The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-03-19
Recommendations for
Making Seed Corn Bed

"A Eastern Washington are plant
ing few trial patches of corn Many
of these will fail in their Summers
trial, largely because the seed bed
has not been properly prepared. Pro-
fessor George Severance, agricultur-
ist of the State Experiment Station at
Pullman, gives the following recon-
mendations in regard to the prepara-
tion of the seed bed.
1t must be remembered that the
growth of the young plants will de-
pend largely upon the supply of food
they secure, and that this food is Sc
cured through the root system of the
plant. 1t is necessary, then, that the
corn plants make a rapid and COM
plete development of this feeding
system.
The root system is extremely deli
cate, and contains such an immense
number of small rootlets and root
hairs, when properly developed, that
no space, even as small as a pea, can
be found in the upper part of the soil
that does not contain some of these
root hairs. For such development it
Is necessary that the roots do not
come in contact with hard clods. The
entire furrow under the mulch should
be thoroughly pulverized.
Where the land has not been
plowed until time to plant corn, nor
the surface disked to hold the mois-
ture, the furrow breaks over in
chunks. If the surface is then
worked only with smoothing har-
row, the bottom of the furrow where
this root system must develop is in
no condition for proper root develop
ment. Soil in this condition at the
time of plowing should be disked
before plowing, and be worked with
some form of compacting and clod-
MASKING tool after being plowed and
disked in order to work the soil
deeply enough.
Every root hair should come in
contact with soil grains, hence the
furrow should be we'll worked down,
leaving no large holes, as Is usually
the case with late plowed land, par
ticularly If considerable straw, stub
BILE, or other trash has been plowed
under.
This Is also necessary in order to
insure good supply Of moisture
The presence of large air spaces per-
mits the rapid drying out Of the soil
and breaks the capillary connection
with the soil moisture beneath, sc
that the young plants In the seed bee
are deprived of the moisture they
must have.
Many farmers reason that because
the corn is cultivated crop they may
save time by planting the corn ant
fitting the ground later This is en-
tirely wrong.
The first growth of the plant Ii
from the limited amount of food sup
ply stored in the seed. This will
keep the plant but few days. 1
must then draw its food from tht
soil If the young, delicate plants
are to make vigorous growth from
the start, the roots should find thu
soil in proper condition at the outse
to enable them to develop quickly an(
extensively, so that there will be NJ
check in weaving from the mothel
seed.
Furthermore, the future cultivation
does not fit the soil directly abou
the hill, where the plant in its tender
est stage is obliged to draw its food
If the ground is to be properly pre-
pared for corn, it should have beeI
plowed last Fall so that the moisture
may have been completely absorbed
and the furrow settled by the Win
ter rains. This has the further ad
vantage of letting the weeds star
in the early Spring, so that they cal
be largely cleaned out before the corl
is planted. 1t also encourages tb
development Of valuable food.
If the land Is not Fall plowed, tn
next best thing is early Spring plow
ing. But whether plowed in the Fall
early Spring, or late Spring, the fac
must not be overlooked that the see,
bed must be thoroughly prepared be
fore planting If complete success
expected.