The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-07-03
CORN RECORD HELD
BY SOUTHERN BOY
South Carolina Lad, 10 Years
Harvested 228 Bushels
in One Acre.
palladium Specially


Chicago, ILL.,, July 3.-W. L. Park.
vice president Of the Illinois Central
Railway Company and a member OF
the board OF control of the 10Th Ma
tional Irrigation Congress, which
meets here this year. is directing the
attention of men interested in the con-
gress to what he declares is the best
concrete example he has yet found OF
the agricultural value of the soil de-
posits in the areas of swamp and over
flowed lands. Of which there are prac-
tically 100000 acres capable OF rec
lamation.
The railway officials case in point
has to do with the South Carolina boy
Jerry Moore, 13 years old, who last
fall harvested 22S bushels OF corn
from one acre of ground, establishing
a record for the year that made him
the champion corn grower Of the
world
This Is record" Mr.. Park said,
"that will do more for agriculture than
any other accomplishment OF similar
nature during the last decade. But
how did this boy obtain his enormous
yield. Simply by going into the swamp
near his farm and taking 200 wagon
loads of the rich swamp dirt, which he
scattered over his field the first win
ter. This he did that winter merely
as a means OF fertiIizing his land The
second winter he made up his mind to
go after the corn raising record, for
which a good prize had been offered.
so he took 300 wagon loads OF swamp
dirt the second winter and put it on
his field Following that, in the spring.
he put forty-five wagonloads of man
ure on the field. then double plowed
the Aeld to a depth of fourteen inches.
All that remained after that was for
the corn to grow up, ripen and mark a
new record for acre production
Shows Possibilities.
"The simple method followed by
young Moore makes easily apparent
the crop growing possibilities of our
swamp soils and, what Is far more i'm
portant, the reclamation possibilities
of our cwamp and overflowed local.
ties. There Is room in these swamp
areas for thousands of farm homes. as
reclaimed swamp land, somewhat like
irrigated land, is capable of such pro-
duction that small acreage Is suffici-
ent for one farm home. We estimate
that the population of this nation will
be 150,000,O00 people by 1850, and
believe myself that 1t will be more
than that. For this reason we can
see the necessity of furthering swamp
land reclamation. as well as all other
methods of peopling the localities
where fertile lands are non-producing,
for these homes will all be needed in
years to come. The National Irrigation
Congress, long Of great influence in
the West, now has launched far
reaching movement by it's resolutions
passed at recent sessions looking to-
wards definite help for the states con-
tanning large areas of swamp lands
and by so doing 1t further establishes
itself as body of national importance.
II already having won that place thro-
ugh it's efforts and results for the
West"
Young Moore, who sent to Washing.
ton where he met President Taft and
other government dignitaries after he
had been awarded the corn growing
prize, has prepared what government
experts who visited HIS marin declared
was the best seed bed they had ever
seen for his next years crop. On this
field he Is to attempt a greater har.
vest next year than the prize winner
OF 1910.