SB 191
.M2 R85
Copy 1
UNIVERSITY BULLETIN
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Published by the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical]
College at Baton Rouge. Issued niwonthly except
November and December.
Entered December 22, 1909, at Baton Rouge, La.. as second-class matter, under
Act of Congress of July 16. 1894.
MOE. 11 NS:
FEBRUARY, 1911. No. 2.
Farmers” Library
CIRCUEAR:. No??,1
Department of Agricultural Extension,
College of Agriculture,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Corn Growing in Louisiana
V. L. ROY, Director of Agricultural Extension.
Monograph
YAA an E
UNIVERSITY BULLETIN;
PODISIANA? STATE UNIVERSITPY
Published by the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical
College at Baton Rouge. Issued monthly except
November and December.
Entered December 22, 1909, at Baton Rouge, La.. as second-class matter, under
Act of Congress of July 16. 1894.
MOB. 11=>N, 05: FEBRUARY, 1911. No. 2:
Farmers + Library
GIRCUEMA Re Noel
Department of Agricultural Extension,
College of Agriculture,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
Corn Growing in Louisiana
=—>BY ==
V. L. ROY, Director of Agricultural Extension.
Ramires € Jones.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1911
A e
OS
rn 4 Me A:
yz, NV
CONTENTS
TNTROdUCLIOA a a lata e lille tds tve aloe tebe >
¡EMPOTTaneer o RCOTMNrteels sion Na a Urna ia oa
SEVTISICSMHON AOSTA ARCO a ir a Tone
Yield Ot COTO PEA rt oe ds o e lada o Reis
TneEreasedicornproduction int taeiSonta a ed arto ha a o
GCausesiot lo w+*corniylelds ratio lema edo a br sanas a Ne Je
Eo yw to tinersase the yield ioficorn per acre aloe
Selectinerands improve cora A
'Preparationot Seed bed itoriCcorD toa Nata A
Commercial PHrerbiuzerns eolica A a
Seed NCOP o ES tos e E NS A o AR o
Mannertoteplabtins icons to de Res
CUEVA OECD pia EIA Eee
COWPEeaSiIECON oa RN a E ao e
Harvestinerandestorin e Co A A
¡WINtericover(Cropsion corn dan io iaa
Selectingaseedscor in te o
Qualitiestobiadeood cora plant E E
ESsSentiaitpolnts 0 Ma So00 Car E SONS
Cropkrotationstastattectiney elas .OnCoOn O NO
OTAN OCA o a a a er CORREOS
CESTA CA ORIO IACIAN E A O Na
SEUAYA OL thercorikerneland pla A AAA
Penstitandishapetor comNtkenS
TREO TS YEMA OACI TA A NN
ECOTIPOSICION OL CO ae NES NN A NA O, e
BUuymEg, seed Corman tarea rt a rato A E
EerminationEtestforicorna o Ia NA CO
Selling""cora DY Welghba rd a a o e Ll
InSectenemies OIC e NO NR
Corn Growing in Louisiana.
INTRODUCTION.
Until very recent years the South in general and Louisiana
in particular have failed to give corn that measure of consid-
eration and appreciation which 1t deserves. Durine many years
this erop held third place in Louisiana agriculture; in 1908 it
assumed second place, being second only to the sugar crop, and
exceeding in value the cotton erop by about $3,000,000; in 1909,
corn took first place, surpassing in value the sugar crop by
several million dollars, and the cotton crop by $20,000,000.
Since the year 1907, the interest of Louisiana farmers in
corn has grown rapidly, and the attention given the crop 1s
increasing year by year. The boys of the corn clubs of the
State, numberins 6,037 in 1910, have given time, study and
labor to their plots of corn, and have largely contributed to
the general interest in the crop. And with the establishment
of agricultural departments in Louisiana high schools and the
inereasine number of pupils taught elementary agriculture in
the grades, the educational forces of the State are contributing
in large measures to the spreadine of information relative to
corn.
From farmers, corn club boys, teachers, pupils and the pub-
lic in general, requests have, therefore. been received for infor-
mation concernine every phase of corn culture; and it is to
supply this need and to respond to this demand, in so far as
that may be done through printed matter, that this bulletin is
issued.
12 ale
Boys' Corn Club of Avoyelles P.
arish visiting the State Experiment Station
University, June 18, 1910.
and College of Agriculture of the Louisiana State
3)
IMPORTANCE OF THE CORN CROP.
Of all crops grown in the United States, corn is the most
important by reason both of its magnitude and money value.
It forms the basis of American aerienlture, contributine to the
wealth of the farmer through its use as an article of human
food, as the most largely utilized feedine stuff, and as a sales
erop. Corn finds use in the manufacture of scores of products
important to our eivilization. The acreage devoted to it in the
United States exceeds that of any other erop, and its annual
money value is greater than that of cotton, wheat and oats.
A comparison of the production and value of the three leading
erops of the country is interesting. The data in the table fol-
lowine are compiled from the Yearbooks of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
PRODUCTION AND VALUE OF CORN, WHEAT AND COTTON FOR
1908 AND 1909.
1908 | 1909
CROP -— - - == = A
| Yield Value | Yield | Value
|
]
COLITIS telas 2,668,651,000:$1,616,145,000/2,772,376,000/|$1,652,822,000
| |
WMILCauE DM to coa 664,602,000| 616,826,000| 737,189,000| 730,046,000
| |
(SOTLOMA DAOS ainda 13,241,799| 588,814,828] 10,088,000] *706,160,000
| | |
*Estimated on the basis of $70 per bale.
For the year 1910, according to the same authority, the
production cf these erops is as follows:
COLI as 3,121,381,000 bushels.
A IE 631,769,000 bushels.
MOLL e cda 11,426,000 bales (estimated).
On a basis of 60 cents per bushel for corn, 80 cents per
bushel for wheat, and $70 per bale for cotton, the value of
these crops is as follows:
E ER ARS $1,872,828,600
Mo id 505,415,200
tn Ae 799,820,000
6
Not only, however, is corn the most important crop in the
country as a whole, but it likewise holds a pre-eminent position 3n
Louisiana agriculture. The statement given below shows the
production and value of the crops of corn, cotton and sugar
produced in Louisiana for the years 1901 to 1909, inclusive.
This data is tabulated from the combined annual reports of
the parish assessors to the State Auditor, and from the reports
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
YIELD AND VALUE OF CORN, COTTON AND SUGAR CROPS OF
LOUISIANA FOR 1901 TO 1909.
NHOJ) | COTTON SUGAR
| me ze se E e
YEAR | | > E
iS O S = 2 S E S
aa E E ZE Na E
PA | > | De > pu >
| ha
CE e
E 18,035,3221$13,526,644 880,8111$32,406,798| 321,676|5$26,709,000
O a 16,784,762| 11,077,943] 882,073] 34,982,955] 329,227| 29,499,000
MON 21,937,905] 16,203,985 828,186] 49,607,420|. 228,477| 18.552.060
A O 27,258,443] 15,537,313] 1,089,526| 45,498,605] 355,531] 37,828.000
AE 19,516,499] 11,905,064] 513,480| 27,034,722] 336,752] 28,287,168
MIN 26,217,633] 15,730,580 987,779| 47,650,458| 230,000] 21,160,000
MORA 28,000,000| 19,600,000 675,428] 37,310,642] 340,000| 28,560,000
TIN | 33,898,000] 23,729,000 470,136| 20,902,246] 355,000| 33,800,000
1 aa 51,198,000| 35,327,000 253,412| 15,400,000/ 325,000] 30,930,000
| |
The total production of corn in Louisiana for the year 1910,
as estimated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, is 58,835,-
000 bushels, which is an inerease of 7,637,000 bushels over the
year 1909. The estimated production of the cotton crop of
Louisiana for 1910, as reported at the close of the year, is 260,000
bales. If a farm value of 60 cents per bushel is assumed for
corn, and the market price of cotton, includine seed, is esti-
mated at $80 per bale, the value of our 1910 corn crop exceeds
that of our cotton crop by $14,500,000.
YIELDS PER ACRE.
Previous to the year 1907, comparatively little attention was
even in Louisiana to the production of corn, and no systematie
effort was made to increase the average yield per acre. Hence,
we find that it has only been during the years 1908, 1909 and
7
1910 that the average yield per acre for the State has made
any substantial gain over the 10-year average. The following
tabulated statement shows the average yield for the United
States and for Louisiana during the period from 1898 to 1907,
and for the years 1908, 1909 and 1910:
AVERAGE YIELDS PER ACRE OF CORN IN BUSHELS.
Pr
|
| 10 years |
1898 to 1907 1908 | 1909 | 1910
Ñ
| CN | : | á |
United ¡StUtes sas cto a aae o 25.6 26.2 25.5 27.4
| E
Tomando aereas | 16.7 | 19.8 | 23.0 | 23.6
PON (a |
IeErenca. rea ajo io 8.9 6.4 | O 3.8
This shows for Louisiana an increase in yield, over the 10-
year average named above, of 18.5 per cent for 1908, 31.7 per
cent for 1909, and 41 per cent for 1910; and proves that a
slight additional effort on the part of the corn growers of the
State could easily bring Louisiana's average yield up to that
of the United States.
THE CORN BELT MOVING SOUTHWARD.
Previous to the invasion of the Southland by the Mexican
boll weevil, the farmers of this part of the United States de-
voted practically' all their time, labor and land to the produe-
tion of cotion. Diversification and stock raisine were almost
wholly neglected. But, today, the changed conditions brought
about by the advent of the bo!l weevil prove on every hand
that the South is well adapted to stock raising, by virtue of the
abundance and variety of forage erops and pasture grasses that
can be grown throughout the year and bv the mildness of our
winters. It is also capable of producing corn of as fine quality
as can be erown in the so-called corn belt, and of producing this
erop in as large quantities as any other equal area of the country.
Evidence of this is found in the followinz facts:
That the largest yield of corn ever produced on a single
acre (256 bu.) was made in a Southern State: that a member
of the boys? corn club of South Carolina produced, in 1910,
228 bushels on one acre; that 28 boys of the Louisiana corn
clubs of 1910 grew each more than 100 bushels per acre; that
8
the average yield of 256 boys who made reports in this State
was 61 bushels; that a slight effort on the part of the farmers
of Louisiana has, within three years, resulted in an increase 1
average yield of 41%; and that, of the total increase in the pro-
duction of corn by the entire country in 1910 over 1909, more
than 158,000,000 bushels, or 45%, was grown in nine Southern
States. This represents an increase in the farm value of the corn
erown in these States of $100,000,000—and this is a part of the
United States that has heretofore received practically no recog-
nition as a corn-2rowing section.
E Se
q j car 13d
ea
4
¿til
0
Fic. 2. Mosby Prolific White Dent.
ADA]
F1t
228
E
a
Z
qa
2
+
+
¿3
9
CAUSES OF LOW CORN YIELDS.
A cure can generally be effected when the cause of a disease
1s thoroughly understood. What, we may ask, are the causes of
the comparatively low yield of corn obtaining in Louisiana?
Our summers are longer in duration than the corn plant re-
quires to reach full maturity; our rainfall is ample to meet
the needs of the plant; and the natural fertility of our soil in
all the alluvial lands and in some of the hill sections is as great
as that of the lands in the corn-belt. What are the conditions,
then, which counteract the good effects of these natural advan-
tages and keep the average of corn production in Louisiana
below that of the United States?
Briefly they are as follows, either wholly or in part: Grow-
ing cotton, we have in a measure exhausted the fertility of our
lands; the humus content of the soil has been drawn upon
heavily, and added to seldom and sparingely; the importance
of deep fall plowing has been overlooked or ignored; winter
cover crops have remained practically unknown; the seed bed
has not received the attention it deserves; we have neglected
to breed up for yield our native strains of corn; few farmers
have selected their seed, and when this has been done it has
been in the crib rather than in the field; we have persistently
failed to cultivate our corn sufficiently or correctly; and we
continue to allow the cockle-bur to grow in our corn fields
rather than plant cowpeas or velvet beans. This is a long catalog
of agricultural sins, but one justified by existing conditions and
practices. 1t is not meant to imply, however, that there is not
a large and increasing number of corn growers in the State who
exercise intelligence and employ approved methods in the pro-
duction of their crops; but rather that the general agricultural
practice of the State, in so far as it applies to corn growing, is
unsatisfactory and susceptible of vast improvement.
10
HOW TO INCREASE THE YIELD OF CORN PER
ACRE.
The most important means whereby the production of corn
per acre can be increased in our State and the points that de-
serve most attention at the hands of the corn growers, are the fol
lowing:
(a) Selecting and improving corn land.
(b) Preparation of the seed bed.
(c) Commercial fertilizers for corn.
(d) Seed corn.
(e) Manner of planting.
(£) Cultivation of corn.
(2) Cowpeas on corn land.
Before discussing these points in detail, it should be said
that the corn plant consumes a large amount of food; that it
requires an unfailing supply of soil moisture in order to grow
vigorously and produce erain; that it has a much larger and
more extensive root system than is generally thought (Fig. 21);
that a shallow soil, plowed three or four inches deep, with a
seant supply of plant food and humus, may produce 15 or 20
bushels of corn, but only deep-plowed and thoroughly prepared
land containins an abundance of food and humus can yield
40, 50 or more bushels of corn per acre; and that only in such
a soil, do we find it possible to store enough moisture to tide
over dry spells, and the plant enough space for its root system
to develop favorably.
It may be fruitless to speculate upon the results that would
follow the general employment of approved methods in corn
growing; but there can be no doubt that were such methods
practiced in 1911 on all the farms of Louisiana where they
are not now used, the production of corn in the State would
be doubled. In other words, our 2,250,000 acres devoted to
corn would yield more than 100,000,000 bushels; and the an-
nual revenues of Louisiana corn growers would thus be in-
creased by more than $30,000,000. That such a development
is entirely possible is firmly believed by practically all the agri-
cultural authorities and leadine corn growers of Louisiana.
“UOD) UOSUNII JO JIQLUXA
Epa e 0d Si
Y “DIA
rd god:
¡| 7 PA
mm rc
E E se Pear
'UlOD (0D PIH UNOYILO JO ajdures
aaa
a
293
a
12
SELECTING AND IMPROVING CORN LAND.
For best results, corn requires a rather light but fertile
soil, well draimed, porous, and containing much humus (de-
cayed vegetable matter). Certain alluvial soils, containing a
“fair proportion of sand mixed with silt, offer probably the
best conditions for corn production; but good corn can be made
on nearly all soils of the State. The stiffer clay lands and the
sandy hills and flats underlaid with clay, both produce excel-
lent corn when properly handled. For such soils, the most
important requirement is a large enough supply of humus, to-
gether with good drainage in the case of the heavier land.
In the selection of new land for corn, erass sod should
always be avoided on account of the many cut-worms usually
found on such land.
Much of the land now planted to corn in Louisiana has been
more or less exhausted of its fertility by continuous cropping
without plowine under green manure crops or barnyard ma-
nure. The great need of such soils is more humus.
Humus, as stated above, is vegetable or animal matter in
course of decomposition. Before the process of decay sets in
or after the process is completed, organic matter, as such, is
of practically no benefit to the soil. In a comparatively pure
state, humus is found in leaf mold, in well-rotted stable manure.
or wherever vegetable matter in mass is decomposing.
Humus is of value to the soil in two respects. Chemically,
1t contributes nitrogen and other plant foods, and assists in lib-
erating other food held in insoluble form in soil particles. The
latter process is accomplished by the action of humiec and car-
bonic acids, which are produced during the process of decom-
position; and the former results from the action of different
bacteria during the process of decay.
Physically, humus is important in many ways. It improves
the texture of all soils; it makes stiff land more friable and
fills the open spaces in sandy soil, thus reducine excessive ventila-
tion; it increases the power of clay soils to absorb rain water and
retain moisture; it enables sandy soils to hold more moisture,
the water-holding power of humus being, pound for pound,
about seven times greater than that of sand; it lessens the
13
amount of moisture lost from soils by evaporation; it makes
the average well-drained soil darker, and hence warmer in early
spring; it increases the porosity of stift land, favors root pen-
etration, affords better drainage and promotes bacterial life.
For best results, corn requires a large humus content in
ihe soil. Being a vigorous feeder, this plant, unlike some oth-
ers, can make profitable use of the rougher forms of organie
matter, such, for instance, as green stable manure.
The ordinary sources of humus are threefold. First, it is ob-
tained by plowing under green crops, sucr as cowpeas, velvet
beans, rye, ete.; second, from stable manure spread over the
land; and, third, from the droppines of animals pastured in
the field where the ecrops are grown.
PREPARATION OF THE SEED BED FOR CORN.
The time and depth of breaking land for corn, and the man-
agement of such land after breaking, depend upon the nature of
the soil and subsoil. In general it may be said that one's sue-
cess in corn growing next year will be measured quite as much,
and probably more, by the treatment given the land this year
as next year. In other words, the texture of the soil, as af-
fected by the amount of vegetable matter 1t contains, the drain-
age Of the land and the depth to which the land has been
broken the fall previous to plantine, determine to a great extent
the suecess of a corn crop.
As a rule, land that is to be planted to corn should be plowed
deeply the fall preceding. and as early in the fall as practicable.
Failing this, the land should be plowed at the first opportunity,
and in every case before January 1st. The only exception to
this is in the case of deep sandy soils not underlaid by a clay
subsoil. Such lands as this should not be plowed more deeply
than five or six inches (dependine upon the amount of vege-
tahle matter turned under), and should not be broken in the
fall unless a winter cover crop is to be sown. (See page 31.)
The reasons for this are obvious.
The stiffer lands, loams, and sandy soils having a clay sub-
soil a few inches below the surface should be deep-plowed in the
fall, unless this would result in excessive washing, as may be
14
the case on hillsides. Where the slope is not too great, deep
plowing frequentiy prevents washing by enabling the soil to
absorh more of the rainfall.
The advantages of fall plowing are found in the following
facts: that the vegetable matter on the soil is all turned under
and thus changees into humus useful to the next crop; and the
Y EUA
LEE aLe
===
A
Fic. 6. Disc Plow. A good implement for deep fall plowing.
Acknowledgment is made to the Moline Plow Co. for cuts of implements used
in this Bulletin.
lower layers of the soil are turned up and exposed to sun,
rain and air; that the soil is opened for the absorption of winter
rains; that, through the action of humiec acid produced by
the vegetable matter, nitric acid washed into the soil, and
carbonic acid of the air, plant food is rendered available; and
15
that insects which are injurious to erops and which are win-
tering in the soil, are more or less exposed to the rigors of
winter weather, and are thus largely destroyed.
Care should be exercised in deepening land by the use of
the plow. When the turning or mold-board plow is used, the
depth of the furrow should be not more than two inches greater
than the depth of the previous plowine; and the form of the
mold-board should be such that the furrow will be turned on
edge and broken rather than beine turned over completely.
This method of breaking tends to mix the subsoil more thor-
oughly with the true soil and prevents a break in the soil,
resultinsa frequently from turnins under a heavy growth of
vegetation.
A ÍL ER
1/0 WI
FiG. 7. The reversible disc harrow.
If the fall breaking of corn land is done with the dise plow
(Fig. 6), there is no danger of injurine the nature or texture
of the soil by plowing at once to a depth several inches greater
16
than the preceding year. With this implement it is safe to
plow 8 or 10 inches if the dise is so adjusted as not to bring too
much subsoil to the surface. Gradually, too, as explained above,
the soil should be deepened to 8 or 10 inches when the turning
plow is used.
After a sufficient depth has been attained with the plow,
subsequent breaking should be so regulated as to avoid going to
the same depth year after year; for this practice has a tend-
ency to form a hard pan either at less or greater depth.
Fall-plowed land not sown to a winter cover crop should
be run over with the disc or spike-tooth harrow, or both, at
intervals during the winter, as time and weather conditions
permit. This keeps the soil open to air and rain, and results
in a more mellow and better seed bed. Cloddy land should be
rolled, after which the harrow should again be used to open the
soil for the absorption of winter rains.
===>
COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS FOR CORN.
Of the ten chemical elements used by the plant in building
lts structure, all but three are always found in soil and air in
sufficient quantity and in proper form to meet the needs of
crops. These three are potassium (called potash when united
to oxygen), phosphorous (usually combined with lime, ete., as
acid phosphate), and nitrogen. Lime is also frequently applied
to soils to remove the acidity when they are “sour”? or to im-
prove their texture.
Potash is used by the plant largely to strengthen the stalk;
phosphorus to make and mature the seed and give body to
the plant; and nitrogen to produce a vigorous growth of stalk
and leaves.
In Louisiana it is not often necessary to add potash to the
soil, and seldom profitable to apply it to corn land. Kainit,
muriate of potash, and sulphate of potash are common forms
of this fertilizer. Wood ashes are also used as a potash fer-
tilizer.
The chief phosphorous fertilizers are obtained from bones
or phosphatic rocks, by treatine them with sulphuric acid.
This process changes the phosphorus compound and renders.
a
it partly soluble, and hence available to plants. This treated
rock is called acid phosphate. Raw and steamed bone meal
and bone charcoal are phosphatic fertilizers frequently used.
Pulverized rock phosphate, made by grinding natural rocks
mined in Tennessee and other states, is the cheapest phosphorous
fertilizer, the cost of a pound of phosphorus in this form
being only about one-half as much as in the form of acid phos-
phate. Ground rock should be applied at the rate of 1,000
to 2,000 pounds per acre. The initial cost of such application
may be considerable, but the effect is far more lasting than
where acid phosphate is used. The more finely powdered the
rock is, the more quickly do crops profit from its application;
and the presence of a large amount of humus in the soil assists
in changine the insoluble calcium phosphate of the rock into
more soluble forms which the plant roots can use. Frequently
ground rock phosphate is composted with manure, whereby also
the phosphate is rendered more largely available. Phosphorus
is the only plant food that Louisiana corn growers should
have to use in the form of commercial fertilizers if their soils
have been built up by growing and turning under legu-
minous crops or by liberal application of stable manure. If
phosphorus is applied in the form of acid phosphate, from
100 to 200 pounds per acre should be used, according to the
needs of the soil. It should be remembered that the amount
of phosphorus, unlike nitrogen, cannot be increased in a given
soil by growing leguminous crops; and, therefore, it must be
supplied in commercial forms to produce maximum erops.
As stated elsewhere, the best and cheapest source of nitrogen
is the air, of which that element forms nearly four-fifths by
volume; and the only plants that can make use of the nitrogen
in the air are legumes, such as the peas, beans, vetches, clovers,
alfalfa, ete. This they do throush the bacteria that are found in
the wart-like tubercles on their roots. So long, therefore, as
cowpeas. velvet beans and other leguminous crops can be easily
and abundantly grown in the State, the farmer should depend
upon them for his supply of soil nitrogen rather than upon
the commercial forms. However, on soils that are naturally
poor or that have been worn out by improper methods of erop-
ping, it is generally found profitable to apply nitrogen in the
form of commercial fertilizers.
18
A ton of clover or cowpea hay, when turned under, adds
about 40 pounds of nitrogen to the soil, and this is the amount
of nitrogen contained in 40 bushels of corn. Five tons of fresh
stable manure contain as much nitrogen, phosphorous and pot-
ash as is found in 50 bushels of corn. Of the commercial forms
of nitrogen, cotton seed meal, which contains 6 to 7 per cent
of nitrogen, is the most commonly used. From 200 to 400
pounds per acre are applied, the amount required on a given
soil depending largely upon its lack of humus.
Acid phosphate and cotton seed meal are usually applied
just previous to planting. They are first thoroughly mixed and
applied in the drill either by hand or by means of a fer-
tilizer distributor. A bull-tongue or other suitable implement
may follow the distributor, so as to mix the fertilizer with the
soil more thoroughly. Some farmers prefer to apply half the
fertilizer before planting and half when the corn is 30 to 40
days old. In this case the second application is drilled in on
one or both sides of the row.
Nitrate of soda, as a source of nitrogen, is oceasionall; ap-
plied to corn. When this is done, the salt should be used as
a top dressing, at the rate of 50 to 100 pounds per acre. about
the time of the last cultivation. This practice is of doubtful
profit under ordinary conditions. ;
SEED CORN.
“What seed shall 1 plant?”” and “What seed must .I use
to increase my yield of corn?”” are questions almost invariably
asked by the farmer who has awakened to the possibilities of
corn growing in Louisiana and who desires to increase his
production of that cereal. In fact, while many farmers do not
appreciate sufficiently the value of improved seed, others seem
to attach too much importance to it. There are many consid-
erations that enter into the production of large yields of corn,
and none of these should be deemed unimportant.
The best seed for a given locality is almost invariably seed
that has been produced in that locality, or, at least, in approx-
imately the same latitude and under conditions of soil and eli-
mate similar to those of the region where the seed is to be
planted. Repeated experiments made by Stations in different
19
FiG. 8. No. 1, Mosby Prolific. No. 2, Stewart White Dent. No. 3, Gandy. No. 4, Square
Deal. No. 5, Royal Semi-flint. No. 6, Yellow Creole. No. 7, Texas Giant Yel-
low Dent. No. 8, Calhoun Red Cob. No. 9, Munson. No. 10, Shaw.
parts of the country prove that better results follow from the
use of locally grown, acelimated seed than from seed brought in
from distant states.
The practice of buying Illinois and lowa corn for use as
seed in Louisiana is to be deprecated. However well-bred such
corn may be in its native home, it rapidly loses its good quali-
ties when erown in Louisiana. This is due to the change in
climate, which it encounters when planted in this State, where
the rainfall is greater and the summers are hotter and longer
than at the North.
There are many distinet types of corn that have been grown
more or less pure in the State for as many as ten to twenty
DE
3 rre:
A Y
V,
A,
Au
PE]
3
ES
094 0599H4
Í
Ta
pe
1119)
A
le
1)
ALA
HANA
A
000
de
A
l
0
YU
pray
AN
Pa
No
UNO
00%)
ESO "9
0
q
a
MOS
; ES
DN
FIG. 9. (Numbering from the left): No. 1, Reid Yellow Dent. No. 2, Straw-
berry Corn. No. 3, White Wonder. No. 4, cross between White and Red
Dents. No. 5, Texas Red Corn. No. 6, Strawberry Shoepeg. No. 7,
Hickory King. No. 8, Mexican Flour Corn. No. 9, Pop Corn.
20
years. These varieties give better results than do such varieties
as Leaming, Boone County White, Reid Yellow Dent, and lowa
Silver Mine, which have been bred and grown in the Ohio and
upper Mississippi valley. Although these varieties are prob-
ably better bred than any corn that has been grown pure in
Louisiana for any length of time, yet they deteriorate at once
upon being planted in the State.
Of the varieties of corn now grown successfully in Louisi-
ana, and therefore acelimated in the State, the following may
be named as some of the more or less distinet types:
Large white dents—Munson, Shaw Improved, Sentell, Gourd
Seed, Cahloun Red Cob, Royal Semi-flint (?), Stewart White,
Shoepeg, Mexican June.
Prolific white—Gandy, Hastings, Mosby, Blount, Lake End,
Bob Hembree, and Hickory King.
Large yellow dents—Gilmer Mammoth, Giant Texas Yellow,
Stewart.
Flint variety —Y elow Creole.
Soft corn—Mexican Flour.
It appears to be positively established that greater yields
are obtained, under given conditions, by plantines the seed of
prolifie varieties than by the use of that of the large one-eared
types. The prolific varieties always yield an average of more
than one ear and generally as many as two or more ears to
the stalk; and, although the ears of such corn are smaller than
those of the large dent types, the average yield per acre is
larger because of the greater bumber of ears produced.
On the other hand, the large-eared varieties, such as Shaw,
Munson, Gilmer, ete., require less labor in harvesting and hand-
ling, and for that reason are preferred by many farmers. The
individual preference of each farmer, therefore, will continue to
be, in large measure, a controllins factor in determinins what
varieties to plant.
Certain prolific varieties have been developed that yield
several ears to the stalk, in some instances as many as five or
more. The expedieney of using such seed is very doubtful.
Given a certain amount of plant food, water, air and sunshino,
there is a limit to the amount of egrain that a corn plant can
produce; and it should be remembered that the lareer the
number of ears produced by a plant, the smaller are the ears;
“DIH
“0T
"UO) 9JUM FUI-IUOS TROY
de e ROLES DO Y A
Hr o PO Ab,
OS ¡9aas
ETRE po
20 A
pps TALA)
AR RAE
( ;
bd
AA
CEBRCDAROR TOS a caro
A
A Pan
s..
22
and the labor of harvestins increases with the number of ears.
Besides, the present yield of corn per acre in Louisiana is only
the equivalent of an average ear (shelling out 12 ounces of
grain) to every six feet in the drill in four-foot rows; and,
therefore, it seems somewhat absurd to seek to make three or
more ears to the stalk. What is needed is a better stand, a good
seed corn that will make an ear to a certainty, and enough
plant food and moisture in the soil to ensure the production of
one good ear (or two ears in the prolific varieties) on each stalk.
A matter of more consequence probably is that of the hard-
ness or flintiness of the variety grown. In many sections of the
State the Yellow Creole (Fig. 8, No. 6) is preferred on ae-
count of its flintiness and of its being practically weevil-proof.
It should be noted, however, that true flint varieties, such as
Yellow Creole, generally have relatively short kernels and rather
large cobs; and for that reason the amount of shelled corn pro-
duced per acre, when certain poor strains of seed are used, may
be less than that of the dent varieties. Better results seem to
follow where a cross between Yellow Creole and a large dent
variety is used for seed.
In this connection, attention is called to the two semi-flint
varieties listed above. The Royal Semi-flint (Fig. 10) is a
large-eared, many-rowed, narrow-kerneled white corn; and the
Bob Hembree is a hard, white-crowned white corn, from 7 to
8 inches long, but of greater cireumference than the other pra-
lific varieties. These two varieties of corn seem worthy of
more extensive cultivation, particularly in South Louisiana,
where the depredations of the corn weevil are sometimes serious.
Seed corn should always be selected in the field (see pp. 32,
33), or, when purchased, should be bought in the ear (p. 49).
For method of testing the germinating power of seed corn, see
pp. 50-52.
MANNER OF PLANTINGC.
Corn is frequently planted too deep. On the average soil,
two to three inches is a sufficient depth to cover the seed. It
is preferable to drill in the seed 2 inches deep on rather low
ridges than 4 inches deep on higher beds. On the lighter and
29
more friable soils corn may safely be planted deeper than on
the heavier and stiffer lands, which are more prone to cake and
thus offer resistance to the coming up of the corn.
The average distance apart of corn rows in Louisiana is
about five feet. In the northern part of the State and in the
prairie sections, corn rows are generally four feet apart; but,
on the sugar cane plantations, corn is planted every third or
fourth year in the cane rows, which are ordinarily six feet
apart. This obviates the necessity of making new rows when the
erops change from corn to cane, or vice versa. However, or-
dinarily corn rows should not be more than five feet apart, and
four feet is frequently better. A few farmers in the State to-
day check their corn, but this seems practicable only on the well-
drained, rolling portions of the State. The alluvial soils and
bottom lands are not adapted to that practice, and rideing or
bedding seems to be essential to the greatest success.
In decidine upon the width of corn rows, some regard should
be had to the variety of corn to be planted. The large-eared,
large-stalked varieties require somewhat more space than-the
small-eared types, which are ordinarily small-stalked. Hence
such varieties should ordinarily be planted in wider rows, and
somewhat farther apart in the drills,
On account of the larger growth made by corn stalks on rich
alluvial and creek bottom lands, it is frequently found to be
better to make the corn rows on such land five feet apart. This
is the general practice in the alluvial portions of the State.
The size of the plant, depth of soil, and fertility of the land
should determine the distance apart of plants in the drill. Ona
poor soil broken to a depth of only four or five inches, three
feet may not be too great a distance between the plants, particu-
larly if the large-eared varieties are sown. On the other hand,
fifteen to eighteen inches may be sufficient distance between
plants erowine on a soil plowed eight to ten inches deep and
supplied with an abundance of plant food and humus.
CULTIVATION OF CORN.
Exceptine the nature and condition of the soil at planting
time, no element that enters into successful corn growing is of
as much importance as proper cultivation. The frequency and
24
method of cultivation determine, to a great extent, the amount
of moisture found in the soil durine growth and the amount
of aeration aftorded to the roots, and control the growth and
abundance of weeds.
The ecultivation of corn should begin by harrowing lightly
before the corn comes up, especially if the plantines has been
followed by a packing rain. The spike-tooth harrow or the
section harrow is best adapted to this work. If the ridges are
not too high (and they should not be), the harrow may be run
either with the rows or diagonally across the field. The corn
should again be harrowed a week later, after it is up. This
harrowing of the corn may best be done by first takins out the
front or middle tooth of the harrow, so as to avoid uprooting the
young plants. This preliminary work tends to conserve soil
moisture, enables the upper layer of soil to dry out, admits air
to the roots, and destroys the first crop of weeds.
From this time on, corn should be cultivated every week or
ten days, and as soon after every rain as possible, usine always
=== a
Mr
==
Fic. 11. A foot-guide disc cultivator.
25 E
a type of cultivator that will stir the soil only to a depth of
about two inches. The disc and various forms of walking eulti-
vators, the acme harrow, the triangular, side and spring tooth
harrows (Figs. 11, 12, 13) are implements well adapted to this
work, the purpose beins always to keep a muleh (or layer of
pulverized soil) about two inches deep over the entire field.
Such a mulch is the best means at our command for saving
the soil moisture to the crop. The importance of the soil mulch is
revealed by an experiment made at one of the experiment sta-
tions, in which it was shown that 309.8 pounds of water are
required to produce one pound of dry matter in dent corn. 1f
the weight of ear, stalk, leaves, and roots of such a corn plant,
when dry, is two pounds, the amount of water taken in by the
OT
JA
Si
A
o
l
'q
A —
ES
A
E.)
Fic. 12. A good two-row cultivator; saves time and labor.
root system of that plant, together with the evaporation from
the surface of the soil it oceupies, is nearly 620 pounds (approxi-
mately 10 cubie feet). In other words, in such case, if the plants
stand 15 inches apart in 4-foot rows, the crop requires for com-
plete growth the equivalent of a 24-inch rainfall. Prof. F. H.
King, in his book, The Soil, says: “Two stalks of maize (corn)
were growing in each of two eylinders filled with soil, having a
depth of 42 and a diameter of 18 inches. These four stalks of
corn, as they were coming into tassel and their ears were forming,
26
used durine 13 days 150.6 pounds of water,”? or at the mean
daily rate of nearly three pounds for each stalk. At this rate,
an acre of corn grown to a stand with plants 18 inches apart in
4-foot rows, uses 20,885 pounds of water per day; during the last
month of the corn's growth the amount of water required by
such an acre of corn is more than 600,000 pounds or 300 tons.
This estimate leaves out of consideration the moisture that
evaporates from the surface of the soil.
Soil that is allowed to pack loses a great deal more moisture
through the action of sun and wind than does land covered over
with a fine, dry soil muleh two or three inches deep. The reason
for this is due to the fact that the untilled soil has very small
channels (called capillaries) that run from below entirely up
to the surface of the soil. Through these open spaces or chan-
nels, the soil water rises as oil does in a lamp wick. Reaching
the surface, it is turned into vapor by the heat from the sun
and is thus lost to the soil. When, however, such a soil is
thoroughly broken and pulverized at the surface, the capillary
channels are broken below the surface, and the mulch acts as a
blanket over the land, almost completely preventing evaporation
from the soil. The dryer and finer the mulch the more effective
1f is in conserving soil moisture. If a good mulch is left undis-
turbed for more than a week or ten days, the small channels are
egradually restored, and the loss of moisture by evaporation
rapidly increases. To be thoroughly effective, the soil mulch
should cover the entire surface of the soil.
Beside the formation of the soil mulech and the conservation
of soil moisture resulting therefrom, the other great purpose of
eultivation is to destroy or prevent the growth of weeds. In
this connection, it should be borne in mind that the best time
to destroy a weed is immediately after germination and before
it has become rooted in the soil. This is best accomplished by
frequent shallow cultivation. The use of the hoe to control weed
growth is expensive and should be avoided whenever possible.
However, during rainy spells, it is generally impossible to give
proper cultivation to the corn crop, and weeds and grass make
such growth that the use of the hoe is unavoidable. In such
- case, the corn should be off-barred two inchex deep, the corn
hoed out, the middles harrowed, a light furrow thrown back to
the corn, and the cultivation continued as explained above.
21
When the rainy season is of long duration, it is sometimes
necessary to use the turning plow in order to subdue the growth
of grass and weeds. In such cases, less damage results from
the use of the plow than when it is used during continued dry
weather; in fact, the root prunins resultine from the use of the
plow during the rainy seasons may be a slight advantage.
The use of the turnine plow in cultivating corn is to be
condemned in the strongest terms. Except when used to bar
off corn preparatory to hoeine or to throw a shallow furrow to
the corn when young, the plow should be kept out of the corn
field. Not only does it almost invariably damage the roots of
Ñ - > ES ú
Implement adapted for shallow cultivation of corn.
the plant, but its use tends to leave out of consideration really
useful implements. As is well known, the root system of corn
extends to within a very few inches of the surface (Figs. 21 and
22), and when the plow is used for cultivation purposes, 1t cuts
the roots of the corn plants, frequently in untold numbers, thus
causins more damage than benefit to the erop. Frequent shallow
cultivation and the elimination of the plow alone can be made to
increase the corn crop of Louisiana by several million bushels
yearly.
The practice of laying-by corn by deep furrows thrown to
the ridge from the middle of the rows, is also a source of great
28
loss to corn growers. It is said that because this laying-by is
the last cultivation gjven the corn, it should be deep and tho-
rough. And, so, the plow is again used, to the great damage of
the corn roots, at the very time when the plant is in greatest
need of their service in gatherins mineral food and moisture.
Many farmers believe that it is necessary to build a high ridge
at the foot of the plant so as to cover the brace roots; but this
view is erroneous, for the brace roots lose their toughness and
become tender when covered with soil. If corn has received
the proper cultivation, the brace roots will enter the soil in a
normal manner, retain their strength, and help materially in
holding the plant erect in high winds.
COWPEAS IN CORN.
It 1s safe to estimate that in 1909 not more than 20 per cent of
the corn land in the State was planted to cowpeas or velvet
beans. Yet, probably no means is offered to the corn growers
of the State whereby the production of corn can be more easily
increased than through the use of these two erops sown in corn
at the last cultivation. Evidence of this is given in an experl-
ment conducted at the State Experiment Station at Baton
Rouge and extendins over a period of 18 years.
Thirteen successive crops of corn were grown on a plot
without cowpeas. At the end of that period, five years ago,
the plot was divided into two parts. On the first, corn has
continued to be grown without cowpeas, and the yield per acre
in 1910 was 18.6 bushels. On the second plot, an application of
stable manure was made five years ago, since which time corn and
cowpeas have been grown annually, with the exception of one
year, when cotton was grown. This plot of corn yielded in 1910
at the rate of 63 bushels per acre, or 3 2/5 times as much as the
first plot did. Practically all this increase is to be credited to
the plant food and humus and the improvement in soil texture
due to the four crops of cowpeas and one crop of clover turned
under.
Cowpeas may be broadcasted in the middles of corn rows
and covered with the plow two inches deep or drilled in with the
planter at a convenient distance from the plants at the last
49
cultivation. The sowinge should be at the rate of a bushel to a
bushel and a quarter per acre. Velvet beans, which make a
heavier and thicker growth, are planted as cowpeas are, at the
rate of 2 peeks per acre.
A common economic error is made in planting cowpeas by
using varieties that do not seed in the locality where grown.
Every corn grower should, by trial, ascertain which variety is
best suited to his condition—+that is, which variety gives the
heaviest erowth and at the same time produces seed; and he
should then use this seed for his erops. The chief reason why
cowpeas are not sown more regularly in corn and for forage
and green manure purposes, is that few farmers gather at harvest
time a sufficient supply for planting the next year's crop. The
best varieties for use in Louisiana appear to be the Whippoorwill
or Speekled, the Iron, the New Era, and the Unknown.
The value of sowing cowpeas or other leguminous erops in
corn arises from the amount of nitrogen gathered from the air
through the bacteria found on the roots of the plant and from the
amount of humus derived by the soil when the crop is turned un-
der, or pastured, or fed to stock and the droppinges returned to
the land. Two-thirds of the nitrogen, worth from 20 to 25 cents
per pound, found in the cowpea plant, are obtained from the air
at practically no cost to the farmer. The idea generally prevails
that the soil derives as much fertility from a crop of cowpeas
when it is fed to stock and the manure returned to the land, as
when it is plowed under. This is erroneous. During the process
of digestion, the animal consumes about one-fourth of the nitro-
gen and two-thirds of the organic matter which would produce
humus.
HARVESTING AND STORING CORN.
In the so-called corn belt, much of the corn is harvested in
the following manner: the stalks are cut near the ground and
placed in shocks, where the ears finally dry out. The ears are
then husked and hauled to bins. The stalks, husks and leaves
are then used as corn stover. On account of our abundant rain-
fall, particularly in the southern half of the State, it appears
to be unprofitable to attempt to save corn stover as is done at the
North. Experiments made by the Louisiana Stations indicate
30
that, unless the fall season is dry, shocking corn with a view to
saving the corn stover seems impracticable.
The practice of pulline corn fodder, once very general in
the State, but now less frequent, is unwise. The labor involved,
the injury done to the grain crop, and the small amount of
forage obtained, all argue against the practice. The same labor
given to harvesting hay is far more profitable.
In one respect our system of harvesting corn seems to be
at fault. When corn is gathered in the ear, practically all corn
weevils in the field are collected and safely placed in the crib or
bin. There they multiply rapidly, cousume the grain, and
render the remaining corn less fit for feeding or planting pur-
poses. In sections where the weevil and other grain insects are
found in sufficient numbers to warrant it, it would seem wise
to husk the corn as it is gathered in the field, store it in ceiled
bins, and poison the pests with carbon bisulphide. This plan
would have the added advantage of leaving in the field or wagon
very many of the insects that would otherwise find their way into
the corn bin.
A suitable bin for this purpose may be made by covering all
sides, floor and ceiling, with tongue-and-eroove ceiling or flooring,
or shiplap may be used and covered on the inside with thick
paper or some of the new composition roofines. All edees and
corners should be covered with 6 to 10 inch strips of galvanized
iron as a protection against rats and mice. The shutters and
door should be of ceiling and so put in as to be made air-tight
when closed. If, after the corn is stored, weevils or other in-
sects cause damage, they should be poisoned with carbon bi-
sulphide, commonly called “high life.?”? The poison should be
placed in shallow vessels, at the rate of a pint (or pound) per
100 bushels, and set above the corn. The shutters and door
should then be closed tiehtly, and the bin left undisturbed for
24 to 48 hours. At the end of this time, practically all weevils
will be dead if the bin is air-tight. Care should be taken not to
have a flame near the poison, as the vapor is exceedingly ex-
plosive. The carbon bisulphide will destroy not only all insects
in corn, but rats and mice which are unable to escape; and, if
used as directed above, will not injure the germinatins power of
the corn. Carbon bisulphide should not cost more than 15 cents
per pound or pint.
31
WINTER COVER CROPS ON CORN LAND.
Due to the earliness of the corn-plantine season in Louisiana
(the average for the State being about March 4), few erops
suited as winter cover reach such maturity that they can be
economically harvested. That, in a measure, accounts for the
very general failure to plant such crops. Yet, there can be no
doubt of the profit to be derived from certain winter-growing
ecrops when used either as green manurine (turned under) or for
FiG. 14. Stewart White Dent.
erazing purposes. In proof of this statement we may cite an
experiment made at the Louisiana Experiment Station, where
hogs and lambs were pastured on fall-sown oats. The gain in
weleht of the animals pastured durine the experiment, on the
basis of 6 cents per pound for pork and 5 cents per pound for
mutton, was $13.40 per acre, or a net profit of $8.40 over and
above the cost of seed, preparation of land, plantines and
drainage.
In the case of lands prone to wash during winter, we find an
added areument for winter cover erops in the protection afforded
to such land against the damagine action of winter rains.
32
Of the crops adapted for winter covering, the clovers are to
be recommended first, because they not only make a large vege-
tative growth, but also increase the nitrogen content of the soil.
This is done through the ageney of bacteria, which develop,
under certain conditions, on the roots of such plants. These
bacteria are low forms of plant life, so small as to be visible only
through the mieroscope. They form in colonies in the warts or
tubercles found on the roots of the clovers and such other plants
as peas, beans, vetehes, ete. All such plants belong to one family,
called legumes, and nitrogen gatherine bacteria are not found on
the roots of other than leguminous plants. Soils that do not
contain the bacteria proper to a given legume must have such
bacteria added to them if the crop is to grow to the best advan-
tage. This is called ““soil inoculation,”” and is effected in several
ways.
Crops intended for winter cover should be planted early in
the fall, so as to produce as large a growth as possible before
egrazing or plowine under.
SELECTING SEED CORN IN THE FIELD.
One of the easiest ways to increase corn production is by
the use of improved seed; and the simplest way to get improved
seed is to select one's own seed in the field. As long as we con-
tinue to pick out our seed corn from the general supply in the
erib, just so lone will our yield per acre remain far below what
it should be. The principle upon which field selection is based
is that “like produces like.”” If a farmer decides to raise a good
mileh cow, he selects the calf of a good milker, knowing that,
all other conditions being equal, the probabilities are tha tn.
better the dam the better will the offsprins be. So it is with
corn. In other words, before one can say whether a given car
of corn is fit for seed, he must know what kind of mother plant
produced that ear. It must not be judeed that, because an ear
seems good, the plant which produced it was the rieht sort to
breed from, for this plant may have grown under such unusually
favorable conditions that the ear js the product of these cond1-
tions rather than of the inherent good qualities of the mother
plant.
33
Field selection of seed corn is done when the ears begin to
mature—after the husks begin to turn yellow and before the
leaves break from the stalk. A good plan is to go through the
plot where the best corn is growing, select the stalks from
which the seed corn is to be gathered, and mark these stalks
with a red rag strins. To facilitate this work, 1t is best not to
plant cowpeas or other leguminous crop in the seed plot. If the
plot contains two acres, yieldine 50 bushels each, and one-tenth
of the corn is selected for seed, enough will be obtained to plant
50 acres. The loss of humus on the two acres will be more than
offset by the value of the seed corn obtained.
What are the qualities in a stalk of corn, then, that mark
itas a fit plant from which to gather seed? Following are the
most important points to consider:
a. The stalk should be free of suckers and bear an appar-
ently good ear (in the prolific varieties, two ears); the shucks
should extend completely over the tip and cover it tightly; the
shank should be rather small and long enough to permit the
ear to droop when thoroughly dry; the ears should stand at a
height of four to five feet from the ground. The large-stalked,
one-eared varieties bear their ears higher than do the prolific
varieties.
b. The stalk should not be excessively tall—about 8 feet in
the small-eared varieties, and not more than 10 feet in the
large-eared types. It should be large at the base, and gradually
taper up to the tassel, spindly stalks being always undesirable.
c. The plant should have 12 or more well-developed, broad
leaves and a good system of strone brace roots, and should
stand upright.
d. No unusually favorable condition should surround the
plant, as is the case, for instance, when, on account of a poor
stand, the plant stands far apart from others.
Aside from the improvement of seed that follows field selec-
tion on the basis outlined above, the quality can be further
improved by removing the tassels of the barren and weak stalks.
This is done either hy enttinge or pulline out at the topmost
joint the tassels of all such stalks in the seed plot at the time
they begin to open up and drop pollen.
At corn-gathering time the seed plot should be gone through
and the ear (or best ear) from every marked stalk gathered,
94
sacked, and stored separately from the general supply. As
soon as possible after this, all these ears should be husked, laid
on a floor or table, and enough of the best ears selected to
supply seed for the crop the year following.
It is well, in this work, first to choose for a type the ear that
seems to approach most closely to the ideal which the operator
has in mind, and use this ear as a guide. Tn decidins what ear
to select for a type care and intelligence have to be exercised
and many points have to be considered. Among these are the
following :
The ear should not be excessively large; its cireumference
should be about three-fourths as ereat as its length; and should
be of the same size throughout its length, rather than taperino.
(See Fig. 8, Nos. 1 and 5.) The rows of kernels should not be
in pairs and should be straight, twistine neither to right nor
left (Fig. 9, Nos. 2 and 3); they should extend in regular order
FiG. 15. Good tips. (Courtesy of the Kansas State Agricultural College.)
39
Fic. 16. Good butts. (Courtesy of the Kansas Agricultural College.)
over the butt and tip (Fies. 15 and 16). The butt should be
well filled, and should not have a large number of misshapen
kernels; the hollow at the butt should be rather deep and not
too large; and the general shape of the butt should not be swollen
nor so compressed as to indicate a tight and close husk at that
point. The tip should be well filled (Fie. 15), and should be
neither swollen (Fig. 17, No. 1) nor pointed (Fig. 17, No. 9); it
should be relatively free of short, small kernels of flinty appear-
ance. The kernels should not have chaffy crowns (Fig. 19, No. 3)
and should be uniform in indentation, color and shape; their
shape should be wedeed—that is, wider near the crown than
toward the tip, so as to allow their filline the entire space around
the cob (Fig. 20 and Fig. 19, Nos. 6, 7 and 18). The edees of
kernels in consecutive rows should be in elose contact through-
out their leneth (Figs. 20, No. 3), and there should be no open
space near the cob either between kernels in the same row or
kernels in adjoinine rows. The furrows between the rows of
36
kernels on the outside should be very narrow and shallow, (See
Fis. 10). In other words, the ear should bear the maximum
amount of grain consistent with proper size in cob and kernel.
This point can best be determined by eraspins the ear firmly
in both hands and givine it a twistine motion. Under this test
the ear should feel firm under the erasp. In length the kernels
should be uniform and should be neither excessively long nor
short, a length equal to half the diameter of the cob beine de-
sirable. The tips of the kernels should not be chaffy, shrunken,
or discolored (Fig. 19, No. 16), as these points indicate lack of
vigor and soundness. Extracted kernels should not break off
above the tip cap, displayine a black surface at the base of the
germs. At the back, the kernels should consist of horny starch
well up toward the crown, and should have a clear, healthy
“appearance. The cob should be neither large (Fig. 20, No. 1)
nor small; the former is frequently accompanied by unsound
kernels, due to poor dryinge-out qualities; and the latter does
not offer a large enough cireumference for the greatest amount
of grain. The cob should have a healthy appearance and be
free from mould and discoloration. White corn should ordinarily
have white cobs, and yellow corn red cobs, although there are
several varieties of white corn erown in Louisiana that have
red cobs. The foregoine description indicates what the physical
Fic. 17. Defective Ears. (Counting from the left): No. 1, swollen tip. No. 2,
swollen butt. No. 3, curved ear. No. 4, ear too short and stumpy.
No. 5, ear too long—-13 inches. No. 6, ear too short and small. No.
7, poor in all respects. No. 8, ear shows defective pollenation. No. 9,
poor butt and tip.
37
appearance of a good, well-selected seed ear should be; but,
unless one's selection has been made in a field of well-bred corn,
not all the desirable points enumerated above will be found in
any considerable number of ears.
Having selected the type ear, the operator should next choose
from the entire supply of field selected ears enough for planting
his general crop the followins year; and in doing so those ears
should be chosen that most elosely resemble the type ear,
uniformity im all pomts being highly desirable.
At planting time, the small kernels at the tips and the mis-
shapen kernels at the butts should be removed before shellinz
the corn.
The plot from which the seed corn is to come should receive
the greatest care of any part of the corn erop. Just as it is
impossible to breed up the best eolt from an underfed dam or
to rear a prize-winning milch cow from a neglected calf, so the
best seed is not produced from corn that grows on a poor and
1ll-prepared soil, or that has not been properly cultivated, or
that has been erown from inferior seed.
CROP ROTATIONS AS AFFECTING YIELDS OF CORN.
One of the best systems of crop rotation among Southern
farmers that grow cotton and corn is as follows:
1st year—corn, with peas sown at the last cultivation, and
followed by fall-sown oats.
2d year—oats sown in the precedinge fall, followed by cow-
peas, peanuts, or sweet potatoes.
3d year—cotton, the entire plant to be plowed under (or
burned) immediately after the crop has been picked.
The field should be divided into three parts; the corn and
peas are planted in one part, followed by oats in the fall; in
the second portion of the field, oats are sown (during the pre
vious fall), followed by potatoes or a legume; and in the third
part, cotton is grown. The sezond year, the corn is planted in
the second field; the oats in the third; and the cotton in the first.
The third year, the corn goes to the third field, the oats to the
first; and the cotton to the second; and so on.
Many modifications of this system will suggest themselves
to the thinkine farmer. Velvet beans may be substituted for
39
cowpeas the first year; hairy veteh may be sown with the oats;
after grazing the oats, lespedeza seed may be sown to follow
the oats; and a winter cover crop may be planted in the cotton
at the last cultivation.
The advantages of such a system are that two leguminous
(or forage), two erain, and one money crop are included 11
the rotation; that it distributes the farm labor more equally
throughout the year; that a clean, cultivated erop (cotton)
alternates with leguminous erops; and that the insect and weed
enemies which thrive on or are favored by a given crop cannot
become permanently established in the field.
Such a rotation system as the one outlined above will largely
tend to hold in check such enemies to corn as the white root
worm and the corn ear-worm.
ORIGIN OF CORN.
The plant and grain, commonly known as “corn” in
America, is properly called maize, or Indian corn. Before the
discovery of America this erain was unknown to the inhabitants
of Europe. When first discovered in Hayti, the local name
““mahiz”” was adopted. From this word is derived the English
maize, the French mais, and the Latin mays. The botanical
name of the plant is Zea Mays and it belongs to the grass family.
In Europe, all grains or cereals are properly called corn, and
there our maize is known as Indian corn, a name of obvious
origin.
The corn plant has never been found erowine in the wild
state, and it is supposed to have grown first in Mexico and
Central America. From there it had spread, at the time Co-
lumbus discovered America, into South America and northward
into certain sections now included in the territory of the United
States. :
In The Book of Corn (Orange Judd Co., New York City)
Dr. Hexamer says: ““A most remarkable proof of the antiquity
of corn has been discovered by Darwin. He found ears of Indian
corn * * * buried in the soil of the shore in Peru, now at
least eiehty-five feet above the level of the sea. The Smith-
sonian Institution at Washington has an ear of corn found de-
posited in an earthen vessel eleven feet underground, in a grave
with a mummy near Ariquepe in Peru.?””
39
CLASSIFICATION OF CORN.
According to Dr. E. L. Sturtevant, there are six different
kinds (species) of corn, each of which is subdivided into varie-
ties. The six species are the dent, flint, soft, sugar, pod and pop.
Following is a brief deseription of each species:
Dent corn (Zea indentata) is the most common of all corn,
and is the kind grown generally over the South and.the corn
belt. Its distinguishing mark is the dent in the crown of the
kernel, caused by a shrinking of the kernel as it matures. The
depth and form of indentation vary with the different varieties,
of which more than 300 have been described.
Flint corn (Zea indurata) has short kernels with smooth
rounded crowns, free of indentation. Tt contains less soft starch
and more horny starch than dent corn does; and, hence, the
kernels of flint varieties have a clear (translucent) appearanes
and are harder than those of the dent varieties. Yellow Creoie
is our commonest flint corn.
Soft corn (Zea amylacea) also has smooth-crowned kernels;
but these contain no hard, horny starch. Ttis a softer corn than
the dent varieties, and is not extensively grown in the State.
Brazilian flour corn (Fig. 9, No. 8) is probably the only variety
produced in Louisiana.
Sugar corn (Zea saccharata), also called sweet corn, is grown
in Louisiana mainly for table use and in Maine and other states
for cannine purposes. When mature, its kernels are wrinkled
and translucent, and they are sweet to the taste. Fifty or more
varieties are known.
Pod corn (Zea tunicata) is distinguished from other speci>s
by the small husk or pod that completely envelops each separate
kernel (Fig. 9, No. 9). Tt is grown mainly as a curiosity, and
is supposed to be the original type of corn, from which others
have been developed.
Popcorn (Zea everta) is a small-kerneled flinty species,
which pops when sufficiently heated. The popping is due to an
explosion of the horny starch (endosperm) of the kernel. Red,
yellow and white varieties of popcorn are grown. The chief
varieties, of which there are a score or more, are the white pearl,
queens, golden, silver lace, and several species of rice, character-
ized by sharp-pointed kernels.
»
40
A STUDY OF THE KERNEL AND PLANT OF CORN.
The corn kernel consists of several distinet parts, as follows:
the tip-cap, by which the kernel is attached to the cob; the seed
coat or hull, which can be readily taken off by scaking the kernel
in warm water; the germ, which is the sunken part on the side
of the kernel and which contains the undeveloped corn plant;
the soft starch found about the crown and tip; the horny starch,
mainly found along the sides and lower half of the body of the
don.
le
GEermjor
ule
WIN
HAorny Sta rol,
oft Starch,
Cat
5)
A
E
Í.
Se Sy pd at AB.
Hupbocoti L
(Ema RecO
ya
Section at CD. |
Cap.
sections SN com kernel.
Yue Y
Lon 3 ttudinal amd cross
Fic. 18. Diagram of a corn kernel in sections.
kernel; and the horny gluten which covers the starchy portion
of the kernel and lies under the hull. (See Fig. 18.)
Within the germ the undeveloped (embryonic) stalk and root
are contained. By cutting the kernel erosswise at the middle and
lower quarter, these two parts may be pulled out whole (Fig. 18,
Nos. 3 and 4). When the kernel is placed in a warm, moist
place, the embryo stem and root begin to grow and burst through
41
the seed coat, the former always growing upward and the latter
downward.
As soon as the rootlet grows out into the soil, it puts out a
great many root hairs. It is through these root hairs that the
plant takes in food and water from the soil. When a plant is
pulled from the ground, the root hairs are torn off; but if kernels
are sprouted in clean sand or between folds of flannel, these
root hairs are readily seen.
As the small stem grows upward and the stalk begins to
form, the plant produces several short joints or nodes which are
found between the seed kernel and the surface of the soil. Each
of these joints bears a leaf, and also throws out a set or whorl
of roots. The number of roots formed increases at each sue-
cessive joint, and as many as ten whorls may be thrown out from
that part of the stalk which is in the ground.
From the joints that form above, but near, the ground roots
are also thrown out. These are called brace roots. They are
thick and strong, and their use is to assist in keeping the plant
upright when 1t sets the ear and becomes, so to speak, top-heavy.
That part of the leaf which surrounds the stalk is known as
the sheath. Under the sheath of each leaf there is, on the groove
side of the stalk, a bud which may develop into an ear or sucker.
In the large-eared varieties, only one of these develops into an
ear, but in the prolific varieties two or more grow into mature
ears. In certain varieties of prolifie corn as many as five, and
occasionally eight, ears are formed. In such cases the size of the
ears is necessarily reduced.
When studyinge the corn plant, note the collar of hairs or
bristles where the blade of the leaf joins the sheath. The pur-
pose of this is to throw off the water that would lodee between:
the sheath and the stalk.
The corn plant has two kinds of flowers: the tassel, which is
the male flowers; and the silks and undeveloped seed, which
constitute the female flowers. Each silk is attached at the cob:
end to a small round body (ovule), which is capable of devel.-
oping into a kernel.
When a erain of pollen falls on the silk, the ovule begins to:
develop into a seed. In order that each silk may be reached by
one or more pollen erains, nature has provided that each tassel
shall produce an abundance of pollen, as many as 18,000,000;
Fic. 19. Kernels of different varieties of corn, illustrating good and bad
points. See explanation, page 43.
43
graius being formed in a well-developed tassel. The scarcity of
pollen during rainy spells or when only a few plants are grown
together, accounts for the undeveloped ears and nubbins formed
under those conditions. Whenever a silk fails to receive pollen,
the female flower fails to develop and no seed is formed (Fig. 17,
No. 8).
The pollen of corn, being so light and abundant, is readily
carried by the wind to long distances. This is the reason why
corn crosses so easily. In order to keep a variety of corn from
erossing with those in neighboring fields, they must be planted at
a distance of 800 to 1000 feet apart.
EXPLANATION OF FIG. 19.—No. 1, Square Deal. No. 2, Hickory
King. No. 3, Strawberry Shoepeg. No. 4, White Shoepeg. No. 5, White
Flint. No. 6,, Gilmer Yellow Dent. No. 7, Leaming. No. 8, Yellow Creole,
kernels short and of poor shape. No. 9, Yellow Creole, kernels of good shape
and length. No. 10, Munson. No. 11, Gandy. No. 12, Shaw. No. 13, Royal
Semiflint. No. 14, Mosby. No. 15, Stewart White Dent. No. 16, shrunken
tips showing poor vitality. No. 17, poor shape; curved sides cause open
furrows and lost space. No. 18, kernels of fair shape. Compare size of
germs in Nos. 3 and 6, 14 and 7.
LENGTH AND SHAPE OF CORN KERNELS.
The length and shape of corn kernels vary with different
varieties, but for each variety they should be more or less fixed
(Fig. 19). The ideal shape for kernels is that of a wedge, which
shows the kernels to fill the entire space about the cob. For
certain standard varieties grown at the North, it is considered
desirable that kernels should be twice as wide as they are thick,
and twice as long as they are wide. (Compare Nos. 2, 4, 5, 8, 16
and 18 in Fig. 19.) Leneths varyine from five-eiehths to three-
fourths of an inch are preferable. Kernels that are half as lone
as the diameter of the cob may generally be considered very
satisfactory in length (Figs. 20, No. 2).
For seed purposes, it is best to select ears with kernels that
have well-developed and healthy germs (hearts). (Examine
serms as shown in Fig. 19.) Kernels with shrunken or dis-
colored germs should be avoided. Prominent shoulders at the
tip end of the kernel indicate vigor (Fig. 19, Nos, 1, 4, 18);
long, shrunken, chaffy tips indicate the reverse.
Other considerations beins equal, the lonser the kernels of an
ear, the larger the weight of shelled corn it yields. (Com-
pare Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Fig. 20.) This is a point worthy of
44
more attention than it has heretofore received 1n Louisiana.
Small or slender ears can not be expected to have as long kernels
as larger ears; and the kernels of the flint varieties are uniformly
shorter than those of the dent corns (See Fig. 19). Length of
kernels in a given variety is related to 1ts indentation, in that
smooth ears with shallow dents generally have shorter kernels.
Ears with pinched, chaffy crowns and deep dents show longer
kernels than do smooth-crowned ears. (Compare Nos. 1, 3, 4, 15
and 18 in Fig. 19 with other kernels.)
Fic. 20. Cross sections of ears. No. 1, Yellow Creole, kernels short, fur-
rows open, cob too large. No. 2, Square Deal, long, kernels, cob
small. No. 3, Shaw, compact, wedge-shaped kernels.
The longest-kerneled varieties im Louisiana are the Square
Deal and the Shoepeg (Fig. 19). The prolific varieties—Gandy,
Mosby, Hastings, etc.—generally have kernels that are rather
short; and the shortness of the kernel in Yellow Creole consti-
tutes perhaps the chief objection to that variety in its present
condition of breeding in Louisiana. By selection, the length of
kernel of this variety could no doubt be easily increased to one-
half inch, and the diameter of the cob reduced at the same time.
The flintiness of the variety, making it practically proof against
weevils, and the heaviness of its erain (See Fig. 25), are points
greatly in favor of Yellow Creole corn. Certain varieties have
kernels that are undesirably slender. Such are certain strains
of the Shoepeg and the Semiflint (Fig, 19, Nos. 3, 4 and 15).
Varieties producine kernels with curved or angular sides (Fig.
45
19, No. 17) are objectionable on account of the wide furrows
found between the rows, either at the tip or crown ends of the
kernels
feet.
The height of this figure represents four
a corn plant in tassel.
(Courtesy of the Illinois College of Agriculture.)
of
Root system
21,
e%
FI
46
THE ROOT SYSTEM OF CORN.
In order to understand how the corn crop should be culti-
vated, it is important to know something of the root system of
the plant—the amount of roots, their lengths, the depth to which
they penetrate the soil, and their nearness to the surface. Such
a knowledge enables the farmer to cultivate his crop intelligently
under the varyine conditions of actual practice. Yet, it is prob-
able that less is known by the farmer of the roots of corn than
of any other part of the plant.
Unlike cotton and many other plants, corn has no tap root.
The first root thrown out by corn becomes aborted, and others
develop, penetrating the soil in all directions and formine what
is known as a fibrous system of roots. The brace roots, which
put out from the lower joints (nodes) of the corn stalk, are
adventitious roots, and their work is chiefly to anchor the plant
more firmly to the soil.
It has been estimated that a fully grown corn plant may
have a total length of roots exceeding one mile (Figs. 21). The
aggregate length of the roots of a corn plant grown in an.
earthen jar, measured forty-five days after sproutine, was found
to be 353 feet. To show the surprisine amount of roots pro-
duced by corn, a plant should be grown in a box or flower pot
filled with a mixture of equal parts of sand and well-rotted
manure. At the proper time, the contents of the box or pot
should be carefully taken out and the soil washed away from
the roots of the plant,
Several of the experiment stations have made studies of the
root system of corn. The Wisconsin Station found that the
roots of corn plants 18 inches tall growing 314% feet apart met
and passed one another in the middle of the rows; and that
when the corn was about three feet high, the entire upper two
feet of the soil was oceupied by roots. At the North Dakota
Station it was found that when the plants were 41 feet high,
feeders were often sent to within two inches of the surface:
Investigations made at the Minnesota Station show that the
early roots of corn, put out in the spring, grow nearly hori-
zontally. (See Fig. 21 and Fig. 22.)
These investigations confirm the observations of farmers to
the effect that deep eultivation of corn is ill-aadvised under ordi-
Fic. 22. Corn plant, showing roots 42 inches long 33 days after planting.
5 7
3
Fic. 23. Showing amount and fibrous nature of corn roots.
These cuts are from photographs kindly furnished by a Mississippi county
superintendent.
48
nary conditions, and that the turning plow or other implement
that tills the soil to a depth of four or five inches has no place
in the cultivation of corn. The masses of roots so frequently
torn away from the corn plant and dragged to the end of the
rows when the plow is used as a cultivator, are evidences of the
damage resulting from such cultivation.
It has been repeatedly shown that, under favorable conditions,
corn roots penetrate the soil to a depth of four feet. (See Fig.
21.) As it is impossible for corn roots to extend and live below
the level of the water table, this shows the importance of drain-
ing corn land thoroughly and at all times keeping the upper
four feet of soil from becoming saturated with water for any
length of time
COMPOSITION OF CORN.
The corn kernel is composed of several different ingredients.
These are divided into nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous material.
The former is composed of those substances in the kernel that
contain nitrogen, and is termed protein. The non-nitrogenous
material consists of water, ash, fat, crude fiber, and a elass of
substances which includes starch, sugar, eum, ete., and which
the chemist calls nitrogen-free extract.
Water is found in corn, as it is, indeed, in all feeds, no
matter how dry they may seem to be. Thoroughly dry corn
contains about 11 per cent of moisture; and when not fully
mature and dry, 1t may contain twice this proportion of moisture.
The starch, sugar and gum found in corn are called carbo-
hydrates because they contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in
certain ratios. The animal body utilizes the carbohydrates of
corn and other feeds, first, to develop bodily heat and energy,
and, secondly, to produce animal fat. Average dry corn con-
tains about 70 per cent of carbohydrates, the most of which is
starch.
The fat of the corn kernel makes up about 5 per cent of its
welght. This fat, when separated from the remaining ingredients
of corn, is known as corn oil, and is used by paint, soap and
rubber manufacturers. The animal body uses the fat of corn in
the same way and for the same purposes that it does the starch.
Proteín ¡is relatively the most valuable ingredient of the
49
corn kernel. It is used by the animal in building up the body—
skin, muscles, tendons, organs, hair, horns, hoofs, ete., and in
restoring waste tissues. On an average, corn contains about
10.5 per cent of protein; but by selection it has been found pos-
sible to increase this percentage considerably.
The ash of a plant is the mineral residue obtained when it is
burned completely. Corn grain contains 1.5 per cent of ash.
This constituent of the corn kernel goes to build the bonv
structure of the animal.
The fiber in the corn kernel is found chiefly in the hull. It
composes about 2 per cent of the corn kernel. It is less digestible
than starch, although, like the latter, it is a carbohydrate.
The composition of the dent and flint varieties of corn varies
only to a slight extent. This is shown by the following data,
taken from Jordan's The Feeding of Animals:
COMPOSITION OF DENT AND FLINT CORN.
(Expressed in per cents.)
a
| g
| | v
Pe | El
z 2 E E
Q 5 o ea
[ < (S-* ¡at Ul | E,
|
a A 10.6 1.5 10.3 2.2 70.4 5.0
| |
O e AE 1518) TARO LA Ol 5.0
| |
Although the digestibility of flint corn does not seem to have
been determined by experiment, 1t is reasonable to assume that,
1f it differs from that of dent corn at all, such difference is in
the direction of a lower digestion-coefficient for the flint corn.
And, if this assumption is correct, there appears to be no ground
for the belief, found amone some farmers, that flint corn has a
higher feeding value than the dent varieties.
BUYING SEED CORN IN THE EAR.
Corn bought for planting purposes should be purchased only
from reliable seedsmen and corn breeders; for, while the cost of
seed bought from trustworthy dealers and breeders is usually
higher than that sold by unreliable firms, its better qualities
50
justify the price. Particularly is it important to deal with
responsible persons when buying seed corn shelled rather than
in the ear. :
The practice, however, of buyine shelled corn for planting
purposes cannot be recommended. 1t is true that seed corn
sold in the ear always commands a higher price than the same
corn shelled; but, if a variety or strain of corn is really worth
buying for seed, the farmer cannot aftord to buy it in sueh form
that 1t is impossible to tell whether he is getting what he pays
for or not. Only when in the ear does corn reveal all the qual-
ities or points upon the basis of which 1t should always be bought.
The farmer will, for instance, believe that he is buying corn from
cars 9 inches long and having small cobs, when, in fact, he may
get the grain from large-cobbed, 7-inch ears, 1f he buys his seed
corn shelled. Besides, the tip and butt kernels of seed ears
should always be discarded, and few seedsmen may be depended
upon to observe this rule,
Seed corn in the ear should probably be shipped in tight
wooden boxes, rather than in open erates, provided the corn is
not to remain boxed longer than a few days. This protects the
corn from the attacks of mice and rats while in transit or in
depots. :
GERMINATION TEST FOR CORN.
One of the easiest, cheapest and most effective means of
increasing the production of corn is by the use of seed having
strong vitality. Often the seed corn used contains a large pro-
portion of kernels that do not sprout or that, havine sprouted,
show little life or vitality and fail to produce an ear. This is
the case more frequently in the northern states, where the grow-
ing season is short and the seed may not mature fully; but in
the South also much corn used for seed has a poor vitality due
to careless method in storing and poor breeding. Ordinarily, it
may be said that, in the South, good sound ears gathered after
full maturity give seed that makes a good growth.
The points of a healthy and virile seed ear are the following :
a. The cob should have a clear, healthy color, and be free of
mould.
51
b. The ear should possess a sound appearance, and be free
oí weevils and moths. '
c. The kernels should give evidence of thorough maturity and
have a clean, healthy look; the tips of the kernels should not
be shrunken; the germs should be strong in appearance and
free of discoloration; and the shoulders of the kernels next to
the tip should be rather prominent.
The best way to determine whether an ear of corn has enough
vitality for use as seed is by the germination test, which is made
as follows:
A wooden box is made of one-half inch lumber with inside
measurements 3 inches deep, 12 inches wide, and 18 inches long
(Fie. 24). A line is marked around the box, one-half inch from
the upper edge. At this line, gimlet holes are made on all four
sides one and one-half inches apart, the first and last holes on
each side being one and one-half inches from inside corners.
Through these holes a soft wire is strung tightly, lacing it
by drawing the cross wires above and under alternate wires
running lenethwise. This gives 96 squares with one and one-
Fic. 24. Corn germinator with kernels in place, ready for germination test.
52
half-inch sides. These squares should be numbered as follows:
mark one corner A; running from this corner down the width of
the box, mark the squares 1, 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85. Each
lone row has 12 squares, and the numbers written at the end of
the box are the numbers of the first square in each row. The
number of a square in the middle of the box can be ascertained
by counting up from the number given at the beginning of the
row in which the square stands. The box should now be filled
with clean, moist sand level with the wire. The germinator is
now ready to receive the seed.
Assuming that there are 96 ears to be tested, each ear is
numbered. With a penknife five kernels are then extracted from
each ear. This is done by drawing a kernel one-third the dis-
tance from the butt to the tip; the ear is then given a quarter
turn, and the next kernel is drawn from the middle of the ear;
another quarter turn in the same direction as before, and an.
other kernel is taken a third the distance from the tip; the
fourth kernel is drawn in the same row as the third but near the
butt; and the fifth kernel is taken opposite to the second. Tlies2
five kernels are then placed in the square corresponding to the
number of the ear, with germs down, and are pressed into the
sand to a depth of one-half inch. They are next covered with
moist sand, and a layer of several thicknesses of old flannel cloth
is carefully spread over the sand. The cloth should be thoroughly
moist before using, and should be covered over with sufficient
sand to fill the box to the upper edge,
The box should then be placed on a shelf in the kitehen or
other place where it is cool at night and warm in the day time.
This makes the conditions for germination about the same as in
the field. As soon as the corn begins to sprout under the cloth,
1t and the sand above should be removed. Tf the sand dries out
during the process, it should be sprinkled over with water, so
as to keep 1t moist.
Three or four days after the corn comes up, each set of
kernels should be carefully examined. Tf all five kernels have
put out vigorous, well-developed sprouts, and the roots are strong
and healthy, the ear from which they come is suitable for plant-
inge; but, if one or more kernels fail to sprout or put out a weak
shoot, the corresponding ear should be thrown out as unfit for
seed.
SELLING CORN
BY WEIGHT.
Corn is ordinarily sold in Louisiana by the barrel (flour).
In some parishes the barrel is filled with corn in the shuek; in
others, husked corn is used; while in certain other sections, a
barrel means two barrels in the husk. The result is confusion and
inaccuracy.
The farmer who sells a barrel of corn in the husk
does not know whether he has sold a bushel (56 pounds) or more.
Certain varieties of corn shell out considerably more than 56
pounds to the barrel.
¡BUGIZOS
Cylinder on the left contains
44 0z. of Yellow Creole corn;
equal volume of White Dent
on right contains 40 oz.
Even the measurement of
corn by the use of the bushel
measure is inaccurate. This is
clearly shown in Fig. 25, where
the two eylinders contain equal
measures of corn; but, the
Yellow Creole corn in the
left-hand eylinder weieghs 44
ounces, and the white dent in
the one on the right weighs
only 40 ounces. This shows
that the former, volume
for volume, is 10 per cent
heavier than the latter. Hence
1f£ a bushel measure of this
white dent weighs 56 pounds,
a bushel of the former
will weigh approximately 62
pounds.
Another reason for selline
corn in the erain by weight is
found in the rapid growth of
the export trade in this cereal
in Louisiana. Foreien markets
54
demand shelled corn, and not corn in the ear. The installation
of corn shellers in every locality where any considerable amount
of corn is sold for export is to be commended.
INSECT ENEMIES OF CORN.
The plant and ear of corn are subject to the attacks of many
diseases and pests. More than two hundred insects are said to
be injurious to corn. The chief inmsect enemies of corn in
Louisiana today are the wireworms, white grub, southern corn
root worm, cutworm, larger and smaller cornstalk borers, the
corn ear (or cotton boll) worm, and the corn root louse (aphis),
all of which attack the corn plant; and the grain moth and corn
weevil, which attack the stored grain.
Under the subject **Storing Corn,” page 30, a methód has
been described for destroying insects in stored corn. Space will
not permit a discussion of the best methods of contending with
all the other insect enemies of corn. In general, however, it may
be said that fall plowing, winter harrowing, rotation of crops,
cleaning turn rows, burning underbrush and other hiding places,
and clean cultivation, are safe and profitable methods of ceon-
tending with the field enemies of corn.
Blackbirds and erows frequently rob the corn land of its seed
corn before or soon after it sprouts. The use of tar in coating
the seed before planting is recommended by some farmers; but
this is a practice of very doubtful value. Other farmers have
been driven to the use of the shoteun in riddinge their corn fields
of these birds.
=
53
SR
A
A
de
Ne
y
Y
UVA
Mi
$
t
MI
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11