VOL. LXVII
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH. 9, 1912.
I'lofJUSUimiti-      tt
•'lll-ellio
Rainfall and Production
Dry and Wet Counties in
1911
CROP      YIELDS     WITH      NORMAL
RAINFALL.   AXD   IX   DRY
SEASONS.
By comparing the rainfall -with the
better methods of agriculture, we deduce some very impoitant facts. The
map of Indiana by counties together
with the precipitation during the year
1911, together with comparative corn
l.roduction in years of normal rainfall
and very dry seasons, is a most interesting matter for study. This is especially so when comparing methods
e.f corn cultivation. By the courtesy
of The National Weather Service, we
Kive the map of Indiana showing the
precipitation  for  1911   by  counties.
Studying the Map.
The reader by studying the
map and the explanations given in the
shaded scales at the bottom of it, will
note the counties with normal rainfall, and those that were very dry.
About 45 inches precipitation are
reckoned normal for Indiana. It will
be noticed that ten counties and parts
of five others had less than 35 inches
of precipitation, and were very dry.
The short rainfall in them occurred
from May to September, during the
corn-growing season. While we have
not the precise facts yet of corn-production by counties in 1911, we have
the aggregate production for the State
during that year, which was 154,781,-
000 bushels.
Other  Normal,   aiul  Dry  Years.
The year 1910 was a normal one in
rainfall during the corn-growing season, and the moisture was well distributed, probably better than in man-.
Velars before. As a result the eorn yield
that year was 201,211!,000 bushels,
""omparing that year witli that of
1908, which was one of the driest in
•"any years, we find that in the latter
'**-r the corn production was only
"-'1.000.000 bushels, while acreage of
both years did not greatly differ, be-
'nB something . over 4,000,000 acres.
These  comparisons  show  the  wonder-
11 influence of moisture on produc-
"on and especially  when  this  rainfall
°mes in the growing season as it did
1910,    the  year    of greatest    corn
"«« Indiana ever had.    It should  be
'   q *n this connection that the meth-
8 of corn culture as well as more
h r'f»l selection  of  seed  in  late  years
■ieMhad * BOOd deal to do with the
*lth " acre* and is having more to do
tar f eVer>' year. Farmers have
•talkU"y noted that so man>" barren
hav S Per acre reduces the yield, and
(ar . *WI thus prompted to more
'or , Se'p°tion of thoroughbred corn
in CU|?, '"", t*a*e taken greater care
'n* st \i*non to 8<*c«"*e the ear-bear-
r«ltiv.a.. Botn   sood   sep(1   an<J   S°°<J
great-
One farmer In the dry part of Allen
County who is very careful in selecting
pure bred seed, last year had a yield
of 59.2 bushels of corn per acre on
his farm,  while other farmers  on the
conserving        the little        moisture
left below, it was held and
and       made available       in       solu
ble effect on the fertility effecting
plant growth. But for holding this
film moisture at the roots of the corn
plant of course his yield would have
dropped down to 38 to 40 bushels of
the neighboring farms around him,
for the yield    of the farmers    on the
t- villi10"* has mueh to do with
•ield
Per acre.
Tak
Some Noun! Examples.
for instance    the year  1911:
Scale of shades -inches
□  m
l/b*t tban 35      35 to 40 40 to 45 45 to 50     more thaa 50
Precipitation  in  Indiana for the Year 1911.
same quality of land in that dry section, grew only 38 to 41 bushels per
acre. The first mentioned farmer with
the large yield, where the rainfall
was only about 31 inches only, was
not only careful In his selection of
seed corn, but was constant in his
shallow cultivation of the growing
corn when the rain almost ceased for
weeks. He used a two row cultivator
that stirred the soil surface for an
inch or two only, and thus kept a dust
mulch stopping off evaporation of the
moisture which capillary action was
drawing up from the subsoil.    By thus I
same quality of soil fell ten to twelve
bushels per acre below his.
Other Instances.
We have similar facts from other
counties as to the yield of corn where
the rainfall was 30 to 35 inches only
for the year, and equally dry as in
Allen county during the corn-growing
■Mtson. In one of these a farmer who
was both careful in seed selection anil
in constant level cultivation in the
dry period, nnd a yield of over 60
bushels per acre, while some of his
neighbors under the same  dry con.
NO. 10
tions and on soil like his own, had only
32 to 3 4 bushels per acre, but who
■topped cultivation in the dry period,
and Allowed thee moisture to evaporate
and leave the plant without help in
growth. These facts afford ample
warnings in the dry seasons. When
rain-fall is normal, growth ir.ees on
well without these precautions, as was
shown in the big crop of over 201,000,-
000   bushels   of  corn   in   1910.
As to the Minor Crops.
As a rule wheat and oats reach maturity before the dry season begins,
and precipitation bas less to do with
the yield of these. But the minor crops
which must have the summer and autumn season periods for growth and
maturing, are seriously effected by
drouth. This is especially so In
in growing potatoes, which are becoming a profitable crop. While in deep
soils level cultivation may be effective
in holding the moisture, it has not
been found so easy a proposition as
with corn. The deep and lighter se.ils
may permit deeper planting of potatoes, in which ease Instances of shallow cultivation have been report ed
which greatly helped the yield. One
farmer reported his experience In
growing potatoes mulched with straw
to take the place of the dust, mulch of
corn, and he had a large yield of potatoes in a very dry season, when his
neighbors all around him growing
them in the usual way had almost entire failures.
The Fruit Crops.
There ar© many other minor crops
that are seriously effected by
very dry       seasons, such as
strawberries and        other small
fruits as well as the tree fruits.
How to carrj- all these through d"ry
seasons without serious failure has
long been a problem. For the most
part when irrigation is Impossible in
the absence of sufficient water, mulching has been resorted to with success, but rarely on a largo scale of
production. As we are confronted
with these problems e-vei-y f.-w years.
the map given and the facts stated In
methods and comparative productions
in normal and dry seasons, are well
worth studying.
Notes on Crop Production.
Tlie average production of corn in
Indiana on an area of a little over 4,-
000,000 acres in a five years' period, is
161,530,410  bushels.
The average gross receipts per aero
on corn at 4 0 bushels per acre is
about the same so that on wheat at 20
bushels per aire, a.eording to tlie last
five years prevailing market prices of
both.
During the last few years Irish
potatoes have sold in the leading markets, at nearly double the acreage
value of either corn or wheat, when
the yield was 100 bushels per acre—
only a good yield for a good potato
grower, as many grow 125 bushels per
acre.
The great advantage in growing
ceirn is that of maintaining live stock
lev putting a part of it in the silo,
stalks, blades, and all, for feeding,
and returning the manure to the soil
in order to keep up fertility. This is
one reason    why Indiana    grows over