CORN LETTERS FROM THIRTY FARMERS 147 



Arthur, Illinois, April 15th, 1913. 

 Mr. W. T. Ainsworth, Mason City, Illinois. 



Dear Sir: The farm I am farming is gently rolling, and the soil 

 is a brown silt loam. I have obtained the best results by plowing sods 

 in the fall, but when corn follows corn I have found, from experience, 

 that the biggest crops can be raised from spring plowing. 



I am firmly convinced that the burning of stalks is a bad practice, 

 since it robs the land of nitrogen and humus. Before plowing, I 

 double disc all the stalkfields, with a Janesville spading disc. I plow 

 from six to seven inches deep, and the early plowed ground is allowed 

 to stand until after heavy rains, before any further work is done to it. 

 For the later plowed ground, I use a rotary harrow on the plow. This 

 pulverizes the soil and levels it up as it is plowed. Each day's plowing 

 is again harrowed down in the evening, when it is allowed to stand 

 until nearly planting time. 



After the corn is planted, it is rolled and harrowed and left until 

 the plants are about four inches tall, when it is cultivated about four 

 inches deep with a shovel plow. For the next two or three plowings 

 I use a surface cultivator and get over my corn as many times as I 

 possibly can. I lay my corn by when it is from three to four feet 

 tall. In closing I want to say that I consider the spading disc one of 

 the best implements on the farm. LEWIS D. YUTZY. 



Mr. Yutzy is a stock raiser, as well as a farmer. 



Laurel, Iowa, April 10th, 1913. 

 Messrs. W. T. Ainsworth & Sons, Mason City, Illinois. 



Gentlemen: The nature of my soil is a black loam with clay sub- 

 soil, nothing better for the growing of corn. I do not like fall plowing 

 for stalk ground, since the winter and spring rains pack it so badly 

 that it requires more work to get it in shape in the spring than it does 

 when the plowing is allowed to go until spring. I believe that spring 

 plowing of stalk ground will bring larger yields than will fall plowing. 



I break the stalks down, rake them up and burn them. I next run 

 a good sharp disc diagonally across the field and harrow. This leaves 

 the ground level, makes the plowing easier and leaves the field in much 

 better shape than where the discing is not done before plowing. 



I harrow each evening what I plow during the day. When I get 

 ready to plant I harrow the field once or twice, according to the shape 



