Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-04
The Need for a Big Corn Crop.

BY raising big corn crop the South will do a
great deal to relieve the wheat shortage, which is
the crux of the food problem. With ample
store OF corn the country will be assured against
hardship or serious discomfort whether other
grain harvests are bountituI or lean. Further
more. every ~busheI of corn produced will give us
that much wider margin flor exports to allies.
whose needs are no less important to us than our
own.
The New York Commercial Interestingly OBJ
serves that corn be used to supply shortages
other than that of wheat. the sugar shortage for
instance.
Sugar is scarce and high in price and the
tropical sugar crop has not met expectations.
Glucose forms an excellent substitute for
sugar in most Of its uses. and If we have
an adequate corn crop this year we can pro-
duce an enormous tonnage. The popular
prejudice against glucose is not we'll founded.
When cane sugar is cooked with acid fruit
such as apples, berries. pIums cherries, ETC..
the combination OF the heat and the fruid
acid converts the sugar into glucose.
When cane sugar is taken into the mouth
and swallowed the digestive juices change it
into glucose. When bread. potatoes, rice and
other food containing starch is eaten, the
starch is converted into glucose Just the
starchy part OF corn is converted into glucose
in the factory"
Thus by raising great corn crop. the south will
add materially to its and the common coun-
try's independence in at least two OF the food
staples which are especially short.
The Georgia corn crop last year amounted TO
sixty-four million bushels. That was an excellent
Weld but we must do better still this year IL we
measure up to the needs of the time. Those who
assume that the sixty-four million bushel corn
crop of 1916 gives US a sUperabundance of this
cereal should take of the fact recently pointed
out BY Dr. SOule that there are four million head
of farm animals to feed and that in other food
staples we fell far short of self maintenance. In
1915 Georgia produced three million, eight hun
dred and eight thousand bushels of wheat nearly
six million bushels short of what it needed. We
raised million bushels of Irish potatoes and
l. eight million bushels of sweet potatoes but we
neccei eighteen million. seven hundred and fifty
thOgsznd bushels of each kind. Evidently, then.
the production of all the staples must be much
greater this year if to approximate ideal
of independence in food supplies.
The planting of an abundant corn acreage is
particularly to be desired because the season for
such planting is still Opportune and because, more
over. Georga's remarkable increase in it's average
acre yield as we'll its total output of corn shows
how wonderful its possibilities in this important
field Of production. There are divers other food
crops, to be sure, which Georgia can produce and
ought to produce in abundance such as potatoes,
beans, peas and other vegetables But as the basis
of the livestock industry and the great substi-
tute for wheat. which cannot be sown again until
autumn, coEn should receive especial attention
while the season is still propitioUs.