Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-04-05

Ii has been aptly said that so long as
we can produce our usual crop of In
dian corn this country could never be
subdued, no matter how eftectually it
might be beleaguered from the outside
by the military and naval forces of
other nations. Corn constitutes. there
fore, one of our great and important
national assets. IL is indeed a gift of
the gods. We plant a grain of il in a
suitable soil and il springs up. devel-
ops into a beautiful plant. producing
from one to four or more ears and
making a return of one thousand grains
and upward for each seed planted.
Truly, it is prolific yielder, and more
than that, for II provides a succulent
nOurishing form of food from the time
il is in the early dough stage until it
is fully ripened and matured by the sun
Of July TO October. 1t was the bread
grain of the Indians. and is still used
extensively by them in Central and
South American countries. Through it's
cultivation the great reaches of the
middle west were subjugated and
brought under the pillow and the planta-
tion system of the south built up and
developed. The heroic defense of the
Confederacy was based primarily on it's
use as food for man and beast, and
now, in 1918, il is to again constitute
our first line of trenches-our main de-
Tense against a threatened shortage of
bread foods, owing to the scarcity of
wheat. by reason of the partial failure
of the 1917 crop and the duty and ne
cessity incumbent on us of sending the
greater part of that which we produce
this year across the waters to sustain
our fighting allies. Every patriotic in
~hn a N
acre of land will devote some of it to
the growth of corn, and thus best in
sure the filling of our granaries and
bins with the most desirable and ac-
ceptable substitute there is in the world
for wheat flour.
In the south our task is to increase
the yield of this crop over previous
years We now know that corn may be
grown everywhere successfully in the
southeastern states. A few years ago
il was a debatable question. The work
of the boys corn clubs demonstrated,
however. that, under proper methods of
soil preparation. fertilization and man.
agement. it can be profitably raised even
in sandy soils of the coastal plains
area. Therefore, we should increase the
corn acreage considerably this year, de-
voting the greatest skill at our COM
mand to the proper preparation and
seeding of all the land planted to this
crop. The partial failure of our oat
and wheat crops, due to the severity OF
the winter. means that we must grow
more corn in order to have something
TO take the place of these crops.
In Georgia. for instance, it is neces-
/ sary If we measure up to our full duty
and responsibility that we produce not
less than 100. 0OO, 900 bushels of corn in
1918 There is no reason why this
should not be done without materially
| increasing the acreage over that of pre-
vious years. To accomplish the end in
view we must first begin by preparing
] the soil with the greatest skill OF which
we are capable. This means it should
be broken TO a good depth. Laying-of
the land i'm rows four feet apart Oh
: thereab bout and dropping a few seeds OF
corn in these burrows without fertilizer
will not result i'm the production of q
profitable crop. This is little better
than wasted energy. Break the land
thoroughly. completely and TO a good
depth. Work up a good seed bed. Re-
2 member that corn can be planted in
this state from March until July. There
l is no reason why the land should not
be put in good condition. therefore, be-
I fore planting Do not fail to enrich the
land in every possible way with vege-
table matter. Corn loves deep friablt
soil. Place under the drill row a guam
| tity of well-decayer vegetable matter
derived either from the barn lot or the
woods whenever possible as this is cal
cUlated TO better insure the crop pass