The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-02-09
The Selection Of Variety.

ceSSIully we muSL Know lt0 real ma
ture. We cannot hope to get the
highest yield Of milk and butterfat
from beef breeds Of cattle; equally so
with corn. We cannot hope to get
the highest yield Of protein content in
our stover when we want the ears Of
corn to supply our hogs and poultry.
We must first determine whether
we shall raise corn solely for it's
stover, or solely for its grain or is It
our aim to get, II possible. good all
round crop-a variety that will pro-
duce fairly good ears, high enough
from the ground to be caught by the
corn harvester, that will mature in
about ninety days and at the same
time give good forage. Your purpose
in raising corn being, decided, you
are ready to take the next step and
that Is the selection Of seed.
The Selection of Seed.
In selecting our seed we must bear
in mind that the character. compost
ton and growth of the corn is large
ly affected by the climatic conditions,
the physics Of the soil, available
plant food. the amount Of humus and
nitrogen in the soil and the precipi-
tation. We have discovered by ex-
perience that the plants repay hun
dred fold for every care bestowed
upon them and this is especially true
Of the tender semt-tropical plant
known as maize or Indian corn. It
therefore behooves you to study in
tensely the conditions above mention
ed for upon your complying with ma
ture's demands will depend your
final crop value. Corn breeding and
seed selection form other talks and
I hasten on to bigger field with
still more serious results.
Cultivation Of the Corn Plant.
In discussing the cultivation Of
corn and the preparation of the seed
bed we Immediately meet the man
who knows (?) ten times more than
you do on this or that point. He
says he raised corn by the thousands
of bushels down in Iowa. or in Ne
braska or Illinois, but If we question
Ia little further, we find he is raising
but little corn in North Dakota and
his advice is non-applicable. In my
study and observations l am convinc-
ed that we can raise corn of most
excellent quality to pay much larger
returns than wheat or the other
small grains. But one thing is GER
tain and that Is, you must do more
work on your seed-bed than the av-
erage farmer has been putting in his
seed-bed for wheat
Depth.
From our experimental work we
the cultivation that brings the great
ret,,res @o Dl4v, <h -
ground as early In spring as the
! ground becomes sufficiently dry mot
so dry that 1t dusts nor SO wet as to
enable you to make mud bafls) hav-
,, ing previously hauled thereon with a
manure spreader a goodly supply Of
we'll rotted manure or fresh stable
manure. Plow to a depth of eight or
nine inches. Before leaving the field
thoroughly drag the ground and i'm
mediately follow this with a good
packer and roller. Thoroughly drag
a~,nin and If the soil is still quite
!, &e and dry give another packing
followed by narrowing. Drag this
ground each week until May 10 or is
when corn should be planted. Fol-
low the planting with good cross
narrowing and keep dragging your
field every five or six days until corn
is at least two or three inches high
the last time dragging. however.
should be done on bright sun-shiny
day after the dew Is off.
Shallow Cultivation.
The first cultivation should be CIV
en- with a cultivator but under no
conditions should the soil be cult
waited to a depth greater than two
and one-half inches. On our plats
last year we found that the roots
twenty-five days after planting we're
within three inches Of the surface
at distance of four inches from the
stock. At thirty days the roots had
gone downward to a depth Of twelve
inches. The lateral roots had gone
out to a distance Of eight inches and
here began an oblique descent. You
will notice here the absolute necessi-
ty for shallow cultivation.
One plot was planted May Z; an
other May IA. On June 25. forty-two
days after planting the roots had
penetrated to a depth of two feet and
had almost reached from hill to hill
g feet inches) with complete net
work Of interlacing. The lateral and
vertical roots having abundant hair
like rootlets which absorb moisture
and plant food. On July another
examination was made and again on
September 13 but these facts do not
concern our present discussion. Let
me say right here that one principle
cannot be disregarded and then ex-
pect maximum yield. In cold, hard
or wet soils the tiny roots Of the
corn plant will not go deep down:
they will remain very near the sur
face where they can get the solar
heat, carbon. and oxygen. One pur-
pose Of deep plowing and turning
down a goodly supply Of manure Is
to add nitrogen, carbon. heat and
humus where we want the roots to
develop into the greatest possible
system.
If the soil is thus properly prepar-
ed and packed. the root system will
extend to a depth Of two feet and
i laterally from ten to twelve inches in
the first forty days growth. II this
be accomplished then the plant will
he able to care for itself In case Of
extreme drouth, or, irrespective of
the rainfall during the growing sea-