Newspapers / The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, … / Feb. 22, 1913, edition 1 / Page 1
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A FARMER'S EXPERIENCE MEETING Page 5. A Farm and HdmYeekly For the Carolinas, Virginia, Gefca and Tennessee. . - : FOUNDED1 AT RALEIGH, N. C. Vol. XXVIII. No. 8. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, Weekly : $1 a Year. THE SOIL IN WHICH YOU PLANT YOUR CORN NEXT week's issue will be a Corn Special, but we feel sure no one will blame us if we take time by the forelock and talk a little this week about the first 'factor in; the .making of a good corn crop the ground in, which it is. planted. Wesaid two or three weeks ago It; would always be un profitable to plant corn on poor landV and we repeat it. The i average corn crop in the South is not a profitable crop; the average Southern soil is not rich enough to produce a paying crop of corn. Therefore, as the first step toward making his cnjpay hmi this year, the farmer should i plant onty. .on ? land from which he can reasonably expect a f airyielttf wenty-five ousneis an acre atrtne 'very least If his land will not make ; this ; rouch, he.had better plant it in cowpeas or soy beans. I In the second place, the farmer should remember that it requires a lot of water to make a corn crop, it has been estimated that about 300 tons, of water are re quired to produce a ton of dry matter in a corn crop.. If the water is lacking, the crop will be cut short; and corn crops in the ; South are,,in all probability, more often -short :by - scarcity of water than by the actual lack of plant food in the soil. No matter how much plant food there is in the soil, it is useless to ' the plant until it is dissolved in the soil water. The corn land should have a great water-holding capacity. This means that the soil should be deep, and well filled with vege table matter. The man who has a crimson clover sod, or any other grfcen crop, to turn under for his corn this spring is more than half as sured of a good crop. The man who has turned under a red clover or grass sod this winter can afford to be confident that he will make corn. The man who is hauling out manure to cover his corn land also has good reason to be hopeful of big yields. But the man who is going to plant corn on land that has been bare since last year's corn or cotton crop, that is deficient in humus, that will dry out quickly if a drouth comes the man who has such land and who must depend on the fertil ! izers he applies, rather, than upon the soil, for his corn crop, is going to have a hard time making that corn crop yield a profit. To hold moisture well and give the corn roots a good feeding ground it is necessary, too, that the corn land be well -broken. Four or five inches of loose soil-on top of a hard-pan is very little space for corn roots to forage, iii, especially if dry weather comes and pumps out. the t r lis UrwMiM h'Ml ,t . Zlk -4 . i , J!fi i' il " ; . . . ., - - j Courtesy of Spalding Tilling Machine Co. CORN ROOTS IN A DEEP SOlU moisture the corn needs. The growing corn plant is as hungry as a growing colt or a growing boy; It is all the time looking for food, and the roots are running far and wide and deep, too, if they can creeping in between the tiny soil particles, and taking up the food that, will go to make the strong plant and good ears. Four or five inches of soil, and that dried out, and how is the plant to get the food it must have to produce those good ears? The picture on this page is of some corn roots from which the soil has been washed away. It will be seen that these corn roots grew about and thru a piee of wire netting, so that there can be no question that they reaily grew down into the-soil just as the pic ture sho ws; But the soil was loose and fine. The corn roots in the ordinary field do not go down like that They are practically confined toll very few inches of the top soil. ; This, then, is the first essential in maKing a goou crup ui tui i a deep, fine soil, well fUled wituu vegetable matter and of a fair de gree of fertility. The dead, dry "soil, lacking humus, and broken to a depth of four or five inches ' is not going to make a paying crop of corn.ahd he who plants corn on such land is not wise.' FEATURES OF THIS ISSUE, HOW TO COOK FISH Mrs. Hutt's Weekly Letter 16 HOW TO HANDLE THE MANURE Interesting Letters on a Big Subject 8 MODEL OR DEMONSTRATION FARMS Why the Theory Back or Them Is Wrong. 18 ORCHARDING IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS Why the In dustry is Developing so Rapidly There. 26 PHOSPHORIC ACID The Different Sources and Their Special. Qualities and Uses 10 PIG TALK Letters and Editorial Comment 22 COTTON PRICES AND COTTON PROFITS VThe Third of Mr. Butler's Articles , 13 SOME WAYSIDE SCIENCE A Discussion of Deep plowing, Moon Planting, and Farming in General . . 4' STANDARDIZE FARM PRODUCTS The First Essential to Good Prices : . . .' ; 30 TWO-HORSE OR ONE-HORSE TOOLS? A Boy With the Former Can Beat a.Mai With the Latter 6 WHAT CATTLE WOULD DO FOR THE SOUTH A Strong Letter. 20 WHEN THE CANNING CLUB MEETS A Program for the Day.. 15
The Progressive Farmer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Feb. 22, 1913, edition 1
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