Published by 
The Rural Publishing Co. 
333 W. 30th Street 
The Rural NewYorker 
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New York 
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VOT.. LXXVII. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY IG, 1918 
No. 44G9 
The Western Corn Situation 
Why Grain Does Not Come 
W HAT started me on this letter \vas a few 
lines on page 121 about “Government Grain 
Prices.” You will see above that we represent one 
of the hundreds of “Farmer Elevator” companies of 
Illinois. The manager is a farmer, lives on a farm 
three miles from the nearest town, and farms a 
farm that produced soft corn last season just like 
other people's farms did. The elevator company is 
made up of about 85 stockholders, nearly all of 
whom are farmers too. As we raise and sell our 
own corn we have a pretty good idea as to condi¬ 
tions. 
I-ast October, early, we bought a little corn to be 
delivered in December and to gi*ade No. 4 at the 
elevator scale. Conditions looketl as if that corn 
would be all right by that time and that it could be 
shipped. But not so. That corn is now only No. (>, 
and that is about the be.st in this territory, and we 
have not been able to ship it for today (.Tan. 29) 
we received the first cniptii grain ear set out at our 
elevator for over three 
months. The car will _ 
hold but 1,''75 bushels 
at that. If we shipped 
out the corn that would 
be brought into our ele¬ 
vator, could we get cars 
as needed, it would take 
a car of the above size 
every other day the year 
around, that is for the 
corn alone, and not 
counting the wheat and 
oats. We have the corn 
and are anxious to ship 
it. but nothing to ship 
it in. 
Could we ship regu¬ 
larly the elevator could 
I)ay about $1.25 for No. 
G corn not over 2.” per 
cent moisture. That is 
what the farmer would 
get for that soft corn. 
At the pi'ice rpioted we 
could shell it and clean 
it. and pay all neces¬ 
sary freight, w.ar taxes, 
loss in weight, because 
of excessive evapora¬ 
tion, etc., and get it to 
Cliicago, safe. There it 
would have to go 
through a dryer and be 
dried out sufficiently to 
make it safe to ship 
Ea.st without heating in the car. If it were dried 
down to No. 4 in moisture content the cost would l)e 
about 20 to 25 cents a bushel. This would be the 
ness to take it and the dryers’ ability properly to 
care for it. There is but one sure thing just now 
in the corn situation out here, and that is, if the 
corn is not taken to the terminals and properly dried 
before the germinating season comes on, the corn 
will be unfit for human food and the total amount 
of last year's crop availalGe for food will be at least 
20 per cent short. That means hundreds of millions 
of laisliels. 
Tlie gist of tile whole matter is this; Plenty of 
cars to move the gr.iln will put the jn-ice of corn 
to the level where demand for the commodity can 
make the price. There is no speculation in corn, for 
to speculate now one has to buy corn outright with 
no wjiy to “hedge” the purchase, and very little is 
in store. The '•future.s'’ limit tis set by the grain ex¬ 
changes is but $1.28 and spwulation in the futures 
has a very small ratige. T'ncle 8am keeps a good 
lookotit there. 
All the farmers here have plenty of soft corn to 
sell, and now comes tlie seed corn proposition for tlie 
next crop. There is practically no seed from last 
year's crop and mighty little old corn about. Old 
of hauling and spreading be hired? This man is a 
“bac‘k-to-the-lander'’ who has developed a good, 
young orchard, largely during his Summer vacation. 
A ))Iant food and cost .statement would l»e al)out as 
follows—allowing 25 tons to a carload of manure; 
I'orxus OF PLAXT FOOD. 
Piles. 
Nitrogen Acid Pota.sh f'ost 
.‘Ijons fertilizer. .‘!90 (UiO . . . $120.00 
.■>5 tens manure .... .250 210 420 110.25 
With us it would cost ix'tween .$-<0 ;ind .$50 to haul 
that manure to tlie orchard and siiread it. Thus 
‘the fertilizer will give more idtrogen, very much 
more phosphoric acid and no ]totash. In a hearing 
year we have found phosphoric acid and nitrogen 
most useful, while of cotirse potash is needed. The 
manure does not contain enough phosphoric acid to 
suit us, and if we did use it we .sliould try at least 
two tons of acid phosphate to go with it. In our 
<»wn orchard we have a good sod containing consid¬ 
erable Alsike and Sweet clover. Tins is to be plowed 
under, and with a light application of lime will give 
us pretty much the same effect as a coat of stalile 
manure. We are also buying sucli chicken manure 
as we can get nearhy. 
Witli tlds and seven to 
eight iKuinds of acnl 
phosphate per tree, we 
expect a good crop. We 
understand that R. A. 
Y'.s soil is lighter than 
ours, and that it lUH'ds 
humus. In that ca.se it 
will deiamd on the cost 
of getting tliat manure 
from the car to the or- 
cliard and around the 
There should ))e 
form of phos- 
used along with 
tlie manure for best re- 
sult.s, and we tliiidc that 
on the whole the ma¬ 
nure and acid ])hos- 
phate would make the 
better bargain provided 
tlie land is not to be 
ploiced. 
trees. 
.some 
pliate 
The Part That New York Women Are to Play. Fig. 82. See Page 241 
drying charge, the loss in weight due to the water 
loss, {ind an “invisible loss” due to “mealing” tind 
loss of .some small grains, etc. Now if the corn goes 
on East there is another freight charge, war tiix and 
so on. Then when it gets there it has to go through 
the usual middleman process to get to the consumer. 
No wonder the consumer has to pay. 
This is an unusual year because the corn every¬ 
where is far too high in moisture contenl, but like 
the war, we have to take it as it comes. Farmers 
here .seem to think that $1.25 a bu.shel is not enough 
for corn if wheat is $2 and oats 80 cent.s. It would 
be difficult to fix a price on it. it seems to us, as it 
can .scarcely be compai’ed to wlieat. Wheat is used 
for but one Ihing mostly. Corn has a hundred 
uses in the manufacturing plants of our country. It 
makes meal to make bread, as well as corn tlonr; 
all kinds of animal and chicken feed; gluco.se to 
make the misnamed “corn syrup:'' corn oil for many 
uses; alcohol for the arts; and various other \tses. 
If it were used almost entirel,v as human food as is 
wheat, it would be far easier to set a price on corn. 
Demand tends to raise th? i)rice just now, and 
that demand is not filled as the I’ailroads cannot fill 
the demand for the cars to move the grain. If we 
got the cars the great amount that would begin to 
move would be limited only by the buyers’ willing- 
corn is .selling for $7 a bushel at the crib, taking it 
])ractically as it comes. Old corn shows about 95 
per cent germination while the best of the new kept 
in the ordinary maimei- shows -about 70 per cent, 
ilaiiy will not take heed until too late, and will have 
to u.se tlie corn that will show but a faulty stand in 
the lu'xt crop. At the rate that had to be paid for 
.seed wlieat last Fall, seed corn could cost $.‘!5 or .$40 
;■ bushel and cost no more than the wheat per acre 
for the seed. 
We have had to shorten (>ur list of papm-s and 
magazines soiumvliat this y(>:ir. but Tiik Rra.M. Nkw- 
Youkkk is not one of those to l<e ilropped. We tliink, 
“If it's in 'I’lfK R. N.-Y'. it's all right.” x. i,. sx:aks. 
.Morgan Go., Ill. 
Manure or Fertilizer for Orchard 
The oreh.-ird neods nu.re plant fooil than it has bf'on 
getriiig. I can get animal fertilizer analyzing G.50 per 
cent nitrogen. 11 jier cent phosphate for ,$40 a ton. and 
inanure by the carload at $.‘!.15 a ton. freight prc'paid 
in both cases. I would like to have your opinion as 
to which would be better for the orchard, a carload of 
the inanure (from 20 to 40 tons) or three tons of fer¬ 
tilizer. I was planning to scatter it around the trees 
during the Winter, when it is easiest to get help. The 
.apple trees look very fine this year, and are full of 
spurs. I{. A. Y. 
Hudson Valley. N. Y. 
HERE can l»e no off-hand answer to a question 
of this sort. It would depend on various things 
not stated in the letter. Is the orchard in .sod? 
What is the ch.aracter of the soil? Must the labor 
T 
Concrete Wall 
Under Building 
I have just bought a 
farm. The house is new, 
in fact .so new that it 
isn't finished. The ell is 
resting on cedar po.sts. I 
would like to build con¬ 
crete walls to sui)port the 
ell, and by banking up 
outside I think I can 
use it for root storage, as 
there will be a door con¬ 
necting with cellar to house. How thick a wall 
should I build, and shall I have to use steel rods to re¬ 
enforce them? Is Winter a proper time to build it, or 
would it be better to wait until Summer? How deep 
should I go with foundation, considering it is to be 
b.anked outside? How much cement will I need? There 
will be two walls IS ft. long 7% ft. high, and one 
wall 12 ft. long, ft. high. If steei is to be used 
vill you give me some idea how it should be i)laced? 
Middleton, Mass. e. b. m. 
S r 1-FORT DURING CON.8TRUCTION.—Although 
the placing of a concrete Avail mulei' au already 
constructed building presents some dilliculties, it 
can be done if a little ingenuity is exerci.sed in the 
oi>eratu>n. The main diliicuities are to proA’ide a 
.support for the building Avhile the foundation is 
being built, and to fill the top part of the fo^rm ju.st 
beneath the sill. If the building is light, as it 
probal)ly is in this case, the problem of siii)porting 
it is not quite so difficult. Cribbing may be built 
up on each side of the sill, as .shown in the .sketch. 
Fig. 8.2, and by means of jacks or AA'edgos, th(‘ 
building rai.sed enough to remove the posts upon 
Avhich it is now resting, using a short piece of tim¬ 
ber crossAA'ise beneath the sill to carry the AA’eight 
the building. When in position other blocking 
may be ifiaced beneath the ends of this timber and 
the jacks removed for use elseAvhere. These tim¬ 
bers may be so placed that they come in AvindoAv or 
door openings as far as possible, but if necessary to 
use them Avhere the Avail is to be solid the concrete 
Avork can be carried up to them, and after their re- 
