16 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1019. 



ISfost of the seed planted now is selecteil IVoni the cril) and is more 

 or less mixed. A compariitively small nninhcr of the farmers test 

 seed foi'ii before j)lantin^. Corn is «i;eneially planted from the 1st 

 to the loth of May. Most of the land is plowed in the fall, from 4 

 to imljes deep, depending on the soil ty|)e. The corn is practically 

 all check rowed. Jn the sprin<^ the land is double disked and gone 

 over with a spike-tooth harrow before planting. The first cultiva- 

 tion is fi'om .'i to 4 inches, the later ones fi'om U to 2 inches deep. 

 A small acreage is drilled and is used for silage and fodder. The 

 crop is harvested from about the middle of October to the last of 

 November. The bulk of the crop is husketl in the field and hauled 

 to the crib, where it is generally handled with a power elevatpr. 

 Probably 5 per cent is shocked and hauled out to be fed. A com- 

 mon practice is to fence olf small portions and hog down, very little 

 being fed to cattle in the field. The larger part of the crop is used 

 to feed hogs, cattle, and work stock. The surplus, which is sold to 

 local elevators, is husked at the crib and shelled by power outfits 

 moving from farm to farm. There is a tendency to sell most of 

 the corn on tenant farms rather than feed it. Occasionally, in wet 

 seasons, considerable damage is done by cutworms, wireworms, and 

 the root louse. 



Oats are second in importance to corn as a cash crop and also in 

 acreage. The 1920 census gives the production for the county as 

 3,112,637 bushels, with an average of 34.9 bushels per acre. Ordi- 

 narily the yields range between 40 and 50 bushels per acre. Early 

 and late oats hold about an even place in acreage. The predominat- 

 ing early varieties are Iowa 103, Kherson, Early Champion, and 

 Iowa 105. Of the late varieties. Silver Mine, Swedish Select, and 

 Green Russian are the most popular. The crop is sown from the 

 middle to the end of March and is ready for harvesting about the 

 10th of July. Most of the crop is sown on corn stubble, practically 

 all being broadcast. The usual method in planting is to sow, disk^ 

 and drag, or to disk, sow, disk, and drag, the latter being preferred. 

 Between 75 and 90 per cent of the acreage of corn is sown to oats. 

 The climatic conditions as a rule are very favorable, but occasionally 

 a hot period during the time the heads are filling lightens the crop 

 appreciably. Until recently smut has caused considerable damage 

 to the crop, but it now has been practically eradicated through treat- 

 ment of seed with formalin solution, Chicago and St. Paul are 

 the principal markets. 



Wheat is now relatively unimportant and only a small part of the 

 local requirement is produced. Spring wheat is grown almost ex- 

 clusively, principally because of the uncertainty of the fall-sown 

 crop on account of winter killing. According to the Iowa Agri- 



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