The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1915-12-31
CHAPTER WI.
intensive Corn Cultivation.

TOE knew the time for action
horse 10 the single wagon and
~ drove 10 town. Mr.. somerville
wns not ne tho store. but Joe did not
wait for him.
Give me two 100 pound sacks OF fer.
tilizer and two ioo.pound sacks OF nj.
trate OF soda" he ordered.
Paying with a check--S3 for the fer.
tilizer and - for the Dltrnte he start.
Cd for home as soon ar the stun was
loaded into the wagon.
Opening a sack OF fertilizer in the
field. be oiled a bucket with the vel.
lowisb. powdery stuf-a combination
OF cottonsecd meal. acid phosphate.
phosphoric acid. kninite and other in
gradients For a distance OF about
fourteen inches around each hill Of
corn. he sprinklcd generous quantity
Two good handfuls
Finishing the FIRST row. with his hoe
he chopped the fertilizer lightly into
the soil. then pulled all that dirt and
some from the middle OF the rows to
ward the cornstnlks. where II lay. n
light. porous mound. easy for the root.
lets 20 penetrate. and charged with all
the elements necessary to make the
corn do ita level best
He was four days doing II, and when
he finished the last row In the prize
acre he examined the root stems OF the
nrst row. They had grown almost half
m inch and werV nearly touching the
dirt he had pulled toward them.
He discovered another function these
above ground roots possessed. The
broad leaves Of the corn would catch
the heavy dew each night or some
slight shower. and the moisture would
condense and roll down the broad
leaves until II reached the main stalk;
then II would trickle down the stem
until Il reached this circle OF roots,
then down them TO tho soil in perfect
circle Of moisture about the plant to
assist in its growth.
Joe wns well tired out when he got
through fixing the corn and hired Link
20 pillow out the Mexican June corn.
give the cotton dose OF fertilizer and
throw some more dirt toward It and TO
assist In cutting OF lot OF sweet po-
tato vines. which were hauled 10 the
pig lot 10 give Mike and John l.. some
green food. The rest OF the vines were
thrown back without cutting on top OF
their rows and n final blowing and hill
ing given the potatoes
In about week the tiny ears of corn
on tho stalks IN the prize acre began 10
show. The additional roots were now
striking into the fertilizer One could
almost see the corn growing, and on a
stu, quiet night a person could actual
~ hear II. faint, gentle whispering
rustic rs the leaves gradually unfolded.
Here and there the tassels began TO
show, and the pink and white silk OF
the young ears was growing longer.
The time to use the nitrate Of soda
had arrived, and 1t was applied pre-
cisely as the fertilizer had been, except
that Joe took rake and merely abrad-
ed the crust OF ground on the hills so
the nitrate could be absorbed more rap
idly. In addition. this working would
not tear and break natures arrange
ment OF rootlets as deep blowing or
hoelng would do Four days after the
nitrate was applied the field was in full
tassel
Joe admired the beautiful pink silk
ON the ends of the corn ears greatly.
One day he was looking at n tassel on
top OF the stalk when one of the many
honeybees scrambllng busily around
dew, and the motion and air from the
wings OF the insect caused n faint pun
Of very fine yellow powder TO drop
from tho tassel and float downward In
the still dir.
He looked the matter up In his book
that night and found that the real
blossom OF the corn Il the tassel; that
tho tassel Is composed OF hundreds of
oblong little cups open &C the outer
end. the other being attached to-n'-