Practical – – Agriculture.

Lake County Press, Issue 2348, 27 October 1910, Page 2

Practical - - Agriculture.

OHglnal Articles.

(COPYRIGHT.)

\Prof. F. S. Cooley, Experiment Station.)

PREPARE CORN LAND THOROUGHLY. The preparation of the soil for corn is one of the most important factors toward producing maximum yields and high quality. A large per cent, of the low yields obtained by corn growers in different sections of the country is due directly to poor work previous to planting. The most carefully selected seed planted in poorly prepared soil cannot be expected to give best results. Neither will any amount of’ subsequent cultivation remedy the lack of intelligent and persistent work in preparing the seed bed.

Fall plowing is prabably generally the most desirable land upon which to raise corn. This is especially true where corn follows clover, or where green crops have been plowed under for the purpose of enriching the soil. If this plowing is done in early autumn the soil receives the benefit of all the winter moisture, as well as the mellowing influence of frost and sun. Whatever rubbish or vegetation may have been plowed under has decayed and added its organic matter to' the soil, lightening it, rendering more plant food available and producing the best possible condition for thrifty plant growth. Surface cultivation should be the rule on fall plowing from the time the frost leaves the ground up to ( and including the planting period. Get on the land early with the disc and thoroughly work the surface to a depth of -i inches. Break up the surface to admit air and sun and kill the weeds. Follow up this cultivation as fast as may be necessary with the ordinary harrow, or even the disc the second time. As fast as weeds begin to sprout use the cultivating tools freely and destroy all this growth. Surface Tillage Warms Soil. Thoroughly cultivated soil will be ready to receive the seed several days in advance of fields which have been left dormant during the entire spring. It should be remembered that for most successful germination a soil 'temperature of at least 70 degrees is desirable. This early cultivation tends to warm the soil, and thus the desired .temperature will be reached very considerably earlier than it otherwise would. This is an important point ,to be considered, because corn placed in soil which has not the most favorable germinating temperature may lie in a cold, inert condition until its germinating powers arc lost, or it may sprout, but owing to the unfavorable temperature produce unthrifty, weak plants. Another advantage which may follow spring cultivation, especially in sections which are likely to suffei later from lack of moisture, is that this thorough surface tillage tends to keep the soil in a receptive condition for all moisture which falls, and to prevent undue evaporation from the surface. It enables the farmer to store up, for use of the crop later, all the spring rainfall. Under some conditions, however, fall plowing is not considered the best practice. On hilly land, where the slopes arc abrupt, fall plowing may tend toward severe washing of the soil during the spring thaw. Again, some .fields might be exposed to prevailing strong winds during the late fall and winter, and for this reason fall plowing is not always desirable. Spring plowing for corn should be done as early as conditions permit. Follow up the plow each day with a harrow or board drag, so as to thoroughly smooth and pulverize the surface. If plowing is deep, work the field over with disc or roller before planting, so as to firm and compact the seed bed.

SCIENCE AND FARMING. An American authority says:— “The community benefits infinitely more than the individual by the work*

of research, and the same is true in the long run of any industrial development. Year by year the areas of virgin soil are diminishing So, that once repaid a hundredfold if it were but scratched and planted, now w to call to its aid the chemical manures of which little or nothing was heard half a century ago. Ihe standard of comfort is everywhere rising, and with its rise the cost of cultivation must inevitably -increase. We can realise what the unobtrusive work of the chemist can do for the farmer who insists on having at his command the resources of the State. Every year American farms produce wealth of the value of six and a half million thousand dollars. The wealth produced on farms in 1905 exceeded that of 1899 by 36 per cent. Where these gains have been secured the farmer has at his back a weather bureau, a bureau of animal industry, with a dairy division, a bureau of plant industry, another of entomology, another of chemistry, and yet others devoted to biological surveys, to statistics, to foreign markets, to forests, to the construction of roads, to experimental stations, to publications and the like. But, then, the men who arc responsible for the elation of this vast department of the State did not wait until ‘there weie manv demands.’ Among the larger European Stales, Germany is, of course, to the fore. It possesses 19 cxpeiimcntal stations of the first rank. Experiments in Holland, instead of showing an improvement in crops to the extent of some 17 to 26 per cent., showed an increase of 100 per cent.”

SOILS FOR MANGOLDS, Mangolds thrive well on a great variety of soils. It would surprise some growers to see large and excellent specimens on land of extremely light character. All that the crop needs is a healthy soil and plenty of food. It is generally believed that mangolds require a good and rather stiff soil, and that they must be cultivated on well-sheltered or low-lying ground. To some extent this is true, for if 60 co 70 tons per acre are looked for such crops must be sought in favoured situations. If, on the other hand, the grower is content with 20 tons per acre, these may bt obtained on comparatively high-lying fields. The peculiarities of mangold cultivation are chiefly due to the soil selected for its growth, i.e., lo its strong nature, which demands autumn cultivation and manuring, brother feature is that mangolds are sown earlier than swedes or turnips, and that consequently the preparation of the 1 land demands earlier attention.