The Bulletin. 57 



COST OF PEODUCING COBN. 



We want to grow not only large crops of corn, but want to grow them as 

 economically as possible. This means that we must get more corn per acre. 

 No general records kept over the State will show what it costs to grow corn on 

 an individual farm, but if the farmer will keep even approximately correct 

 records he will soon become convinced that he can grow corn much cheaper 

 than be can buy it, provided he grows over 12 to 15 bushels per acre. Hun- 

 dreds of records kept in the Demonstration Work in North Carolina last sea- 

 son where good methods were in operation show that corn can easily be 

 grown on the average farm for from 20 to 30 cents per bushel. Many of them 

 show a cost of 10 cents per bushel and less, after counting labor at $1 per day 

 both for the man and for the horse, counting all fertilizers at market price, 

 stable manure at $2.50 per ton, and allowing $5 per acre as interest on the 

 money invested or as rent for the land. 



On many of the Demonstration farms the doubling of the depth of soil alone 

 doubled the yield of corn. On some of them three or four good diskings with- 

 out deep breaking increased the yield from 25 to 50 per cent. The fields with 

 plenty of humus, even without deep breaking, yielded from 50 to 100 per cent 

 more than similar soils without humus. On a number of farms good seed 

 made from 10 to 50 per cent more than scrub seed. These things being true, 

 what may we not expect when the intelligent farmers of North Carolina and 

 the South properly combine and practice all these essential things toward 

 growing greater and more profitable corn crops? But they are already awak- 

 ening to the importance of these things, and we predict that in the next ten 

 to fifteen years we may reasonably expect that the low yields of corn will be 

 doubled, while at the same time the cost per acre will be decreased. Much of 

 the hand labor now practiced will be superseded by machinery. These things 

 would constitute one of the greatest of factors toward building a higher civ- 

 ilization in the South. 



BUILDING UP OUR WORN-OUT LANDS BY DIVERSIFIED FARMING, 

 ROTATION OF CROPS AND KEEPING LIVE STOCK. 



By R. W. SCOTT, of Alamance County. 



Is your land rich enough, and is it producing as much as you wish, and 

 does the land in North Carolina need improving? I want to talk to you a 

 while about this matter and give you some experience that I have had in 

 building up a worn-out farm. Poor land and poor crops are what we see all 

 over the State. This, in my opinion, is the most important subject the farmer 

 has to deal with. Poor lands mean poor crops, poor stock, a poor farmer — and 

 a poor State. , 



The reason, to-day, that farmers are sending out of the State so much 

 money to buy products that ought and can be produced here is because we 

 haven't our farms in proper condition to produce these things. If we are to 

 stop buying hay, corn, flour, meat, butter, horses, mules, and many other 

 articles, we must improve our lands and get them in a condition to grow these 

 crops. Is it any wonder that our farmers complain of hard times? It is a 

 wonder that our people, under the system of farming that they have followed, 

 have gotten along as well as they have. 



The farmer who depends upon one crop to support his family and buy his 

 meat, flour, hay, horses and many other things, sooner or later will come to 

 grief, it matters not what, in reason, the price of that one article is. This 

 one-crop system is what is the matter with our farmers. We need to diversify 

 our crops more. 



We need to keep more live stock ; to raise our own horses and mules, sheep, 

 cattle, hogs and other live stock : to raise more hay, grain and leguminous 



