The Bulletin. 7 



Third year, corn (peas may also be grown witli the corn), Fourth year, 

 small grain and peas again, and so on. A shorter system may be used, 

 but it is best to have corn at least two years removed from a growth of 

 grass or weeds, and it is advisable to have it separated from small grain 

 by one year in a cultivated crop. Of course such a plan may not always 

 be feasible, but it is best so far as avoiding insect injury is concerned, 

 and the nearer we can come to it the better. The employment of peas 

 in the rotation is beneficial from all points of view. Not only do they 

 tend to improve the land, but they do not in any way render the corn 

 more subject to insect injury. 



Corn following corn year after year is also favorable to the increase 

 of certain insects (stalk-borers), and a two-year rotation with merely 

 cotton and corn is favorable to some pests, especially ear-worm and root- 

 louse. Hence, while corn and cotton may follow each other occasionally, 

 they should not always do so, and they should at least sometimes be 

 separated by some other crop between them so as to interfere with those 

 pests which feed on both cotton and corn. 



Fertilization. — A crop of corn which has been put into healthy condi- 

 tion by fertilization, Avhether by commercial or farm manures, is better 

 able to withstand and recover from insect attacks than one which has not 

 been so aided. Here the peas serve a useful purpose. It has also been 

 claimed that where heavy applications of kainit or other salty fertilizers 

 are used the wire-worms, cut-worms and other underground insects are 

 checked to a considerable extent. 



Fall or Winter Plowing. — As a general rule, it may be poor policy to 

 plow land in the fall and leave it bare all winter. If, however, a field 

 which is in sod is to be planted in corn it will be well to adopt this 

 method of fall plowing in order that the wire-worms, cut-worms and 

 other soil-inhabiting insects may be starved out, killed by exposure, or 

 driven away, before the crop is planted in the spring, especially if these 

 pests are known to be usually destructive in the locality. The plowing 

 should be deep, so as to thoroughly break up and pulverize the soil. 



Time of Planting. — This has an important bearing on the amount of 

 insect injury that the corn will suffer later on. Corn planted late is not 

 so much hurt by either cut-worms or stalk-borers. In the eastern part 

 of the State some good farmers claim that corn planted very early will 

 often partially escape the bill-beetle (not always nor completely). In 

 the eastern section also, very early (or very late) planting may avoid 

 part of the injury by bud-worms ; while in the western half of the State 

 late planting of corn seems to be the best method of escaping bud-worms. 



Planting Increased Quantity of Seed.— Injury by some insects, such as 

 wire-worms, white grubs, bud-worms, and cut-Avorms, may occur largely 

 before thinning time (especially if the corn is planted late), so that if 



