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 dise all the stalkfields, with a Janesville spading dise. 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 dise 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 
