MAT 15, 1915 



•l-c 



and as a peact'loviug citizen I have often been 

 troubled about the encouragement given to war. 



Last year, when there seemed to be a likelihood of 

 war with Mexico, a number of namee of young men 

 likely to be good soldiers was sent in to Washington 

 by the commandant. I am almost certain my son's 

 name was sent along, as they had advanced him 

 rapidly. In consequence I have some objections to 

 his returning to the A. and M., and. yet I am 

 anxious for my son to get a practical agricultural 

 training. It is true the discipline in a way is good 

 for the students; but could not that be secured in 

 some other way t 



I am sure there are others as vitally interested in 

 the study of this question as myself, and for their 

 sakes, as well as my own, would be pleased to get 

 your view ou this matter. 



Mrs. Robt. Broeuelmann. 



Ringwood, Okla., Nov. 23. 



Since reading the above letter, another 

 incident occurs to itie. Just a few days ago 

 a business man in some city became sud- 

 denly insane. He shot, or shot at, everybody 

 in sight in the office, then rushed out into 

 the street and began to kill people right and 

 left. Before a policeman could be found 

 who was a practiced marksman this man 

 had maimed or killed toward a dozen per- 

 sons; and nobody knows how many more 

 would have been killed or maimed had not 

 a quick bullet from the expert policeman 

 wound up his career. While it is not at all 

 necessary that every young man should be- 

 come expert in the use of firearms, at the 

 present stage of the world's history it is 

 exceedingly important that at least a few 

 persons in a community should know how 

 to save human life and perhaps protect 

 property. 



Now last, but by no means least, I have 

 some good news for the young friend who 

 \vTitcs the above letter, and for every other 

 bright young boy in the whole wide world. 

 T want to introduce you to the " champion 

 corn boy of the United States;" and I do 

 it by making a clipping from that excellent 

 home journal, the Ohio Farmer, of April 

 19. 



CHAMPION CORN BOY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Did you ever hear of Walker Lee Dunson? Well, 

 he is the boy who astonished the world in 1913 by 

 raising 232.5 bushels of shelled corn on an acre of 

 ground. The total cost of this enormouus yield of 

 corn was only $46.40, or a total of 19 cents a 

 bushel. This was not the first time Dunson has won 

 the prize for the largrest yield of corn in the state 

 where he lives, for in 1912 he grew 172 bushels at 

 a total cost of $35. As if to prove that it was not 

 a matter of chance that he won twice, he again won 

 the highest yield for his state in 1914, making the 

 third time he has carried off the high honors and also 

 making the highest official yield of any boy in the 

 United States. 



In January I went to Alexander City, Alabama, 

 and inquired where Dunson lived. It was ten and 

 a half miles out in the country over muddy roads. 

 On the way to this farm I noticed that the land was 

 very stony ; the hills were steep, and covered with 

 jack pines, scrub oak, Lrooin sedge, and deep ero- 

 gions. From appearance it was the last place on 

 cuth one would look for a champion crop yield of 



the United States. After arriving at the farm I 

 found Walker Dunson a very much younger boy than 

 my fancy had pictured. He was 15 years old the 

 4th of last December, so that will make him eligible 

 for several more corn-growing contests. The aver- 

 age yield of corn in Alabama is only 17 bushels, yet 

 the 3358 boys in the corn-growing contest made an 

 average yield of 48.3 bushels per acre, which beat 

 the other corn-growers by 31.3 bushels an acre. 



The corn grown by the boys was made at an 

 average cost of 26 cents a bushel, while that of the 

 average farmer cost 70 cents. The location of the 

 field where this high yield of corn was grown was 

 very interesting to me. It is located in the valley 

 between two very steep hills, and the dew settles in 

 the valley and furnishes considerable extra moisture 

 to the corn crop in the dry summer weather. This 

 was the only special advantage of the location ex- 

 cept that the valley is naturally somewhat richer 

 than the upland. The soil was a sandy clay loam 

 with more sand than clay. There was a splendid 

 stream of water in the valley, and Dunson had in- 

 tended to water his corn with a gas-engine and hose, 

 but was prevented by the Department of Agriculture, 

 as they ruled this an unequal advantage. No excep- 

 tion was taken, however, to the unusual amount of 

 commercial fertilizer that was used. This field had 

 2300 lbs. of a 10-4-4 fertilizer but no barnyard 

 manure. 



After asking Dunson for his picture I was sur- 

 prised to learn that a camera had never been to visit 

 his place. Then I sent a telegram to Chicago and 

 had an expert photographer start immediately for his 

 place, and the pictures in this issue are the result. 

 For the last two years one of the railroads has 

 offered a fine four-year-old registered Percheron 

 mare for the highest yield of crops on what is known 

 as the four-crop contest. Mr. Dunson won these 

 fine Percheron mares both years. His four crops 

 made the following: 175 bushels of corn, 1623 

 pounds of cotton, 1974 pounds of peavine hay, and 

 3354 pounds of oats in straw. The total profit from 

 these crops was $212.67, with an average profit of 

 $53.17 to each crop. As Dunson had only three 

 acres under cultivation he made an average profit of 

 $70.85 an acre. 



In addition to the horses. Walker Dunson has won 

 a $250 scholarship to the State Agricultural College. 

 He has also had a trip to his state fair and the 

 national capitol at Washington, and cash prize of 

 $50 besides. Perhaps the most interesting part of 

 it all is that he has made the following records in 

 the last three years: In 1912 a yield of 172 bushels 

 of corn at a cost of $26, or 15 cents a bushel; in 

 1913 he made 232.5 bushels at a cost of $46.40, or 

 19 cents a bushel; in 1914 he made a yield of 175.5 

 bushels at a total cost of $35, or 20 cents a bushel. 

 He has made a grand total of 579.75 bushels of 

 corn in the last three years, winning every year, 

 with a total cost of $107.40, and leaving him a 

 total profit of $471.85 from the coru alone at the 

 market price. The average cost of growing this corn 

 was 18 cents a bushel. However, Dunson really 

 made more than this from his corn, as most of it 

 was sold for seed at $2.50 and $3.50 a bushel in- 

 stead of selling at the market price. 



Dunson cultivated his corn ten times last year. 

 This was done every ten days unless there was a 

 heavy rain, and then it was cultivated as soon as 

 he could get on the field to work. He says he will 

 not rest on his laurels, but intends to enter the 

 contest again. 



He plants the Marlboro Prolific corn, and has his 

 seed all saved in good shape from stalks that have 

 three and four ears on the stalks. His corn was 

 drilled with one stalk standing every 12 inches as 

 nearly as possible, and with rows three feet apart. 

 Walker Dunson says he believes he can grow 300 

 bushels of com per acre if he can keep it from 



