The Elbert County tribune., 1912-07-19
CORN ON A DRY FARM
Keystone Of Success Is Con-
servation Of Rainfall.
Enough Of Crop Should Be Grown to
Supply Work Horses With Rough
age In Winter and Supple
ment Summer Pastures.

In all the dry farming areas the con
servaticn of the rainfall In the
soil where 1t becomes available to
growing crops is the keystone OF sue
cessful agricultural operations. says
the Northwestern Agriculturist
This is. generally done by the cul-
tlvation OF the soil during the entire
growing season. II no crop is pro-
duced on the land this operation IS
called summer fallow or summer cul-
ture. over most of the dry farming
area nearly II not as good grain
crops can be grown following cul-
tiyated crop as on summer fallowed
land.
When the bare fallow system is
used whole year elapses without
any returns either on the investment
or for the labor performed. If cul-
tivated crop can be grown with as
good crops following It should more
than pay its expense, which will con-
sist of the cost of seed. planting and
harvesting; the cultivation would
have to be done anyway. 80 this
should not be counted against the
cost of production of crop of corn.
Corn is pre-eminently this crop
hrst-because It produces an abun.
dance of cheap feed--second-it
shades the soil during the excessive
y hot days of July and August.
thereby preventing loss of soil fer
tility. and third-a cornfield has
cooling rather than heating In
duence on the winds that blow across
1t.
On most farms in the dry farming
area enough live stock should be
! kept to pay most of the running ex-
penses of the farm Hay and pas
turage are very short In such areas
and consequently too dear for cheap
live stock production. Enough corn
should be grown to supply, first. the
work horses with roughage during
the winter, II not the working sea
son; second, to supplement the pas
lures of the summer and fall as q
soiling crop or In the form of en-
silage and to form the bulk OF their
winter I1tion; third, to supply the
sheep and hogs a cheap fattening
food for finishing them off in the
tall.
The first essential to corn culture on
the dry farms is live stock, for
utilizing the corn crop, but II live
stock are kept, feed must be had;
the corn crop can be converted into
beef. pork, mutton, wool, butter and
eggs. commodities that can always
be converted into cash or It's equiva-
lent
The second essential to corn cul-
ture is a conviction that 1t will pay
to grow live stock on the corn crop
produced and determination to
grow corn as their chief feed in spite
Of adverse circumstances. In order
TO be successful in growing corn on
dry farm the selection of the
proper variety is essential. In west
ern North Dakota and eastern Mon
tana, Squaw, Gebu, Mercer. King
Phillip and Triumph will probably
prove the best flint varieties, while
Golden Dent and Northwestern Dent
will probably prove the best dent
varieties. II should always germinate
strong and 90 per cent. or better.
The time to seed is from the 10th
to the 18th of May in a well pre-.
pared seed bed which has been ma.
nured and plowed the fall before and
which has been narrowed at inter
Yals from the time the soil had
thawed out In the spring until the
time of seeding. Thorough cultiva-
lion Is very important. as it warns
the soil, decreases evaporation Of
soil water, and forces the corn ahead
very rapidly. On the dry farms the
corn should be cultivated after every
rain as soon as possible in order to
bottle all water possible in the soil.
AS soon as the corn is cut the land
should be disked lightly>but 1t should
lot be plowed. Should any heavy
soaling rains come after this In the
,all the land should again be har-
owed In the spring wheat should
be sown as early as possible but
very rarely should the corn land be
plowed before seeding wheat