1904. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
539 
GROWING CORN IN MISSOURI. 
SOIL AND PREPARATION.—The methods of 
growing and handling the corn crop of the Western 
States are different in many ways from those employed 
in the East. The large acreage cultivated makes it nec¬ 
essary to employ machinery to do as much of the work 
as possible. We have two extremes of soil that are 
adapted to the growth of corn—a deep loose soil and the 
clay. The former never becomes very hard, but the 
latter is easily packed by rains if it is not kept well 
supplied with humus. The loose soil is easier cultivated 
and more productive than the clay, but does not stand 
the dry, hot weather quite so well. Much of the ground 
intended for corn is plowed in the Fall with large turn¬ 
ing or gang plows pulled by the famous Missouri mules. 
On the deep loose soil a considerable part of the crop 
is listed. A lister is simply a turning plow with double 
mold boards to throw the dirt each way. A large 
deep furrow is thrown out where the row is wanted, 
and the corn drilled in the center of the furrow. The 
drill may be attached to the lister, and one man with 
three good mules can plant seven or eight acres pci 
day, which includes all the work of preparing the soil, 
as no previous plowing is necessary when the lister is 
used. The corn is drilled from two to three, inches deep, 
and as it grows the furrow is gradually filled up by 
cultivation until the surface is level. This places the 
corn roots deep in the soil, and enables it to stand the 
dry hot weather that we often have in the western corn 
belt. More corn is planted with the check-rower than 
any other way. The modern check-rower is made ad¬ 
justable so that the width of the rows and number ot 
grains can be regulated to suit the fertility of the soil. 
The usual distance of planting is about two feet and 
eight inches. The check-rowcr is well adapted to 
the large and level fields that are so numerous on the 
western prairies. Corn planted in this way is easily 
kept clean without any hoeing. 
CULTIVATION.—As soon as the corn 
is planted cultivation commences. On the 
loose soil the weeder is used after each 
rain to keep down grass and weeds, as 
well as produce a dust mulch to prevent 
the too rapid escape of moisture. Qn the 
clay soils the weeder is not a success, but 
the steel-tooth section harrow is used 
very successfully, and answers the same 
purpose as the weeder. As soon as the 
corn is large enough to plow the double 
cultivator is used. One man with a good 
team can cultivate from 6 to 10 acres 
per day with this implement. Small plows 
with fenders are used next to the corn, 
so it is possible to plow very close to the 
hill. One good hand with weeder, harrow 
and double cultivator can cultivate from 
40 to 60 acres during the season; the only 
extra help needed will be to harvest the 
crop. Many growers are using cultivators 
with six to eight small shovels, giving 
their corn level and shallow culture. It has been dem¬ 
onstrated beyond a doubt that shallow culture con¬ 
serves moisture better and produces larger yields pel 
acre than the old methods of deep plowing and ridg¬ 
ing the dirt up to the row. Two or three inches is the 
usual depth plowed to make a dust mulch. The up-to- 
date growers have no fixed rule for cultivation. They 
recognize that the object of cultivation is to keep down 
weeds and grass, and preserve the moisture in the soil, 
and they cultivate with that object in view. Some sea¬ 
sons require more cultivation than others. When the 
corn is clean and a dust mulch is produced it is only nec¬ 
essary to cultivate after each rain to break the crust and 
prevent the escape of moisture. From three to five cul¬ 
tivations are given with the double cultivator, very little 
corn being cultivated more than five times. Some 
growers are using a one-horse harrow with handles that 
they run between the rows after the corn gets too large 
for the double cultivator. This implement is proving 
very useful, as it levels the ground and prevents a crust 
from forming on the surface, and insures a better yield 
and a better grade of corn. 
CUTTING THE CORN.—Much improvement has 
been made in the methods of cutting up corn. The 
old way is being superseded by the corn harvester and 
binder. These machines are very successful on the level 
prairie lands. Three men and three mules will cut and 
shock about 10 acres per day. As soon as the foddei 
is dry enough those who have shredders or can pro¬ 
cure the use of one shred their corn. This shells and 
cleans the corn and puts the fodder in the best possi¬ 
ble shape for economical storage and use. The cost of 
cribbing the corn in this way is about the same as by 
hand, but the shredding of the fodder makes it more 
profitable, as the stock will consume at least 2."> per 
cent more of it than they will when put up in the 
ordinary way. A large per cent of the corn crop is 
husked from the stalk, the fields being pastured with 
cattle afterwards to get the waste. This is not the 
most economical way of caring for the crop, but the 
acreage is so large that it is impossible to take care 
of all the fodder. When the corn is husked from the 
stalk each man takes a team and husks from one side 
of the wagon only. A few hands are able to husk 100 
bushels per day, but it requires hard and fast work 
to husk this much. 
WHOLESALE FEEDING.—The yield of corn per 
acre differs very much in different soils, but there would 
probably be about 40 bushels per acre. On the best 
soils it is not uncommon for large fields to yield 80 
bushels per acre. A large per cent of the corn pro¬ 
duced in the Middle West is fed to beef cattle and hogs. 
The largest corn grower in the West, and no doubt in 
the United States, is David Rankin, of Tarkio, Mo. 
He owns 2,300 acres of land and grows about 800,000 
bushels of corn every year. He never sells a bushel, 
feeding his entire crop to cattle and hogs. Mr. Rankin 
fattens from 8,000 to 10,000 head of cattle and 10,000 
to 12,000 head of hogs each season. By feeding all his 
corn to stock and returning the fertility to the soil 
he is making his farm more productive each year. 
Barry Co., Mo. thos. j. foster. 
COTTON INSECT AND TEXAS FARMERS. 
I forward to New York a box of samples oi 
June Eating and Triumph potatoes, as well as a few 
onions, that I have raised here this season. The June 
Eating are fine, good and plenty in quality to eat every 
month in the year. The Triumph is sappy and a pool 
eater at best, but it is a fine yielder, fair keeper and 
somewhat earlier than June Eating. We are now digging 
(June 10) and make at the rate of about 200 bushels of 
marketable potatoes per acre. Triumph and June Eating 
yield about alike. Potatoes are now selling on track 
here at 82 cents per bushel. This means several times 
the value of the land out of one crop, and yet, owing to 
A MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL FIELD DAY; MAKING 
BORDEAUX MIXTURE. Fig. 237. 
HOW TO GROW WINTER ONIONS. 
We desire to plant a good-sized bed of Winter onions 
for early marketing in Spring for bunching, and as we under¬ 
stand it they must be planted in Fall, but we are not 
acquainted with method of growing them. Information on 
preparation of soil, time to sow seed (central Tennsylvania), 
varieties to plant, Winter protection, and, in fact, every 
essential detail for the successful growing of bunching 
onions is desired. w. p . k. 
Pennsylvania. 
The early bunch onions (or scallions, as they are 
usually called,) which are grown for market in the 
Spring are usually grown from small sets which are 
raised from seed in the Spring, gathered and ripened 
when they reach the proper size, and are planted in 
beds or regular rows in well-drained land during the 
early part of October or up until November farther 
South. The chief essential in their cultivation is that 
the ground in which they are planted should be well 
drained and free from any standing moisture, or its 
equivalent, ice, during the Winter months. The same 
results can be had with less expense by sowing the 
seed directly in the row where the onions are to grow 
sets and stand early in September; the seed being sown 
four to six weeks earlier than you would plant out the 
sets gives practically an equal start for the young plants 
as those which are produced from sets or small onions 
grown the preceding Spring. When the ground has 
not sufficient slope or good under-drainage to insure 
the hardiness of the onion plants during the Winter, it 
will be best to mark off the land in beds six to eight 
feet in width, having walks or drainage ditches between 
the beds to carry away the surplus moisture. The dis¬ 
tance apart at which the rows are grown will largely 
depend upon the method to be used in cultivating them 
to keep the ground free from weeds. As these onions 
are gathered for market as soon as the onions are one- 
half inch thick or more, they can be grown as closely 
in the soil as can be conveniently culti¬ 
vated. They are not usually covered in 
any way during the Winter months, but a 
light mulch of straw or soft hay can be 
put on the rows to keep them from being 
thrown out during rapid thaws. In the 
markets the white-skinned scallions sell 
more readily than those of the darker 
colors, but I think those ot the yellow 
skin are rather hardier, and the difference 
in color would be very slight. 
Where the very earliest scallions arc 
desired the Egyptian or Perennial Tree 
onion sets should be planted. These con¬ 
tinue to grow during the open weather 
throughout the Winter, and will make the 
very earliest scallions, but do not pro¬ 
duce ripened bulbs, and seldom any seed; 
the sets being borne in clusters or bunches 
at the top of the stalks and the roots also 
multiply very rapidly. The roots can be 
taken up and divided and replanted early 
in the Fall. In growing this variety it 
the presence of the boll-weevil, our most formidable 
cotton pest, most of our “natives,” cotton farmers, are 
ready almost to give their property away rather than 
grow something else that would really make them much 
more money than cotton ever did. I am making a de¬ 
cided success here, and my neighbors all see it and 
know it, yet most of them have their lands listed “For 
Sale.” There are thousands of chances here for active 
people from your country to become independent in a 
few years by investing in some of those cheap farms. 
I never have seen such a stampede of peonle wanting to 
get away as our cotton farmers have shown since the 
coming of the little boll-weevil. The funny part of it 
all is most of them really don’t know where they want 
to go to. They will never get away from the little pest, 
because the history of it that we have makes it certain 
that eventually it will cover the entire territory where 
cotton is grown in the United States. When I in con¬ 
versation sometimes tell our people to reduce their cot¬ 
ton acreage and raise other crops, one generally hears 
the answer: “Yes, I know, you Yankees and Dutchmen 
can do it, but I know nothing about it.” I take it that 
whenever a person is once dissatisfied with a place or 
country, the quicker they get out of it the better, both 
for themselves as well as the place they are at. If 
there is any one thing that exhausts my patience it is 
“calamity howling” in a country where there is so little 
need of it. J. w. stubenrauch. 
Limestone Co., Tex. 
R. N.-Y.—The potatoes were excellent—large and 
smooth, and would sell here at a good figure. Two 
hundred bushels per acre at 82 cents means over $160, 
yet so great is the panic caused by the work of the 
cotton insect that excellent land on small farms is 
offered for $20 to $35 per acre! Surely this insect ought 
to prove a blessing to wise men. 
It requires persistence to turn the shake of the head into 
a nod and solid firmness to refuse to change. 
is necessary to save a portion of your planting each 
year for a supply the following season, or purchase sets 
each Fall. In the ordinary varieties I would suggest 
using the Philadelphia Silverskin in the white, or the 
Yellow Dutch for yellow. This latter variety is the 
one generally planted to produce scallions in the Spring, 
and where they are grown in large fields they are 
planted thickly in rows spaced three feet apart, to be 
kept cultivated during the Fall with a horse cultivator. 
These Fall-planted onions start into growth very early 
in the Spring, and as soon as they are large enough to 
gather, the plants are pulled, washed and tied in bunches 
containing six to 12 each, according to the size of the 
stalk or market custom where they are sold. The green 
tops are cut off at an even height about eight inches 
from the bottom, and they are then packed in ventilated 
barrels or large crates for shipment. As the lower por¬ 
tion of the stalk or plant is the only part used, and 
these meet with the readiest sale when blanched to a 
paper whiteness, it is a good plan in putting out the sets 
to hill up slightly about the stalks with earth in the 
Spring so as to have as much of the stalk as nicely 
blanched as possible. When this is not done one or 
more of the leaf stalks must be pulled from the scal¬ 
lion so it will present an attractive appearance when 
bunched for market. The raising of the crop of scal¬ 
lions from the seed planted early in the Fall has not 
heretofore been generally practiced; but in view of the 
heavy expense involved in renewing or purchasing a 
supply of sets to set out any considerable area we think 
it the most desirable nlan, as the labor involved in 
thinning out the young seedlings would not be any 
greater than that of planting the sets in regular rows. 
Doylestown, Pa. e. n. Darlington. 
I used silos three years aud I do not like them. I used 
corn only. I liked silage very much to give horse, oue-haif 
bushel with ground grain on top. I gave cows about one 
bushel three times a day, with grain on top. It is good to 
give with rye feed. I much prefer the corn put in large 
shocks tied with cord and thrashed through spike machine 
as it is wanted to feed; it is then sweet and far more pala¬ 
table than the sour mash. l. l. c. 
Nassau, N. Y. 
