Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-13
- ! H. as-..fz. EDUCATION
-"-y7- AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING AAsDI
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HlolStule MAY Ue Ieldlucu III Lne
soil.
The spacing Of the rows and the
distance the corn is planted in the
! rows must be determined by the
| strength of the soil. A distance of
three and one-half feet apart for the
in the drill is recommended for bot
tom land. Corn planted at this dis
| lance, three and one-half by two
feet, should contain 1922 stalks per
acre. If each stalk produces one
pound, of grain, which it should do,
| a yield of 80 bushels will be OBJ
| tanned. On thinner soils the rows
| should be about five feet apart, and
the corn about is to 20 inches apart
in the drill. A row of cowpeas or
peanuts may be planted in between
the rows about the second cultiva-
ton of corn, which may be harvested
or turned under for fertilizing value.
No one can say just what date is
best to plant in any locality. Do not
plant, however, until your seed bed
| is in good condition and the ground
| is warm. A safe way is to watch
| the best corn growers of your COM
munity and plant when they begin
to plant.
| See that your planter is we'll ad-
justed SO that it will drop the corn
from the butt and tip of the ear
| in order that all kernels may be
| nearly of the same size. Plant more
| than is needed, because it is better
to thin your corn than to have to re-
plant. Remember the old saying
Zone for the biaekbird, one for the
crow, one for the cutworm, and three
for to grow" Work to get a perfect
stand. Know the number of stalks
on your acre and help each stalk
produce at least one good ear.
A hundred-bushel corn crop will
| irn 10 Of
water to mature it. This amount
! would cover an acre of ground to q
depth of 16 to % inches. The great
| est need for water by the corn crop
is in May june and July, and as the
average rainfall for these months is
only IL to Is inches, it is readily
seen that every care should he used
| to cultivate the corn we'll and save
as much of the soil moisture as pos
sible. Cultivation forms a blanket"
or mulch. on the surface that pre-
vents rapid evaporation of moisture
from the soil. This mulch should
be stirred every week or ten days
through the growing period.
Cultivation should begin soon after
planting even before the corn is up.
| The objects of cultiva tion are: first,
to conserve moisture; second, to kill
weeds; and third, to keep the soil
| fria BILE. Moisture, plant food and a
good mechanical condition Of the soil
are important factors in making the
crop. Weeds consume food and mois-
ture that should be saved for the
corn and it is important that cultiva-
tfon should begin early. The adjust
able harrow is good implement for
the first cultivation, especially on
the heavy types of SOIL 1t breaks
! the crust and kills the young weeds
shallow mullen. It can be followed
! by the weeder as the corn begins te
come UP without fear of hurting the
young plants. These implements,
when used in this way, save much
hand labor with the hoe and conserve
the soil mois 'ure in the early part
| of the growing season.
| AS stated above. the corn should
be cultivated from the time it is
planted until the growing stage is
well passed, or until the ear is well
made. An extremely heavy yield of
corn requires large amounts of food
and moisture, and every effort should
! be made to keep the soil in such con-
/ dition that the corn roots will have
| no difficulty in obtaining this food
and moisture.
After the corn has reached a height
of three. or four inches, larger imple-
ments should be used. These imple-
ments should not be fitted with lang
er shovels. They should have a large
number of small shovels in order
THAT lne SOIL may De completely
stirred and yet no dirt thrown to the
corn. The first cultivation should
be deepest and, nearest to the corn
plants. During early growth of the
corn, roots do not approach the sur
face of the soil, nor do they extend
to the middles, and cultivation, can,
therefore, be carried on close to the
plants without injury. Later, the fine
| feeder roots spread to the mindless
and approach the surface, and will be
injured if cultivated deeply. The last
cultivation made should stir just the
surface soil in the middles for the
purpose of saving moisture and kill
| ing weeds.
The old practice of laying by
corn by digging out the middles and
throwing the soil up in ridges around
the corn with middle buster" does
more harm than good. 1t breaks
many of the feeder roots and causes