Garden
V
VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 11, 1911.
? O. 10
TESTING SEED CORN.
Every corn grower should make arrangements for testing his corn this
spring before it ls planted. The process
is an interesting one. It does not require much time and an expense of not
more than five cents to test corn for
ouch acre. A press bulletin from Purdue says: "One poor ear per acre
means a loss of approximately eight
per cent in the crop." This ought to
show to everyone the'value of testing
the seed.
Making a Tester.
A. T. Wiancko, Chief of Soils and Crops
at the station and author of the bulletin, says:
"Take ordinary inch lumber and
make a shallow tray of convenient
size, say about 2 by 3 feet, and 2 \_ inches deep. Then bore small holes
through the sides and ends about 1%
inches above the bottom and about 1 %
inches apart. Through these holes
string light galvanized or copper wire
in both directions. Then fill up the
tray to the wires with sand, earth or
fine sawdust. Sand is preferred because
it is clean and easily kept In good condition.
"Each square marked off on the surface by the cross-wires is intended for
the kernels from a single ear of corn.
Instead of weaving in the cross-wires
as indicated, a prece of large-meshed
wire chicken fence may be fastened in.
If this is preferred the tray should be
made 1% inches deep, then the piece of
chicken fence fastened on top and an
inch strip nailed on top of that so as to
raise the edges of the tray an inch
above the wire netting, as in the other
case. After the tray has been filled
up to the wire with sand or other material as directed above and thoroughly moistened the tester is ready for
use. For   the   average   farmer   one
tester will be sufficient, as about three
bushels of seed ears can be tested at
one time.
"When making the tests, some convenient system of arranging the ears on
a floor, table, shelf or rack must be employed, so that the ear corresponding
to a certain square in the tester may be
readily located. Begin filling the tester by placing five kernels from the first
ear, selected by taking one from each
of five different parts of the ear, in the
first square at the upper left hand corner and fill each row of squares in regular order.
"After the kernels have been placed,
the material in the tester should be
kept moist. Some kind of covering
must be used to keep the surface from
drying and if this is properly done the
kernels need not be buried out of sight.
Panes of glass ot a glass window sash
make the most satifactory cover.
"The-tester should be placed in a room
ranging around 70 degrees Fahrenheit
1n temperature during the day and not
falling below 50 degrees at night. The
ordinary living room is a good place
for it, but it should not be placed too
near the stove. All kernels which do
not send out vigorous root and stem
sprouts within five days under these
conditions should be considered as too
weak to germinate properly under ordinary field conditions. If the germination of any lot of kernels is unsatisfactory the ear from which they
fame should be discarded. About 95
por cent of the kernels should germinate .strongly within tho five days."
THE COMING CORN CROP.
By J. H. Haynes.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
The time is nearing for preparations
for a corn crop. Some very interesting
statements are abroad that should set
us famers thinking.
Somewhat over four million acres of
corn were planted in Indiana last year.
Of this amount it is said 1% million
acres are unfit for corn culture, 1 % millions barely average 28 bushels per acre
and the other million produces the
greater part of our crop.
The average per acre for Indiana in
the last 10 years has been less than 30
retention indefinitely, such soils are not
■lilted for corn.
The alluvial soils are deficient in potash but are well supplied with the other
element*. Without the potasn there Is
a rankness of plant growth and barrenness of grain.
The muck or peat soils have humus
ln abundance, but lack potash to fit lt
for plant use.
The clay soils are deficient in nitrogen, owing to hard, compact surfaces
and want of air circulation. They have
large stores of potash and phosphorus
but these are so situated by the compactness of the soil as to be unavailable to the plant.
Xr, ''> '•'>*■*. ''-* 'it- *U
***#?;* ~?**'■& fs «■* **. tc *• *if ,'V~* **M
This Box Tests at one Time Enough  Corn  to  Plant Fifteen  Acres.    It  is
Filled and Ready to be Covered.    [Cut loaned by Purdue.]
bushels an acre, an amount that will
not   pay  the   expense   of  growing  it.
Mr. Geo. K. Brown of the Department of Agriculture is authority for the
statement that farmers are not meeting expenses on their farm crops, because of the low averages and because
the farmer receives but 53 cents on the
dollar for what he produces, the other
47 cents going to the middleman and
common carriers. If these conditions
really exist then it is time for reflection
and for action.
If 1% millions of acres yield less than
are unfit for growing corn then they
should be used for other Crops until
made fit for corn.
If 1 % millions of acres yied >ess than
30 bushels per acre then something
should be done to them to better the
condition and even the one million that
are doing the work should be kept in
prime condition so that corn can be
grown successfully on them.
Understanding our soils and their
needs will enable us to work intelligently with them in rectifying wrong
conditions and, give them their wants
in fertilizing lines.
Out state contains a very great variety Of soils, due to her position in the
great low basin, being midway between
the Apalachians and the western highlands. The glacial moraines traversed
the state from the northeast to the
southwest corner of the state and left in
their course the various soil deposits
that constitute the land area of the
state. The sandy soil, of which there
is a large amount, are deficient in all
the three elements necessary for corn
production, potash, nitrogen and phosphoric acid. Unless these can be supplied to them and means taken for their
All the other soils made up of mixtures of these classes rank in their fertility according to the quantities of
each of them in the combine. How to
give each, of these classes their respective needs of fertilizing elements is the
main point.
One can use the commercial fertilizers to a limited extent, but the expense
attached to a general use is not justified by the conditions the farmer is
under. If anything is to be done It
must be mainly on the farm by methods
of restoring fertility, or in supplying the
necessary elements for plant growth.
He may use commercial fertilizer to
further the growth of clovers or other
legumes till they become available for
supplying nitrogen and potash and
humus.
Lime in some of its forms is good
and Indiana ls blessed with a sufficiency
of lime, so that by using it we can avoid
heavy cost in purchasing commercial
fertilizers.
Another objection to this class of fertilizers is that when once begun their
use must be kept up, and even increased, for the use causes the plant not only to take up what is supplied but to
draw* further on the soil for supplies.
Farmers in New Tork tell us that like
morphine in the human, so is the use of
chemicals in the soil, there is continual
demand .for increased  supplies.
For nitrogen we have two sources for
supply; one through drainage of our
compact soils, and the other in turning
under the legumes. The drainage gives
air circulation, and this in turn furnishes nitrogen to the soil.
Our sandy soils can be made productive by using lime to compact them and
by  planting the  clovers,  vetch  or  any
Other legume, for turning under. A
free use of these means will make such
soils ideal corn land.
The muck lands are hardest to deal
with. Lime or potash in some form
must be used to correct wrong' conditions. Drainage goes far also to bring
up such soils.
Alluvlals, with proper rotations, and
especially winter cover crops can be
kept fertile indefinitely. The cover
crops insure the retention of nitrogen
in the soil. The use of barnyard manures on all these soils, in connection
with what has been given, will do the
work of increasing grain growth.
With right soils comes right management. Much stress is put on having
"good seed." This is all right, but there
arc more Important things to look
after. Good seed in ill prepared soil
is a waste of time, labor and seed. Give
good seed proper soils and good cultivation, then the seed is responsive in good
yields. The reverse is true, under the
other  conditions.
The main point in corn culture is to
supply the proper amount of moisture
in the soil so that all the other elements
can be united for plant use in a soluble
manner.
Very few persons are aware of what
amount of moisture is needed to mature a corn crop. Experiments made
go to show that volume one foot deep
over the entire field is required during
the growing season. This equals 326
thousand gallons of water per acre, and
is mainly derived from rains. If our
corn land is in a fit condition to receive
and hold this water then we can reasonably hope for a crop, but if by reason of a shortage in rainfall, or if by
any neglect in allowing this to escape
by running off or by evaporation, then
the corn will suffer. Hence the absolute necessity of having a good loose
seed bed and of careful cultivation so
as to provide a soil mulch all through
the season. If the farmer will not be
in too great haste in getting his corn
planted, but will get his land in a No. 1
shape, and wait till nature shows signs
for the germination of seed, and then
give the right care for his crops there
will be no fears of the average yield
bringing him in debt, as It has been
doing for years past.
We said good seed is all right, but
bad methods of cultivation destroy even
the benefits of good seed. We do not
wish to be pessimistic in our views as
to the coming season, but we fear a
very wet corn season. Should this be
the case much caution will be required
in dealing with corn.
$2,000,000 FOR  CHRISTLVN WORK.
Mr. William P. Sidley, Vice-President
and General Counsel of the Western
Electric Company, has recently been
elected President of the Young Men's
Christian Association  of Chicago.
The Chicago branch of the Y. M. C.
A. now leads the country in the
strength of its endowment. It has just
received three gifts aggregating $100,-
000, with which it intends to push the
work of establishing Association headquarters in the principal cities of foreign non-Christian lands. This is part
of an international campaign, involving
an expense of $2,000,000, which was recently decided upon at a conference in
the White House between President
Taft and a committee from the international Y. M. C. A, organization.