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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1899)
tlbe Conservative , COKN FIIOM. TIIK KI5UNI5L , TO Til 15 STAMC. Tlio seven states of Ohio , Indiana , Il linois , Missouri , Kansas , Iowa and Ne braska may bo properly classed as the principal corn-growing region of the United States. They are almost wholly located between latitudes 41 and 87. These lines of latitude bound on the north and south the great populational bolt of the United States. Thpy define as to north and south limits the greater portions of the productive corn area of this country. They establish the Amer ican corn laws by which those who de- Biro to cultivate that cereal extensively are commanded to live and practice ag riculture within those latitudes. The attention of thoughtful citizens who read THE CONSERVATIVE is called to the following table , which shows the acreage , the average yield per acre , the total number of bushels and the total valuation of the corn raised in the seven states above nientiouod during the year 1897 : and begin to grow. The tube is a long one for it grows down the entire length of the silk to the kernel at the base. Then it fertilizes the kernel , as in the case already described. It appears to bo necessary that each kernel should be fertilized by material from the pollen in order to develop normally or to bo cap able of reproducing a plant. The im perfect kernels are believed not to have been fertilized. Considering the number of kernels on each ear of corn , it appears little less than marvelous that every kernel should bo fertilized. Some , of course , fail of being fertilized and we have incom pletely developed kernels. But a large proportion are fertilized and developed if the conditions are favorable. The growth of the plant is now com plete and the energy of' the plant can be devoted largely to supplying materials for filling out the kernels. The kernels pass through the milk stage , fill out , the contents become of thicker consistency , Reliable data gathered from reputable sources show that in 1897 there wore 80 million acres of corn raised in the United States. In 1898 there were three millions less acreage in corn , there being only 77 million acres of that cereal grown in that year in the entire re public. The Corn Flower. The Indian corn plant is one of those which has two kinds of flowers , both on the same stalk. Tlio kernels and silk are the female part and the tassel the male part. That is , the tassel has the stamens which furnisli the pollen ; and the ear has the pistils and ovaries. But neither are simple flowers. The tassel is an aggregation of staminate flowers ; the ear an aggregation of pistillate flowers. Each kernel has a thread of silk attached to it. The silk is the pistil and the kernel at the end is the ovary. Each kernel and its thread of silk there fore constitute a separate pistillate flower. As a matter of fact the kernels are as independent as if they were each on a separate ear. By breeding and development wo have made corn what it is , that is , a large , long cob , with many rows of kernels. Wild corn was originally only one kernel enclosed in each husk , something like grains. Now as the pollen in the tassels rip ens , the pollen cases burst and the pollen - lon in the form of a dust is set free to bo blown about by the wind , and so find its way to the silk. The silk is sticky. The pollen grains fall upon it , adhere the outer cell walls thicken , forming a hard seed coat and finally we have the ripened grain. AVater Used by Corn IMmit. The following table ( King , Wisconsin experiment station report ) shows 'the amount of water used by the corn plant in comparison with barley , oats and peas. the relatively small consumption of water by corn is to be found in the fact that much less water is lost from the soil by direct surface evaporation on account of surface cultivation during so much of the growing season. Field Experiment With Corn. Ill the field of corn in which two cyl inders were placed the water content of the soil was determined down to a depth of four feet , in the spring at the time of every planting , and again at the end of the growing season. The yield of dry matter per acre was also very carefully determined. One portion of this ground was manured while another portion was not , and the average amount of dry matter per aero was (5,851 ( pounds on the uumanured ground , and 7,740.6 on the manured ground. The mean amount of water in the soil near the time of planting for each col umn of soil one square foot in section and four feet deep was 88.09 ll > s. , and at the time of harvesting it was 74.78 Ins. , on the unmauured ground and 74.47 Ihs. on the manured. The total rainfall during the growing season was 100.29 Ihs. per square foot. A large amount of this rain , 10.6 inches , or 54.0 lt > s. per square foot , fell between the time of planting and June 30 , when the corn was yet small , and must have been mostly lost by percolation. Sup posing this amount to have been lost in this way during the season , the amount of water used per square foot must have been 69 lhs. for the uumanured and 59.3 for the manured ground. Under these conditions it must have required 404.6 11)S. ) of water for a pound of dry matter on the unmanured and 888.7 Ibs. on the manured ground , while the aver- Tablt ; Showing ; Amount of Water Itcqitircd fcir a Pound of Dry Matter in Wisconsin. It will be observed in the second place , that the corn crop , the great American staple , has during these trials consumed less water per pound of dry matter than either of the other crops , barley , cleverer or peas , the average of the four cases being only 809.2 ll > s. as compared with 888.48 for barley , 477.87 for peas , 518.52 for oats , and 5G4.48 His. of water for one pound of dry matter in clover. One of the chief reasons , in niy judgment , for age iii the cylinder was 816 tt > s. of water for a pound of dry matter. Itulatloii JJetwcc'ii tlio Amount of Dry Matter Produced and the Number of Inches of AVator Consumed. In the last annual report , page 180 , attention was called to the fact that while the yields of dry matter calculated per aero of the crops grown in the cyl inders were very much greater , in every