360 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



not rob our soil of all of the elements that go to make corn, never 

 replacing any of the elements lost, and expect to have a successful 

 corn crop. We want a soil with plenty of humus in it; we ought 

 to grow plenty of clover — ought to grow it every third year. We 

 never put in a corn crop unless we put it after a clover crop, and 

 with this we want plenty of barn yard manure. We never use 

 commercial fertilizers except on the wheat crop. We use commer- 

 cial fertilizers when sowing our wheat. Of course this materially 

 increases the yield of wheat, it is the foundation for a clover crop, 

 and we get the benefit in our corn. I think that after we have a 

 soil in good condition for a corn crop we may abuse it in a good 

 many ways : For example, by letting stock run on the field in the 

 winter time. I don't believe the freezes of one winter will take 

 away the effects of trampling the ground while it is wet, and con- 

 sequently I think a great deal of corn is injured by the trampling 

 of the ground in the winter time. Wherever a hoof mashes the soil 

 down, the chances are that a clod is formed there, and we cannot 

 retain moisture where we have more clods than pulverized soil. 

 Therefore, I think the care of the soil, the building up of the soil, 

 and the caring for it through the winter time has much to do in 

 raising a successful corn crop. Some times the corn will begin to 

 turn yellow, and the farmer complains that probably worms or some 

 insect are working on the roots of the corn, when, if the trouble 

 could only be traced back, he would find that the soil was not right ; 

 he would find those hard cloddy lumps that have no moisture ; and 

 in fact I think this has been the real cause of yellow corn and 

 dwarfed corn, rather than insects working on the roots. 



Drainage — After the soil the drainage is next to be considered 

 as one of the essential factors in a successful corn crop. I want 

 to say that where I grew my best corn last year I had a common 

 system of drainage, a shallow system, put in early before we had 

 our better outlets. Later we put in a deep system of drainage — a 

 draw system which cost us $17 an acre — and I believe it is the 

 best system we can use on our soil. I don't know the condition of 

 your soil, but nothing will pay better on our soil than this system 

 of drainage. 



Plowing — If we have our soil in good condition, I prefer fall 

 plowing. I don't know whether that is practical with you or not. 

 It is not practical on all our soils, but for bottom soils that do not 

 overflow or wash, and for black loamy soils, we find it very profit- 

 able to do fall plowing for several reasons : It helps us along ma- 

 terially in the spring with our work and it tends to do away with 



