The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-09-14
What The Farmers. Are Doing
CHAPTER XVIII.

!. y, : -it,i,s
planted it to corn. He had (. no
planter, SO they took a cultivator
and made shallow drills and into
that planted the seed, about thirty
inches, between rows and about six
teen or eighteen inches apart in the
row.. one or two kernels in q place.
1t was planted on June IL, and as
soon as the little weeds began to
show he began to harrow it, both
up and down the rows. and across
them. When the corn came up and
suckers showed about the main
stalks, the harrow broke them on.
when the corn was several inches
high they narrowed only lengthwise
Of the rows, and did that OCCASION
ally until it was about a foot high,
then went thru with the shovel pillow
to make an open furrow for irri-
eating when it should be needed.
The narrowing kept the ground
pulverized and kept the weeds down
and kept the suckers broken OFF.
The suckers are tender and break
more readily than the main stalks
The corn was originally a mixture
Of white, blue and dark, and by
selection for several seasons, plant
ing ouly the white corn from ears
that had none Of the colored grains
or husks, he had bred out nearly all
the colored grains. It originally
had eight or ten rows of kernels on
the cob, and by selection of the ears
having the most rows he has now
brought it up to as high as fourteen
rows, but it still runs as low as
eight.
In selecting the seed, he takes
ears that are filled out to the end of
the cob, and then breaks of both
ends of the ears and uses the grains
only from the middle Of the ear. On
this field of about seven acres moth
ing but selected seed was used. The
last cultivation was given when it
began to show tassels and silks, and
then it was watered once only. The
land was quite sandy and there were
scarcely any weeds in the field, tho
there was some alfalfa scattered
thru it. DR.. Hoover said that many
weeds started, but that the harrow
and the cultivator killed them.
/. Three years ago it took about
ninety-eight days from the time the
corn was planted until it was con-
sidered safe from frost, and that
period had shortened until now it
was about seventy or seventy-five
days. The stalks are short and the
ears are long, the largest ones
being from twelve to fifteen inches
in length. The ears are set on the
stalks at height of from four to
thirty inches from the ground, most
Of them being about a foot above
ground. DR.. Hoover said he thought
the yield would be about fifty-five
bushels per acre. Some of the
visitors thought it would make.
more, some thought less, and most
of them agreed that they did not
know much about the yield of corn
DR.. Hoover took the party to an
other field that was planted earlier
and was more matured, but which
he thought was not SO good field.
Visitors looking it over expressed
the belief that it was almost if not
quite as good as the other. Wild |
birds had been working on the ears |
and shelled off some from the
points. The corn in this field was
just out of the dough and getting
quite hard, while in the other field
it was in the dough and some of it
In the milk.
This piece of corn was planted on
a tract that had been for some three
years monopolized by the weedsI
Each crop that was planted on it
was choked out by the weeds, until
It was put in to corn, and the har-
rowing killed the weeds, but left
good stand of corn.
The Doctor said he would have
he corn out and shocked and later
.aken to the barnyard for use for
feeding the stock. He said he had
he, wanted to exhibit that
vas valuable stock food and as good,
he thought, as silo, and he took the
1arty to the big garden and showed
hem field of white carrots. They
yaried in size from four or five
inches in diameter and foot long
Town to smaller sizes. All of thel
,arrot grows under ground, and if
t freezes before being harvested, it
loes not injure it, provided it thaws
gain in the ground. He stated that
le found trouble in growing
and mangel-beets by having
hem freeze where exposed above
and then thawing and get
ing soft down to the line of the
oil. During the winter this part of
he mangel rots. He said he had
aised as high as twenty tons per
a. III e.Ae al 4