The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1916-05-05
LISTING CORN IN
THE SEMI.ARID BELT

| lf1E SENl.A KID BELL
| The corn lister is a double shove
pillow, with a seeding attachment. L
is designed to open up a deep fur
row in unplowed ground and plan
the corn in drill rows at the sam,
time. 1t originated in the semi-arit
sections Of the corn belt and was sup.
posed to plant the corn at a depth
sufficient to defy drought, the thee.
ry being that the root system woulc
develop at a depth below the posi-.
bility Of evaporation. This was the
primal reason. A second reason TO,
adopting this method was the saving
Of time and power. A man with a list.
er could plow and plant ten acres Of
corn while his neighbor was prepar-
ing the seed bed Of three acres in the
ordinary way. Listing was a short
cut and at ace became popular. A
large acreage could be planted and
this made up for a shortage in the
yield. But the yield was not always
less than the regularly plowed and
| check-rowed fields. And like the
practice of drilling wheat in stubble
the big yields were always heralded
as a vindciation Of the practice while
the failures were not mentioned.
But the practice Of listing corn has
it's advantages. First, it saves time
and power at a period when time
and power are scarce. Second, it
opens up the soil and places the seed
in a position to take advantage of all
available moisture. Third, it leaves
the field in shape to catch and absorb
the greatest per cent of rainfall.
Fourth, by leaving the surface in
ridges it prevents soil drifting which
in many localities occurs with dis
astrous results in the spring month.
BY cultivating the middle the dry
soil is gradually worked down over
the moist soil in the center of the
furrow about the growing corn, thus
conserving the moisture for the plant.
1t will be readily seer that after a
rain the drainage will be into the fur
rows; and if the surface is reason
ably level or the field is so listed that
the soil will not gutter or wash but
sink into the ground, the ridges will
soon be dry and ready for the harrow
or cultivator. The mulch produced
from this dry soil effectually seals the
moisture in the burrows. BY the
time the middles are worked down
the corn has \ firm root system and
is ready to withstand the inevitsb bic
dyou:h of midsummer. Such ls the
theory and it will work out fairly
we'll in practice.
The disadvantages are: First: slow
termination and early growth on ac-
count of the low temperature Of the
seed bed at the bottom of the fur
row. This will often set the crop
back two full weeks. Second, diff
Guilty in keeping the field clean Of
weeds. Planting the corn in drills
makes it impossible to cultivate both
ways as in the last of the check-row
on level culture. Third, the danger
of washing or outlying in case of a
heavy rain if the field is uneven or
rolling. There is danger also Of ex-
posing the lateral roots by late cul.
tivation unless the middles are work.
ed down early in the season. Roots
will grow only where there is mois-
ture and air in the proper proportions.
This is found in the soil between the
rows where the mulch prevents evap-
Grafton and the force Of ~capillarity
brings up the moisture in just the
right proportion. So you will find
the mass of roots developing in a
plane above that where the seed was
planted, unless the ridges are cut
down by cultivation early in the
game.
The lister, like the subsoiler in tire
hands of a thoughtful and skillful
man, is a valuable implement. There
are times when it can be used with
advantage and times when it should
not be used. This is true of most
any implement on the farm from the
pillow to the land roller. But when
once the principles governing the
operation of that particular imple-
ment are known the farmer will have
no trouble in determining when and
how to use it and when to leave it
n the hed.-Scientiic Farmer.
KEEPING THE HOGS HEALTHY
1t is a popular idea-and as err
roneous as it is popular-that any
kind of a pen is good enough for a
hog, no matter how filthy and in.