The Story of the Soil; from the Basis of Absolute Science and Real Life

by Cyril G. Hopkins

CHAPTER XXVII

EIGHTEEN TO ONE

TWO days later Percy was in Rhode Island visiting a farm owned by Samuel Robbins, one of the most progressive and successful farmers of that State.

Mr. Robbins' farm lay in what appeared to be an ancient valley, several miles in width, although only a small stream now winds through it to the sea seven miles away.

"So you are from Illinois," said Mr. Robbins, after Percy had introduced himself and explained the nature of his visit. "The papers have a good deal to say about the corn you grow in Illinois; but have you noticed that the Government reports show our average yield of corn in New England is higher than yours in Illinois?"

"Yes, Sir," Percy replied, "I have noticed that and I have come to Rhode Island to learn how to raise more corn per acre. I have noticed, however, that New England corn does not occupy a large acreage."

Well, now, we count corn as one of our big crops, next to hay.
You'll see plenty of corn fields right here in Rhode Island."

"Would you believe that we actually raise more corn on one farm in
Illinois than the total corn crop of Rhode Island?"

"You don't tell!"

"Yes," said Percy, "the Isaac Funk farm in McLean County grows more corn on seven thousand acres a year, with an average yield certainly above fifty bushels per acre, and surely making a total above 350,000 bushels; while the State of Rhode Island grows corn on nearly ten thousand acres with an average yield of thirty-two bushels, making a total yield of about 320,000 bushels."

"Well, I'll give it up; but I'd like to know how much corn you raise in the whole State of Illinois."

"Our average production," said Percy, "is about equal to the total
production of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, and Mississippi."

"Eighteen of us!" exclaimed Mr. Robbins, who had counted on his fingers from New York to Mississippi. "And you come to Rhode Island to learn how to raise corn?"

"Yes, I came to learn how you raise more than thirty-five bushels of corn per acre as an average for New England, while we raise less than thirty-five bushels as an average in Illinois, and while Georgia, a larger State than Illinois, raises only eleven bushels per acre as a ten year average. Illinois is a new State, but I call to mind that Roger Williams settled in Rhode Island in 1636 and that he was joined by many others coming not only from Massachusetts but also from other sections. I assume that much of the land in Rhode Island has been farmed for 250 years, and the fact that you are still producing more than thirty bushels of corn per acre, as an average, is, it seems to me, a fact of great significance. I suppose you use all the manure you can make from the crops you raise and perhaps use some commercial fertilizer also. I should like to know what yield of corn you produce without any manure or fertilizer?"

"We don't produce any," said Mr. Robbins; "at least we know we wouldn't produce any corn without fertilizing the land in one way or another. If you will walk over here a little ways you can see for yourself. I didn't have quite enough manure to finish this field and I had no more time to haul seaweed so I planted without getting any manure on a few rods in one corner, and the corn there wouldn't make three bushels from an acre. I didn't bother to try to cut it, but the cows will get what little fodder there is as soon as I can get the shocks out of the field and turn 'em in for a few days to pick up what they can."

Percy examined the corn plants still standing in the corner of the field. They had grown to a height of about two feet. Most of them had tassels and many of them appeared to have little ears, but really had only husks containing no ear. In a few places where the hill contained only one plant a little nubbin of corn could be found.

"I don't mean to let any of my land get as poor as this field was," continued Mr. Robbins, "but I just couldn't get to it, and I left it in hay about two years longer than I should have done. Last year was first class for hay but this field had been down so long it was hardly worth cutting."

"About what yield do you get from the manured land?" inquired Percy.

"In a fair year I get about forty bushels, and that's about what I am getting this year from my best fields. You see there's lots of corn in these shocks. There's about an average ear, and we get five or six ears to the hill."

"Eight-row flint," said Percy, as he took the ear in his hand and drew a celluloid paper knife from his vest pocket with a six-inch scale marked on one side.

"Yes, Sir, our regular Rhode Island White Cap."

"Just five inches long. Weight about three ounces?"

"Perhaps. We count on about four hundred ears to the bushel. If we get four thousand hills to the acre one ear to the hill would give us ten bushels per acre, so you see we only have to have four ears to the hill to make our forty bushels. A good many hills have five to six ears, but then of course, some hills don't have much of any, so I suppose my corn makes an average of four ears about like that."

"I suppose you feed all of the corn you raise in order to produce as much manure as possible."

"Feed that corn! Not much we don't. Why, corn like that brings us close on to a dollar a bushel. No, Sir, we don't feed this corn. It's all used for meal. It makes the best kind of corn meal. No, we buy corn for feed; western corn. Oh, we feed lots of corn; three times as much as we raise; but we don't feed dollar corn, when we can buy western corn for seventy-five or eighty cents.

"I sell corn and I sell potatoes; that's all except the milk. I keep most of my land in meadow and pasture and feed everything I raise except the corn and potatoes. And milk is a good product with us. We average about sixty cents a pound for butter fat, and it's ready money every month; and, of course, we need it every month to pay for feed."

"Then you produce on the farm all the manure you use," suggested
Percy, "but I think you mentioned hauling seaweed."

"Yes, and I haul some manure, too, when I can get it; but usually there are three or four farmers ready to take every load of town manure."

"You get it from town for the hauling?"

"Well, I guess not," said Mr. Robbins emphatically and with apparent astonishment at such a question. "I don't think I would haul seaweed seven miles if I could get manure in town for nothing. Manure is worth $1.50 a ton Iying in the livery stable, and there are plenty to take it at that right along. I'd a little rather pay that than haul seaweed; but the manure won't begin to go around, and so there's nothing left for us but seaweed; and, if we couldn't get that, the Lord only knows what we could do."

"How much seaweed can you haul to a load, and about how many loads do you apply to the acre?"

"When the roads are good we haul a cord and a quarter, and we put ten or twelve loads to the acre for corn and then use some commercial fertilizer."

"Do you know how much a cord of the seaweed would weigh?"

"Yes, a cord weighs about a ton and a half."

"Then you apply about twenty tons of seaweed to the acre for corn?"

"Yes, but some use less and some more; probably that's about an average. Hauling seaweed's a big job and a bad job. We have to start from home long before daylight so as to get there and get the weed while the tide is out, and then we get back with our load about two o'clock in the afternoon; and, by the time we eat and feed the team, and get the load to the field and spread, there isn't much time left that day, especially when you've got to pile out of bed about two o'clock the next morning and hike off for another load."

"Then you use some fertilizer in addition to the seaweed? May I ask how much fertilizer you apply to the acre and about how much it costs per ton?"

"Where we spread seaweed for corn, we add about four hundred and fifty pounds per acre of fertilizer that costs me $26 a ton, but I have the agency and get it some cheaper than most have to pay. Then for potatoes we apply about 1500 pounds of a special potato fertilizer that costs me $34 a ton."

"The fertilizer costs you about $6 an acre for the corn crop and $25 for potatoes," said Percy; "and then you have the cost of the seaweed. I should think you would need to count about $25 or $30 an acre for the expense of hauling seaweed."

"Yes, all of that if we had to pay for the work, but of course we can haul seaweed more or less when the farm work isn't crowding, and we don't count so much on the expense. It doesn't take the cash, except may be a little for a boy to drive one team when we haul two loads at a time; and we don't use seaweed for potatoes. The corn crop will generally more'n pay for it and the fertilizer too; and the seaweed helps for three or four years, especially for grass. There's good profit in potatoes, too, when we get a crop, but they're risky, considering the money we have to pay for fertilizer."