however, so manipulate his
soil that he will get the most out OF
the sunshine at the time when 1t Is
most needed: for example, warming
up the soil in the early spring by
cultivating it. While he can not con-
troll the rainfall, he al S o manipulate
his soil as to get the most use OF it
when it is deficient, or get rid of the
surplus where it is superintendent,
He can by proper cultivation keep up
the supply Of vegetable matter always
necessary for a bumper crop, or he
can by bad cultivation 50 taste it
that he gets his soil out OF condition,
and a poor crop will follow, nc matter
how rich in The essential elements of
fertility the soil may be- He can pre-
pare a a~rS.-olaSs seed bed, or he can
make a poor one, and The result will
De apparent when lie comes to har-
vest 1As crop
The c~Qluir4.s0n o, the corn is a very
prominent factor in the production of
the crop a seed bed we'll prepared
is the very best part of the cultiva-
ti0n. it is much easier 70 serve the
ends OF cultivation before the corn is
planted than ii is afterwards; and we
have never yet known a field of corn
TO be properly cultivated unless the
cultivation "a partially given, and a
large part of it, before the corn was
planted OF before it came up.
If We are asked why we cultivate
corn. we reply: Ito get the soil in
such physical condition that the
roots, or rather the rootletS, of the
plant can have the fullest develop
ment and have access to the greatest
number Of particles, from which they
get their food in the shape Of drink,
for plants all take their food in liquid
form. We also cultivate to destroy
weeds and to conserve moisture. AS
suming that the seed bed has been
properly prepared and in the prepar-
alton of it millions of weed seeds in
the soil have been terminated and
| killed before the corn is planted, the
next thing is to destroy other millions
wherever it is possible by germinat-
comes up. This is not always prac-
ticable. but should be pracuiced wher-
ever possible.
The best Instrument with which to
do this is the horse weeder, with
which a boy a cultivate anywhere
from twenty to thirty acres a day,
and do a better job than he can with
almost any other tool. 1t is not al
ways practicable to do this, however,
for the weeder can be used to advant-
age only when the soil is in fine cor
dition and on a sunshiny day. The
next best implement is the harrow;
but even a harrow is inefficient and
may do damage rather than good, if
the soil is not in proper condition and
if the III is not shining. Narrowing
the ground when it is wet, just for
the sake Of narrowing, does little
damage to the weeds, and may do
damage to the land.
Where the seed bed is not the best,
many farmers who a do so, blind
pillow land before the ORR Is up, using
a shovel c%ultivator. This does some
thing towards COMPRISING the bot
tom of the furrow and securing bet
ter capillary action; and if followed
by the harrow and the ground is in
the proper condition, it is probably
the best cultivation that can be given
at that time.
Most farmers fall down in not CIV
ing their corn a sufficient number of
CIVILIZATIONS. We once had a tenant
who cultivated his corn finely until
the Fourth of July, but nothing could
induce him to do any cultivation
after that, no matter how badly the
corr needed it. We did not keep that
man as a tenant. frequently 1t is
wise to cultivate corn when there is
not a weed to be seen, not for the
purpose of killing weeds, but for the
purpose Of conserving moisture. I'm
der these circumstances, the cultiva-
tion should by all means be shallow.
the object being simply to form a
mulch Of loose, dry dirt, and conserve
moisture.
We are often asked how deep we
should cultivate corn, or how shall
low. We cannot give any specific
answer to that question. II the land
is weedy, cultivation must be deep
enough to kill the weeds, even II there
is some laceration of the corn roots;
but il the land is clean and can be
plowed both ways, then we would by
all means use shallow cultivation.
Sometimes deeper blowing Is neces-
sary, however. For example, last
year we had a farmer complain to us
that down underneath his mulch of
dry dirt there was a hard stratum OF
clay, and his land dried out. We did
not "know how this could happen II
the eed bed had been properly pre-
pared; but when such conditions exist
this clay must be broken up.
Therefore the depth or shallowness
OF cultivating corr will depend on