Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1917-06-27
NATION NEEDS CORN;
DOUBLE PRODUCTION.

The u. S. Department of Agricul-
ture in a recent bulletin states that
now more than ever the Nation
Needs Corn" Corn is needed to sup
plant wheat for bread and to produce
meat and milk Under the subject Of
cultivation, the bulletin says the fol-
lowing:
Watch Your Soil.
The condition of your soil should
determine when to cultivate.
Cultivation by a hard and fast rule
may do more harm than good.
Don't let weeds grow. Take the ap-
o ararce Of each weed as a danger
signal for raid on your plant food.
Don't let cracks form. They are
holes through which valuable mois-
ture escapes.
Don't cultivate when your ground
is wet enough to form clOds. ClOds
tie up plant food so that corn roots
can not use it.
Don't waste cultivation. Cultivation
may be a waste of time or may be &C
tually injurious when your soil is in
good cOnditiOn-mOist below, dry and
light on the surface, free from weeds.
Failure to cultivate promptly and
prevent the soil from becoming crack
ed, hard, or weedy may mean mater
ial lessening of your corn yield.
Cultivate to Store Moisture.
Cultivate as soon after rains as the
soil has dried sufficiently.
Keep the soil surface we'll stirred
and light. This will let rain soak in
quickly and reduce waste. In fair
weather it will prevent the subsoil
from drying out.
A well-stirred surface soil will send
moisture, laden with plant food up
through the corn roots and stalks to
make ears.
Cultivate to Destroy Weeds.
Every weed in corn field is an en-
envy
Weeds drink up moisture and con-
sumo plant food that should go to
make corn kernels instead Of weed
seeds.
Destroy your weed enemies when
they begin to appear Don't wait for
them to mobilize in strength.
Attack weeds if possible in fair
weather. You will then have the sun
as a powerful ally.
Cultivate to Warm the Soil.
Evaporation of moisture lowers the
surface, therefore, is cold. A dry soil
surface is warm
A loose soil surface drys quickly.
The blanket of loose, dry soil then
stops further evaporation. 1t drinks
in sunshine and becomes warm.
In northern localities and in high
attitudes the warming Of the soil fire.
quently is as important as cOnserva-
ton Of moisture.
The production of food crops being
Of first Importance, it says:
Watch Your Plants.
Their progress determines how you
should cultivate.
While the plants are small cult
vate as deeply as the condition of the
soil makes necessary.
Deep cultivation then is desirable
if your seed bed was not well prepar-
ed before planting.
Who would attempt to grow good
corn in a small flower pot? Remem-
Der that hard ground can confne
roots as effectually as pottery.
Get your soil into open condition
so that the corn roots can reach out
for food
After the plants become foot high
shallow cultivation only should be
given.
The roots have spread out close un-
der the surface of the soil and would
be injured by deep cultivation.
Never cultivate deeply close to corn
plants after they are a foot high.
Such cultivation will break feeding
roots and cause injury to the plants.
The department says that no farm
er should be satisfied with less than
so bushels of corn per acre. The av-
erage yield for the country is only 27
bushels. This should be, and can be,
doubled with good seed, fair soil, and
careful, timely cultivation.