Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-04-02
Work Of Corn Club Boy

always lived in the same oommun-
ity. l am only Is years of age.
In 1910 the superintendent of ed
ucation of the county organized a
Boys Corn Club. / joined it and
turned under the turf in the fall
and sowed Rye on the land. In
the spring / put lot manure on the
land and broke it about 8 inches
deep. The people around here
laughed at me, and said I would
not make five bushels, but when
my corn began to grow they chang.
ed their minds. surprized them
all the more when l gathered 7S
bushels on my acre, while the
average yield IN this county was
only IL to 1S bushels per acre,
this being about all Papa made.
Since the Corn club has been start
ed in this county, Papa has tried
diversifcation of corps and follow.
ed the demonstration instructions
'ntil now his average yield is from
20 to 70 bushels per acre. Every
year since first Joined the Corn
club | have continued to have an
acre plot for myself to put in corn.
can beat Papa making corn.
In the fall of 1913 l joined the
Corn club again. l began the pre-
paration of my soil. l turned un..
der the cowpea stubble and broke
my land 10 to 13 inches deep. l
sowed oats and rye on the land
and narrowed it in with a section
harrow. The oats and rye came
up and used it for pasture for
my Jersey calf and two pigs, and
it kept them in good fix all through
the winter and gave them better
start in the spring. In the spring
I turned the sod under, narrowed
it with the section harrow, and
then bedded the land. I sowed
lot manure in the drills and filled
the furrow with an oak leaf com.
pound; then I rebedded the land,
mixing the humus with the soil.
l then let the soil stand untouch,
ed until in May; l rebedded the
land, put out 300 pounds of com
mercial fertilizer in the drill. /
followed this with a spring tooth
harrow and this with the planter.
My corn came up well, but the
spike worms destroyed much oft.
When my corn was about two
weeks old, l narrowed it crosswise
with a section harrow. l let it
stand for about two weeks, then
/ narrowed the middles down with
a spring-tooth harrow, and this
put enough dirt to the corn, for
it must be remembered that /
planted in the water furrow. Then
l thinned my corn to an average of
about IL to 16 inches in the drill
Then l let the corn stand about
a week when I narrowed it again
with spring tooth harrow, and
from then on until the 1st of June
narrowed it with spring tooth
harrow. The land began to get
dry, as it had not rained for weeks.
/ went two burrows to the row
with a heel sweep, and every time
I went around my corn it looked
like a shower had fallen. Then on
July I'd or 3rd I laid my corn by
with a heel sweep, and put out
800 pounds more of commercial
fertilizer around my corn, and on
the folio wing day it rained and my
corn looked fine, but by the way |
had forgotten to say we had a
drouth lasting ten weeks, begin
ming in May and lasting until July,
and it was interrupted only once
by a small shower in ten long
weeks, and you see rain was bad
ly needed. While the drouth was
going on corn all around me was
burning up while mine was per.
fectly green and doing well.
In October, when time came to
gather corn, got three disinter-
ested men to gather my corn. l
rent ahead and picked out the
best grade seed, and I made three
grades and had it gathered sepe-
rately so could have good seed.
l made 1O6. 35 bushels on my acre
while the average yield around me
was only 15 bushels per acre. l
then had 80 bushels of first grade
seed corn, AZ bushels of second
grade, and II bushels of third
grade, and 12 bushels of nubbins.
I have sold all my coru, the
first grade at $500 per bushel,
second grade at $1.75, while l sold
the third grade at 81. 90 per bushel,
making s161.5 so plus the nubbins.
l am going to buy me full
bred Hereford bull with my corn
money, and Papa is going to give
me a heifer.