The Story of the Soil; from the Basis of Absolute Science and Real LifeHopkins, Cyril G. (Cyril George)
Science
The Story of the Soil; from the Basis of Absolute Science and Real Life
Hopkins, Cyril G. (Cyril George)
Soils
"It certainly is not a good show ear," said Percy, "but what I want
most is bushels of shelled corn per acre. Perhaps these big kernels
will help to give the young plant a good start, and perhaps the
piece of cob extending from the tip will make room for more kernels
if the soil can be built up so as to furnish the plant food to make
them. The cob is large but it is covered with grains all the way
around; and, if those kernels of corn were putty, we could mash them
down a little and have less space between the rows, but it would
make no more corn on the ear. However, my chief reason for planting
the Champion White Pearl is that this variety has produced more
shelled corn per acre than any other in the University experiments
on the gray prairie soil of 'Egypt.'"
There were only sixteen acres of corn grown on the entire farm in
1903 and this yielded thirteen bushels per acre, as Percy learned
from the share of the crop received by the previous landowner.
In 1904 the Champion White Pearl yielded twenty bushels per acre, as
nearly as could be determined by weighing the corn from a few shocks
on a small truck scale Percy had brought from the north. He numbered
his six forty-acre fields from one to six. Forty No. 7 was occupied
by twelve acres of apple orchard, eight acres of pasture, and twenty
acres of old meadow. By getting eighty rods of fencing it was
possible to include twenty-eight acres in the pasture, although one
hundred and ninety-two rods of fencing had been required to surround
the eight-acre pasture. The remainder of the farm was in patches,
including about fifteen acres on one corner crossed by a little
valley and covered with trees, a tract which Percy and his mother
treasured above any of the forty-acre fields. While the week was
always filled with work, there were many hours of real pleasure
found in the wood's pasture on the Sunday afternoons.
Forty No. I was left to "lie out," and No. 2 raised only twelve
acres of cowpeas. No. 3 was plowed during the summer and seeded to
timothy in the early fall. No. 4 was in corn and Nos. 5 and 6 were
left in meadow, two patches of nine and sixteen acres previously in
cowpeas and corn having been seeded to timothy in order, as Percy
said, to "square out" the forty-acre fields. About fifty acres of
land were cut over for about sixteen tons of hay. The corn was all
put in shock, and the fodder as well as the grain used for feed, the
refuse from the fodder and poor hay serving as bedding. About three
tons of cowpea hay of excellent quality were secured from the twelve
acres, and fifty barrels of apples were put in storage.
Another cow and eight calves were bought, and during the winter,
some butter, two small bunches of the last spring's pigs, and the
apple crop were sold. A few eggs had been sold almost every week
since the previous March.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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