The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-09-08
CORN ACREAGE OF
YEAR IS LARGER
CAUSES INCREASE IN BIENNIAL
WHEAT YIELD, SAYS FINAN-
CIAL MAN
Makes Inspection of ID Counties in
Southern, Central and Northern
Portions of State and Says it is
Hard to Realize Progress Farmers
Have Made This Year.

The rapid recovery of agriculture
in Montana from the conditions of a
few years ago has been accounted
for in a large measure by enlarge
ment of acreage sown to corn in sec
tionS of the state, according to j. B.
Gergen, of Great Falls, financial cor
respondent of the National Life In
surance company, who has completed
an automobile trip through IA coun-
ties in the southern, central and nor
thern portions of the state. Combin-
ed with summer following and sum-
mermer tillage, the culture of corn
has had an important bearing on the
return of big yields, Gergen stated.
until you get out in actual con-
tact with conditions over the state, it
is impossible to realize the remark
able progress the farmers of Montana
have made during the last two or
three years in bringing crops back
to the states standard" said Gergen.
Summer following, summer tilIage,
n a material increase in the corn
acreage accounts for the cov of
agriculture in the state, with corn
figuring very Importantly as a COM
paratively new factor that will, I'M
q~uestionably, I believe, make for per-
manency.
I'm the northeastern portion of the
state there is this year a surprisingly
large acreage of corn and on fields on
which corn was grown in 1920 1 saw
yields running up to 81 bushels an
acre. Corn there this year gives
every promise of a big crop. In ter
ritories where crops are generally
good, there is visible evidence that
wheat grown on corn ground or on
ground otherwise summer titled is SUI
perior to that grown under ordinary
tillage methods. At the Moccasin
experimental station in the Judith
basin it has been established that
Ger a 10-year period it is possible
to grow a crop of corn that will al
ways pay as a fodder crop, and isu-
ally for the corn itself.
GAS a factor for the increasing of
wheat yields, corn is valuable because
its cultivation is a form of summer {
tillage superior to any other. The t
difference between methods followed
with corn and summer following is t
that corn ground is usually plowed S
as early as possible in the spring, t
while summer following is almost i
always delayed until June and gen i
orally later. Summer fallow, once it i
is completed, is frequently permitted {
to grow up to moisture consuming t
weeds, while a corn field is kept /
clean throughout the season. t
ut is easy for an observer to con- S
clude that it is not fair to condemn I
land that is summer fallowed and v
then Oermittnd m prOU a iron IF @
thistles or other weeds which CON b
sumo more moisture than a grain v
crop. When this condition obtains, t
we have summer fallow without sum-
mer tillage and vastly inferior re- :
suits. l saw a striking example of a
near Marias, where the crops on o
one farm stood out like an oasis in a
territory where there was every fl
evidence of crop failure for many n
miles. I vas there late in June and a
go acres of rye was virtually made, Il
with promise of a 25-bushel yield. S
One hundred acres of wheat on the b
same farm gave promise of a 20-bu- IL
yield. I Investigated and learn o,
ed that accepted summer tillage CT
methods were followed. I am this OF
fall going to obtain a sworn state a,
nent as to the yield harvested. cl
Montana has been libeled in re- T
,ent years by reports going out con- bl
it's farm lands. Conditions ia
lave been vastly o%verdrawn and the u;
asst has drawn unwarranted con- ca
lusions. Occurrences here that have Ia
cen exactly duplicated in eastern til
without attracting attention at or