VOL. LIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JUNE 3, 1899.
NO. 22
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Mime Popular Mistakes in Corn Culture.
Does  it Pay  to   Detassel   Barren
Stalks, or to Plant a Few Late
- Rows for Pollen?
let Premium.—Many farmerg pasture their
corn ground in early spring or while it is
being broken. This is poor economy, as
every track made by an animal, while the
ground ls wet, will make a clod larger than
the track, unless it freezes hard afterwards.
Most farmerg plow their ground well, but few
prepare a perfect seed bed, before planting.
They depend on after cultivation to get the
ground in order, but a perfect stand cannot
be secured in this way. Some harrow their
ground and plant, then begin dragging, harrowing, etc., and when the plant fails to push
its way up through a clod, they blame the cutworms or moles or seeds. The seed bed
ehould be perfectly fine, although not firm
like wheat ground. Some use the roller instead of the drag, which is a mistake unless
ground is very dry. Quite a number of farmerg ln this section plant too early, many
plant in]April. Although this early planted
corn is certain to mature, the destruction by
moles, worms and frost in the spring, and the
consequently diseased yield, warns us against
too early planting. In this locality corn
planted from May 10th to 20th gives a better
Btand, makes larger ears and a fuller crib
than that planted earlier. It very Beldom
falls to mature perfectly, if planted before
May 20th. We are just now learning proper
cultivation. It took us a long while to replace
the old wide shovels and the ridging up
method, with small shovels and level cultivation. Some farmers still use the old walking
plow with two shovels on each gang and a
Tery tew hill up. It is sometimes difficult to
cover all the weeds in a row without having a
small ridge, but a number of fine shovels on
each gang will give the best results. However the greatest mistake in corn culture, and
a very prevalent one is laying the corn by.
Many plow their corn a certain number of
times each year, then lay it by. Harvest of.
ten encroaches on corn planting, but after
ie a good time to cultivate. Keep right on until
the horse knocks the ears off. The moisture
that is retained ln the soil in mid summer,
by that dust mulch we hear so much about,
will eventually widen our pocket book. One
farmer plows shallow at firet and increases the
depth an-Inch at each successive cultivation.
When he is plowing the last time, you can
hear the corn roots snapping continually. His
corn never makes the yield it promises in
early summer. He needs to read the Indiana
Fakmbk, We don't believe ln detasseling bar-
Ten stalks or planting a few late rows for pollen, as the inconvenience for following this
Plan will more than eflect the supposed benefit 0. S. B.
Wayne Co.
2d Premium.—The flrst mistake in corn
culture ig to plant poor rundown land to corn.
First reclaim with clover and such other manure as is possible. The labor in the culture
of corn on poor land ls greater than on good
land and the reward less. It does not pay to
plant corn continuously on the same land,
even with heavy manuring. So says Prof.
Latta. There is a very common mistake In
planting corn in half prepared land. Break
your land in good time so that you will have
time to work it well before planting. It
should be gone over three or four times before planting, with drag, harrow or roller,
with a few days between each operation, eo
that the weed need may sprout and be destroyed. You can do more work with the
eame labor when you have no corn to look after.   Another very common  mistake _  to
make no arrangement for seed until you are
ready to plant, then rush to the crib and select seed at random. The question of seed
merely growing should not satisfy. The
question ehould be has my eeed all the vitality that nature can give it, and has that vitality been preserved so may get a vigorous
plant. The variety or size of the ear should
compare with the fertility of your soil, and
the over large varieties as a rule are not as
solid or flinty as the small or medium varieties. The fourth mistake is ln planting on
the top of the surface and our planting machinery ig in fault in this matter. We should
by some means open up a good furrow and
plant in the bottom of lt, eo when that furrow
ls filled level with the surface your corn has
depth enough to make good roots without
hilling, for without good roots you can not
get good ears, and the progressive farmer has
learned to leave the surface level and the roots
unbroken. In regard to replanting, it your
corn does not stand well throw in some replant for the more perfect polenization, but
if you have a reasonable etand ln the general
crop it will not pay. Nature itself arranges
for late pollen by some stalks taeseling later
than others. Neither would I detassel barren
stalks in the general crop. But I would plant
a small plat from which to save my seed, and
in that plat I would detassel all barren stalks,
or rather cut them out and feed them. I
would also in planting leave about two rows
out of 10 to be planted eight or 10 days later,
so ag to make sure of a more perfect polenization, for without perfect polenization we can
not have perfect ears well filled at the point.
As like begets like, not only ln the animal
kingdom, but in the vegetable also, it behooves us to look well to our eeed corn, and
eternal vigilance brings the reward.
Marion Co. I. N. Cotton.
3d Premium.—One great mistake in the
culture of corn la that of repeatedly planting
on the same ground until the soli ls exhausted.
It ig obvious ln time of drought that while
the corn in the old fields is wilting that in the
new grounds is doing well. Every farmer
knows that underneath a sod the soil is moist
and mellow. This sod acts as a non-conductor of heat, and thus the soil about the roots
of our crops Is kept cool and moist. Another
is carelessness in the selection of eeed corn for
the next planting. Only the earliestand moet
perfectly ripened should be selected; then cut
the stalk off above the ear; then when sufficiently dry, cut those hllla off and remove to
some suitable place for drying out. When
they are well dried out, strip down the husk
and hang up In some dry place. Deep fall
plowing for corn has a number of advantages.
It brings the cut worms to the action of the
frost and destroys them to quite an extent,
and the manure becomes rotted earlier than
it does under spring plowing. Detasseling
the stalks throws all the sap and moisture Into the ear, thereby filling the grain or kernel
out more fully. Unless too many hills are
missing It is better not to plant late rows for
pollen, as the late rows are so much smaller
than the others that they retard the cultivation to such an extent that the loss of all is
more than the pollen can replace.   S. M. N.
DeKalb Oo.
One of the greatest mistakes in com culture
is ln not properly preparing the ground before
planting. If the ground is ln proper condition when the corn is planted the most of the
work is done, but if it is not lt never can be
done aa lt should be. Some farmera let their
corn go too long after planting before cultivation ls begun; then they go into it with
large shovels, and aim to cover up the grass,
which is one of the greatest mistakes. Com
should not be planted on top of the ground,
but should be planted 4 or 5 inches deep, but
not covered more than 1 or 1}_ Inches deep,
then there la a chance to put some fresh dirt
to the corn each time it ls worked without
ridging up the ground, which should never
be done. In cultivating corn tho ground
should be kept as near level as possible, bo-
cause in thia way it will hold moisture much
longer. As to detasseling barren stalks I don't
think it would hardly pay, unless bothered
with more of lt than we are, but eomo kinds
of corn might produce more barren stalks
than others. If one were raielng hia crop especially for eeed then it might be beneficial
to detassel the few barren stalks. D. L.
Harrison Oo.
B-VIKW.
Oorn growing has been a serious problem
with me. It isn't hard to grow eome corn.
But 40 or 60 bu. is only a half a crop, and not
a third of the possibilities of the plant. We
evidently are satisfied with a very partial success. The present price may not warrant the
expense of making nearly a maximum crop.
But we ought not be satisfied with a half or a
third of a yield.
I have tried extra tillage on hoed crops that
didn't pay. And have failed by heavy manuring. The reduced yield eeems to be the
result of lack of intelligent work all along the
line, the seed bed, the planting and tillage.
As Mr. Beard says many even pasture corn
land before and at plow time. This puddles
it. This is only a symptom of the too general
practice of thinking of the preparation of a
seed bed as a thing of one season.
Before a surgeon performs an important
operation he has his patient put ln trim by
treatment, rest and food till his vitality is
high.   This may take weeks or longer.
Let us see for a moment some ways of improvement, and then apply such as seem
practical.
Mr. Terry by a three year rotation filled his
soil with humus till lt became a problem how
to pack it enough. With our starved soil we
are moat afraid to work a eeed bed enough to
be in order to plant it for fear it will run to
gether. We keep cloda to hold lt up, Terry
uses humus. One satisfaction Is that clods
are easily had when needed in this way. No
one would dare work soil that is void of humus ten or more times lest he puddle it into a
brick. But if filled with humus you can work
it to your heart's delight and lt will not puddle. Thus the eeed bed for corn ls the result
of good farming for years. Nature seems
conscious of this fact. She does not produce
clods unless they are needed. A typical seed
bed never breaks cloddy. If eoil ie in real
good heart you can make a better seed bed by
simply plowing than you can from a poor clay
eoil in a month's working. Nature always
pays a premium for good management. We
hear and say much about working a seed bed
thoroughly, we ehould also emphasize previous
management.
I have been amused to see the carelessness
with which eome select eeed. One will ask a
written statement of the pedigree of a cow he
la about to buy. He wants to know her far
back. Even hundreds of yeara if possible.
But he aeke a neighbor simply if he has corn
in his crib that will grow.
Plants respond as promptly to careful selection as animals. Pedigree corn makes the
largest yield. Seed from a carefully fed and
tended crop alao. The stations show that fire
dried seed Is much more productive. And
that large grains increase the yield decidedly.
How many, many farmers there are thatpay
no attention what ever to any of these things.
We don't half understand tillage yet. Cultivators are changing so rapidly that we can't
wear out a tool till It la so far out of date that
we can't afford to use lt. The stations grew
about as great a yield of corn by simply scuffing the surface with a hoe twice, as by
numerous cultivations. But it was on a good
seed bed.   A  mistake very  common  is to
plow deep when the eeed bed is already loose
enough. Nature always guards her mulch and
we may fine the surface to kill weeda and conserve moisture, but unless we are trying to
farm a brick yard we ehould bo careful about
loosening tho soil where the plant roots are to
live and work. Some make the very worst
mistake ln thla line. They plow shallow at
first, as Mr. B. says, and deep afterward. One
man ln an Institute insisted that he had increased his yield in good dirt by plowing
deep at time of taseeling and cutting roots.
The fact was ho eavod moisture enough to do
his corn more good than the root pruning did
harm. It would have been better to have
made a shallow mulch and saved both roots
and moisture. Allow me to emphasize this
statement that the need of tillage ls Increased
ln proportion as tbe seed bed becomes poor.
I have never claimed to have attained theee
Ideal methode but I am striving. Mv land ia
improving, and ls more easily farmed year
by year.
No. 171, June 17.—Experience ln sowing rye,
beans, clover, or other feed crops ln corn.
No. 172, June 21.—How beet clean rooms in
daily housework, floors, furniture, brass, pictures and the like.
No. 173, July 1.—The effect of the policy of
political expansion on American agricultural
ntereste. 	
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 60 cents will be
given to 1st, 2d and 3d best articles each week.
Let copy be as practicable as possible and forwarded 10 days before publication to
Oarmel. E. H. Oo___a.
Effects of Earthquakes.
Animals scent the danger of earthquakes a
few moments in advance. Some mysterious
sense apprises them of the approaching shock,
and birds and beasts alike are terrified. Horees
snort, throw up their heads, and glare about
ln affright; cattle put their snouts to the ground
and moan; sheep huddle together and bleat;
birds flock to the trees and set upa prodigious
twittering. A lady told me that half an hour
before a shock ln question she was astonished
at hearing- the sparrows, linnets, and other
blrda ln the grove eurroundlng her houee break
out Into general commotion. This, in the
middle of the night, was unaccountable until
the subsequent shock, after which the alarmed
birds quieted down and presumably went to
sleep again. It ls a pity that man has not
some such premonitory sense, but he ia helpless.
The sensation of an earthquake at sea is
startling. The ship Is shocked from stern to
stern, and the first impression is that ehe has
struck a rock. On a railway train in motion,
the eensation la that the wheels have run over
a fair-sized stone, for it ia a severe jolt. In
the lofty modem office building the affrighted
tenant fancies the edifice is swaying back to
and fro over the pheriphery of about half a
block, when in reality the oclllatlon is confined to a few Inches, except ln severe cases.
The effect produced on the human system is
never twice the eame. The man who smiles
at the shock today becomes terrified on some
'other occasion. He never knows beforehand
how he is going to take it. Women are
always more alarmed than men, and many of
them have a feeling of sea-sickness. I never
yet saw a female otherwise than frightened
out of her wits during an earthquake, whereas
ina disaster at sea some of them are not frequently cooler than the sterner sex. But there
is eomething about an earthquake especially
demoralizing to women.—Frederick H. Dewey, In April Llpplncott's.
Charles Carter, seventy-eight years old, of
Eaton, died while seated ln a chair. He was
one of seventeen men of Delaware county who
crossed the plains In 1849, hunting gold in
California.