Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-06-11

so important during that time. A dust
mulch conserves moisture and makes
the growth more vigorous by forcing
the water out through the leaves of the
plant. AS the water is laden with food.
the crop gathers a larger percentage of
nutrition for it's development. You
have evidently prepared your land very
well and you fertilized it with a fair
degree of liberality. We are of the
opinion that you have not used as
much PHOSPHORUS and potash rs you
could have used to advantage, but 1t is
somewhat doubtful whether il will pay
you to apply these materials at this
season of the year. If the crop does
not make a continuous and vigorous
growth and has not a dark rich green
color, top dressing with nitrate of soda
will likely prove profitable. Ordinari-
Iy. from 100 to $50 pounds is about the
right amount to use. This should be
put on about ten days before the corn
punches to tassel. think In most in
stances our people are inclined to put
nitrate on too late in the season. You
should use the nitrate strictly as a tor
dressing and not work ii into the SOIL
MANAGEMENT OF CORN CROPS.
G. e. S., Moultrie, Ga, writes have
two acres in corn. One acre is stin
clay soil. and the other is gray land
with clay subsoil. The land was thor
oughIy broken and SUBSIDIZED, and 10
two-horse loads of compost broadcast
ed on each. At planting we put 500
pounds of a 9-2-3 fertilizer with so
pounds of muriate of potash. The corn
is planted in 1-2-foot rows and
inches apart in the drill Would like to
have suggestions from you as to the
future cultivation and fertilization Of
this corn.
The preparation of the corn land re-
ferred to in your letter was quite
thorough and it certainly should have
been in good condition when seeding
was done. The application of the
amount of fertilizer indicated in con-
junction with the compost should put
the land in good condition to supply the
crop with fair amount of quite read
lily available plant food, and sufficient
power to absorb and hold moisture to
supply the crop fairly well with water
during the growing season. OF course,
the shallow surface cultivation should
be persisted in. This is very import
ant and 1 am at a loss to know why
you should only cultivate every other
row. 1t seems to me 1T would be bet
ter to cultivate every row. 1t may not
| be necessary to go over the crop every
amount Of rainfall and its distribution,
but you should keep a good dust mulch
on it all the time. We are disposed to
think that the fertilizer used was Of
very good grade, especially for stiff
clay land The gray land may not be
| quite so rich, especially if its color is
due to the presence of sand. On this
account for the second and later appli-
cations you might use a 1O-2-5. We
think two side applications of a COM
plete fertilizer would ordinarily be
enough to use on a crop Of this kind.
There is no reason why the amount
should not be increased to 800 pounds,
however, and it is best to put the fer
tilizer on ahead of the cultivator and
work IL into the ground to a depth
of two or three inches. We would be
disposed to increase the per cent of nj
trogen in the side applications to 3 in
stead of 2, as indicated in your letter.
Then top dressing with nitrate of soda
may be in order. This will depend
much on the character of the crop at
the time the nitrate should be applied.
1t should be applied about 10 days be-
fore the corn is punching to tassel. Re
member that too late use of nitrate may
stimulate the growth of stalk at the
expense of grain. Heavy fertilization
and constant and thorough cultivation
will be beneficial with a prolific corn on
land of the character described in your
letter when planted as thickly as indi-
Gated.
GROWING AND -FERTILIZING
SUGAR CANE