The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1916-03-16

tsHarper & Brothers.
life giving element does not fall upon
the silk of the ears there will be no
corn except imperfect, dwarfed grains
Of no vitality. After the beautiful silk
has performed its life work it turns
brown and blackens and finally dries
up completely.
One more application of nitrate three
weeks later in order to give the plant
abundant strength to mature the grain
and Joes work with the corn was end
ed. Time and nature alone could do
the rest.
Full of the idea of breeding a better
variety, Joe provided himself with
some strips of white cotton cloth about
a foot long and an inch or two wide.
Then row by row he Systematically eX-
amined the cornstalks, hill by hill In
the first row he found ten stalks with
three ears on the stalks, the third be-
ing unusually imperfect. About the
two largest and best stalks with the
largest and best third ear in that row
he tied the white string to mark for
seed.
In next to the last row, to his great
Joy, he found an enormous sturdy stalk
with three perfect ears on it, and be-
low the third ear faint rudimentary
fourth ear, just suspicion Of an ear.
1t was the only stalk of its kind in the
whole acre.
This stalk, he decided was TO be the
parent Of variety that the next year
would show three good ears and
more clearly defined fourth one. He
would plant the seed in a patch by it
self, so the pollen from inferior yarie-
ties could not fall upon the silk and
check the upward tendency of the new
variety. By doing this year after year
his four cared variety was certain.
Remember Davy Crockett" said his
father one day. BE sure you're right,
then go ahead"
Hey. joe" called a countryman one
day, refining up his team, Il want to
get some of that corn for seed! viii
you sell it?'
Yes, sir, after it has been measured
by the committee. Can't touch 1t until
then"
"All right; l want some. What do
you ask for it,"
1.-TWO dollars and a half a bushel for
selected seed"
"Sufferin' Moses, that's mighty steep,
Joew
Eyes, and it's mighty good corn too.
1t will make three times as much as
you have been getting, with the right
treatment"
well, | reckon it's with it, Put me
down for two bushels, and I'll norate
the news around that you'll sell for
that price,
The last week in July brought the
first open cotton boil There We're hun
dreds of others cracking, ready to
burst with the beautiful snow white
mass of fiber.
Joe remembered reading that the alb
senCe Of trash, grit or discolorations in
cotton was worth several dollars
bale. He recalled how his father and
the other farmers would do-wait until
nearly the whole crop had opened be-
fore starting the picking. The lowest
limbs Of the cotton stalk matured their
fruit first, and often the wind or rain
would cause the cotton to fall to the
ground, to be beaten into the dirt, dis
colored. filed with grit and sticks and
leaves.
Then the picking would go forward
In a rush. The sacks the pickers car
ried would be emptied right on the
ground at the ends of the rows and the
cotton scooped up from there with a
shovel, a pitchfork or in armfuls and
thrown into an open wagon bed. Then
some one often with muddy feet, would
tramp the loose cotton in the wagon,
inficting more dirt and discolorations.
Joe determined his cutton should be
handled differently. There was an
abandoned negro cabin near the field.
He swept it out twice, then with a
pine top busted it thoroughly. He col
lected all the empty oat, corn and meal
sacks about the place, turned them in
side out and shook them until there
was no dirt or dust left in them. These
he piled in the cabin ready for use.
He got Mrs. Weston to sew a strip
of stout bedticking across the mouth
of fifty pound meal sack so he could |
sling it across his shoulders, the open |
mouth of the sack at his left side ready |
to receive the cotton as he picked it. |
Then he waited for more cotton to
open.
He went through the prize acre of |
corn and pulled the fodder off as high |
as he could reach. 1t was rather dry by |
this time, but he thought a dollar or
two could be made in that way to cut |
down the expense Of the acre. He got |
200 good bundles of fodder, which Mr.. |
Somerville sold for him at cents
bundle-that meant 81 clipped from the
expense account.
BY this time enough open boIls gleam-
ed white among the cotton plants to
make it worth while to start picking.
his sack over his shoulder, Joe
began Systematically going down one
row and up another. When he came to
an open boil he grasped it near the
stem with his left hand. then with
thumb and first three fingers of his
right Dulled the fluffy cotton f"-rl ne