Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1912-03-13

] planting than lt has been u a NUM-
/ Der of years past, declared j. H.
| Harter. government farm demoustrl-
tion agent for this county yesterday
Mr.. Harter had just finished a very
thorough trip through the rural dis
trict Of the county. lie reports that
the farmers are feeling highly clated
over the prospect Tor bumper crop
yield this year
They are just waiting for the
weather TO moderate a little bit, said
! Mr.. Harter, so they can finish the
blowing that was started before the
present rainy season set in. Although
it sounds almost unbelievable, the
fact remains that the ground all over
the county is thoroughly soaked with
moisture TO depth of five and sin
feet. In some eases the soil Is wet
down to Il depth of eight feet.
Mr.. Harter has recently finished
the task of organizing 200 boys and
girls corn clubs I'm Tulsa County.
clubs of this kind have been formed
in nearly every country school I'm the
county. The youngsters are very en-
thusiastio over the work and the dis
plays that will be made by the young
farmers next fan win no doubt be
surprising to many of the adults. Tho
Midland Valley railroad is assisting
greatly in this work, having offered
over S200 in cash prizes for the boy
and girl corn growers. There Will be
a total OF about $500 in cash prizes,
as well as many other premiums OF
value. The exhibits must all be
shown at the Tulsa County Fair next
September and board of judges Will
decide the merits of the respective
entries The fair association has Of
fered a free pass to the fair this year
for every boy and girl member of a
corn club, who enters an exhibit in
agriculture hall at the fair grounds
Under instructions from the United
States Department of Agriculture, Mr.,
Harter is busy urging Tulsa county
farmers to fight the boil weevil.
"One of the most important things
to consider" said Mr.. Harten and
always keep in mind at this season
is the attitude of the farmer toward
the boil weeyil. A rather loose re-
port has been going the rounds Of the
newspapers to the effect that the Sc
we're cold weather Of this winter has
entirely destroyed the boil weevil, ana
that little or no fight need be made
this season. Nothing could be more
erroneous. The only effect of the eX-
treme cold weather will be to reduce
the number of the weeVil COMING
through the winter and therefore re-
duce the number emerging in the
spring. Now whether the farmer has
an easy time or not depends very
largely on what happens after the
weevil emerges. If the farmer pays
no attention to the weevil and the
season is reasonably advantageous foS
the weevil TO multiply, the conse-
quences will be serious to the farmer
in that condition. Especially Is this
true in the alluvial sections and sec
tions of considerable rainfall. If the
farmers keep up the fight by follow
ing the instructions of the Depart
ment of Agriculture in growing the
crop, then the cold weather is going
to be an advantage and Is going to
make his battle easier this year, but
no one should get the deluson into
their heads that the cold weather Is
going to relieve them from making
any fight whatever this year. No at
titude could be more disastrous
There is plenty of proof that the
weevils are in the fields in their hid
ing places, alive at the present time
after all the extremely cold weather
of the winter"
The average yield of oats In Okla
homa has been gradually decreasing
for a number of years, until by many
farmers the crop is no longer consid-
cred profitable, according to Mr. Har-
ter. Previous high yields, fifty BUSH
els or more, are very seldom realized
and when secured. are considered
rather phenomenal. Nevertheless,
there must be some reason for such
Yields ard the explanation usually
comes under one or more of four
heads. First, better preparation Of
the seed bed: second, earlier seeding;
third, heavier seeding; fourth par
ticularly favorable weather condi-
tions.
The oat crop is naturally adapted
to cool, moist conditions. and, there
fore the greater the amount Of
growth that can be secured during
such weather, the greater will be the
Yield This has been cOnclusively
demonstrated and IL has been defl-
nitely shown in many instances that
early seeding, as early as the ground
can be properly prepared for drilling
in the oats Is best. Some seasons
oats "mudded in" will do exception
ally well. but, in general, the seeding
should be done as early as II Is pos
sible to get good seed bed and the
seeding should be done with a disc
drill
Another source of failure Is the use
of light or run OUT seed The best
method to practice in order to avoid
this is to secure northern grown seed
in at least once every two years. and
grade the seed very thoroughly. No
oats should be used for seed unless
they weigh at least thirty-one pounds
per measured bushel preferably
thirty-three or thirty-four. As a gen
eral rule. better success will be Sc
| cured by procuring good early