The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-08-20

SHOWN the South how to raise corn,
and while his method is being used
To great advantage by thousands, the
'act that our state continues to i'm
pert corr proves that his advice has
not been needed by great number
Of our farmers.
Mr.. Williamson's revolutionary dis
coveries were at first bitterly attacked
by many OF the agricultural author
tiles of the South and while the re-
suits so widely obtained in this State
nave silenced some of them, there
are still, l think, quite a number
who are unconv;noed.
The year after Mr.. Williamson an
nounced his method l planned a Sc
ries OF experiments to test it's efficien-
cy. After discussing my plans with
several of the authorities of the ma
tional department of agriculture, /
decided to make my test OF the Will
hanson method against q method
Identical with his except that the
stunting feature should be left out
This involved level planting, rapid cul-
ture and the early application Of fer
tilizers to one plot while the William
son plot was, of course, planted and
cultivated strictly according to his
methods. Both plots were we'll pre-
pared, seeded 10 the same variety and
to the same distances in drill and row
These tests We're not intended to show
the benefit of the Williamson method
as against the old method formerly
employed, but were meant solely to
answer socalled scientific critics who
had so earnestly inveighed against it,
These experiments have now ex-
tended over period Of i've years. An
accident happened to one of the 1911
plots and will not mention that just
here. During the other four years
the experiments were carefully car
ried to completion without accident,
all work, except the ordinary cultiva-
ton, being done by young men of edu-
cation and experience. The average
Of these four years shows a gain for
the Williamson method of 1905
bushels per acre. Every year the
Williamson method plots were stunt
ed severely, and in some instances we
had to bar them off with turn plows
cutting roots by the wholesale in or
der to get the proper effect. CT might
mention just here that some years
ago l plowed up and set out who'll.
row OF corn after It was a foot or
more high, and that row made con-
siderable more than an adjoining row,
which was planted a few days before
the other row was set out)
In my 1911 experiments we failed
to get a stand on the early manured
plot, owing, l think to the killing of
the seed by the fertilizer? This plot
was planted again two weeks later
and was cultivated exactly like the
Williamson method plot with the ex-
ception that no effort was made to
stunt it. Fertilizer was applied at the
time of the application to the Will
hanson plot and to the same amount
thus this plot received double the fer
tilizer of the other. Notwithstanding
this tremendous advantage, the Will
hanson method plot made seven and
one-half bushels per acre more.
Before leaving the subject Of corn
| must not fail to speak Of one of the
worst practices now generally en-
ployed on Southern farms. | refer to
the stripping of the fodder. The leaf
of the plant makes and stores in the
grain its starch, oil and protein. This
process is continuous in the corn plant
as long as the blades have any life
Consequently when the leaves are
stripped from the plant, before they
are completely dead, or when the
plant is cut down before maturity, the
corn Is not allowed to fully mature
and thus the crop is shortened and
the vitality of the seed injured.
l have carried on numerous expert
ments to show the loss to the crop
from fodder pulling. l have always
made these tests rather later than the
average date of fodder pulling in our
section. but notwithstanding, the re-
duction in yield has been most strik-
ing. In 1912 / made two tests which
showed an average reduction of seven
and one half bushels per acre. In
1911 four tests showed an average re-
ductiOn of Go bushels per acre. In
1910 this experiment was overlooked
until the blades were about two o-thirds
dry and even then the loss was about
four bushels per acre. In every case
we have figured that the loss in corn
was fully as much as the value of the
Fodder, which would leave the eX.