FAEM PEACTICE IN THE CULTIVATION OP CORN. 53 



SURVEYS IN BATES COUNTY, MO. 



Bates County is in the extreme western tier of Missouri and fairly 

 well represents conditions as found in the corn belt of western Mis- 

 souri and eastern Kansas. It is a typical prairie region, with a clay- 

 loam soil underlain with a heavier loamy clay subsoil. The land is 

 gently rolling, and no drainage is required. The soils of this county 

 are very fertile, and the limiting factor in crop production is the 

 amount of rainfall. 



This region is fairly prosperous and has the general western spirit. 

 Most of the leading roads have been improved. Good farmhouses 

 and outbuildings are found, and the country appears prosperous to a 

 greater extent than it really is. With good seasons the farmers get 

 exceptionally good returns, but often the seasons are unfavorable. 



About one-third of the farms in this county are operated by tenants, 

 mostly for cash rent. The farms visited average 184.8 acres, with 

 146.8 acres under cultivation. A general rotation of corn two years, 

 oats one year, wheat one year, and hay or pasture one or two years is 

 practiced on most farms. Very little truck or fruit is grown, and 

 wheat is the principal crop sold from the farms. Cattle and hogs 

 are extensively raised, and practically all crops other than wheat are 

 fed on the farm. 



In preparing land for corn the pasture or hay sod is usually plowed 

 in the fall with a 4-horse gang or a 3-horse sulky plow. In the spring 

 this land is harrowed once each with a disk and spike-tooth harrow, 

 and if cloddy it is often rolled (Table XXV) . When corn follows corn 

 the land is not broken until spring. It is first harrowed with a disk 

 harrow, then plowed shallow (about 3 inches) with the 4-horse gang or 

 3-horse sulky plow and harrowed once or twice with the spike-tooth 

 harrow. The corn is generally checked and planted level in rows 

 Z\ feet apart each way, alternating the hills with two and three 

 grains. About three weeks after planting, the corn is harrowed with 

 a 4-horse spike-tooth harrow. Some farmers harrow just as the corn 

 comes up and again one week later. 



Practically all the cultivating is done with 2-horse G-shovel culti- 

 vators (3-inch shovels). Usually three or four cultivations are given 

 in alternate directions. No. cover crops are grown, but organic 

 matter is supplied by stable manure and hay sod. No commercial 

 fertilizer is used, but barnyard and stable manure is often applied 

 broadcast to the corn land before planting. Both white and yellow 

 dent varieties of com are grown, but the white varieties predominate. 



The most prevalent weeds are crab-grass, foxtail, bull nettle, 

 cocklebur, -mart weed, morning-glory, and pigweed. 



