Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-23

hills Of cultivated crops helps to over
come the handicap of abnormal weather
and hastens maturity.
The old gardener says to look out
for frost in spring or autumn. when
the sunshine is very hot and the shade
This indicates that the air is dry and
radiation little checked.
Making a smudge in the garden at
night when a frost is expected and
spraying the plants thoroughly at the
age to plants by frost
Beans, corn, cucumbers. eggplant,
melons. okra, pepper. pumpkins,
squash. sweet potato and tomato are
the vegetables most likely to be dam
aged by slight frosts.
Ringing fruit trees is recommended
by some agriculture and fruit publica-
tions. Unless the trees are to be
1t is surprising how much fruit can
be had from small strawberry patch
properly cared for, and for flavor no
store berries ever compare. Try plant
ing strawberry beds of the best varie-
ties.
Never use lime on land where straw
berries ere to be planted For ferti1iz-
er use acid phosphate in small quanti-
ties.
On many a dairy farm may be found
al orchard of fifty or, more apple trees.
They are usually neglected, and some
have passed out of usefulness. Others
are vigorous still and would with prop
er care give good returns. Here is
where careful spraying will show it's
best profit. These orchards were origi-
nally good ones-planted in the best
soil with standard varieties. Nothing
on the farm could give better returns
on the investment than "a thorough
spraying of these old trees Most Of
them will need some pruning, but the
great need Is spraying, and it should
be attended to this year.
Many farmers are throwing away
profits by mismanagement of their corn
crop. This most adaptable of grains
should pay far better than it does
Crop statistics.as regards the national
output may have a big sound. but in
thousands of individual cases the acre.
age profits are next to nothing.
Small corn crops are due to several
plain defects in methods of cultivation
and management. Poor seed and neg
lect of rotation are the more fragrant
faults. Coupled with these are mis-
takes in preparing land and cultivating
the soil after planting.
The time is past when progressive
men Will be satisfied with thirty BUSH
els Of corn per acre. Fhey should aim
at 100 bushels and count anything less
than sixty bushels a failure. A corn
crop is hardly worth while unless it
has a market value of $40 an acre.
Owners of small places are compelled
by their limited areas to adopt meth
DDS which will give them fair returns.
There have been many good records
made in corn growing by boys and
girls in their educational contests ana
by expert farmers who aim to produce
seed grain of quality that will COM
mand high prices. A farmer who was
arranging to plant a forty-acre field
set apart one acre for his son on which
to grow competitive crop. The boy
prepared the acre, planted high-gr
seed and cultivated the corn according
to directions from his instructor and
other reliable sources. The yield was
lis bushels. The father, using his old
methods, secured only sixty bushels to
the acre on the remainder Of the field.
There is not a doubt but that the en-
tire forty-acre tract, II it had been
cared for as the boys acre was. would
have produced the high average.
Would it have paid the father to go to
the extra trouble and some added ex-
pense to follow his sons plan? Most
assuredly. These boys contests have
done corn growers vast amount of
good. and they should be continued.
Aside from conditions over which the
farmer has little or no control, it is
possible to greatly increase the crop.
The leading requirements are good and
proper time and manner of planting
and clean cultivation. No one Of these
requirements can be neglected.
Keep the ground rich and full of
vegetable matter. The land should bear
clover or field peas at regular periods.
Other crops in the rotation may be
planned according to the farmers
needs. Wheat rye. clover. vetch and
the various root crops work well in
rotation scheme. One year in three is
uften enough to use land for corn, and
one year in four is better still.
H. J. Stelford of Illinois as an ex-
pertinent planted a small quantity OF
corn which he had bought in open mar
winning grain. The latter included
corn OF the highest quality carefully
selected and properly cared for. The
season being generally unfavorable to
unknown merit amounted to about
twenty-five bushels per acre. while
that grown from his choice, thoroughly
tested ears yielded seventy-five to a
hundred bushels. This field presented
a strange contrast while the crop was
growing and even after its maturity.
In one case the stocks were deficient
and the ears nothing but nubbins. The
grain produced from Inc TlSnI KIM OF
seed was far above the average.
AS a result of the educational cam
paign for better corn crops good deal
of ground limestone has been used by
northern farmers. In many cases also
they are applying potash and phospho-
rus TO depleted soil, but it is given as
notable fact that scores of them have
won success by crop rotation and thor
ough cultivation. Rarnyard manure
that has not had a chance to dry out
and lose its chemical properties by
evaporation or teaching provides prac-
ticaily all the fertilizer needed, but
when the supply of this is deficient it
is necessary to use commercial ferti-
lizer where soil fertility is lost.
Nine hundred ana ninety bushels of
shelled corn from a ten-acre fleId-an
average Of ninety nine bushels per acre
is the record crop grown by s. c.
Goggin. in Campbell, county. Va. last
year. The land upon which the corn
was grown was an old alfalfa sod
mown or grazed to hogs. The corn
was planted May s and Z, in rows
three and one-half feet apart and the
average distance of the corn in the
rows was fifteen inches. The corn was
gone over twice with the weeder' be-
fore it came UP and given three shall
low civilizations. Just before the last
cultivation COW peas were planted.
which were disked down to sow wheat:
Three hundred pounds of fertilizer
was spread broadcast and narrowed
in before the corn was planted. W. e,
Macdonald, farm demonstration Of Or
anEe' county. in commenting upon this
crop, points out that alfalfa is valuable
not only as forage crop but also aa a