Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-10-14
20 sroP THE BUYINa on coRN.

When Farm Demonstration Work
was started IN the State seven years
ago, it announced as n of its prin-
cipaI features the stopping of the buy
ing of corr by North Carolina farm
ers. Since that time the average yield
per acre has increased Z bushels and
we still need more corn in the State.
Therefore it is still working on the
matter of increasing the corn yield
per acre, estimating that it will take
about 80 bushels per acre with the
present acreage to supply all of our
needs. This will at least be true when
we get more live stock.
The organization has also learned
through the keeping of thousands OF
farm accounts in corn growing that
with good methods of farming corn
can be produced at an average price
of about 25 cents per bushel. When
shipped in from other States the price
ranges around 81 per bushel. The
farmer. therefore, who is buying corn
is doing so to his own detriment. If
the money which has been sent out of
the State for corn, pork and hay in the
last forty years had been kept at horne
by growing these things here, the
amount would have made US a rich
people.
There are a few simple principles
necessary for the growing of large and
profitable crops. These principles r
easily understood by farmers and give
results when properly applied. They
may be named as follows:
1. Deep breaking. Under average
conditions successful corn crops can
not be made with shallow breaking
The demonstration force considers
from eight to twelve inches deeE
breaking.
2. Supplying humus. Most of our
farm lands are simply starved tc1
humus. Therefore strenuous efforts
in demonstration work are beine
made in winter crops to supply
this deficiency.
3. Proper cultivation. Many a corh
crop has been reduced SO per cent, and
often more, by me improper cultiva-
ton.
4. Good seed. At present the MAJ
ter of seed selection is being urged.
because this is the season for stlcF
work. While advocating the matter
Il 1AOh4 Ody ~ OdJ1 INV 4 6OAAS ~
make a strenuous effort on Octobe.
/ 9th to get thousands of bushels of
good seed corr selected and properly
housed. For selecting seed corn the
plant as a whole should be consider
ed and not merely the ears. Under
most conditions stalks with two ear
J are more satisfactory than stalks that
bear more or fewer than this Tbs
next selection is of the ears. In this
part of. the work there is advocated
medium sized cobs with much depth
| of grain and ears we'll filled out over
the butts and the tips.
i Well improved corn easily yields
from five to fifteen bushels more per
acre than scrub corn. If every acre
planted in corn this year had produced
five bushels more on account of the
best seed possible it would have added
Is, 900 900 bushels of corn to our State
yield. If every ear of corn grown in
the State this year had produced ten
grains more than it did Give grains
more by the better filling of the tip
| and five grains by the better filing of
the butt) it would have added 300, 900
bushel of corn to Dur crop in the
State. 1t is ~contended, therefore, that
it is up to the farmers of the State to
increase theor yields to such an extent
that they will not have to buy corn.
This is a busy season on the farm, but
there is nothing of Importance
than that of procuring good seed to
plant.