EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 267 



Unless all of these are found in the plant from which we are gathering seed, it 

 will not likely be found in the crop grown from the seed. 



Question 12. Some claim, that one good ear on a stalk is better than tivo, that 

 the one tvill weigh more than the two. Test this next fall and report results. 



Many farmers select seed at the time of husking saving the ears that to them 

 approach their ideal of perfect ears. 



Whatever the method of selecting, place the seed when selected where it will 

 dry thoroughly and reasonably quickly. 



keep in a dry warm place till planting time. 

 • There is much difference of opinion as to whether the tip and butt kernels 

 should be planted. 



Question 13. What is your opinion as to the planting of tip and "butt kernels? 

 Why? 



SOIL. 



The best soil for corn is a deep "open loam well supplied with organic matter." 

 But whatever the soil it must be properly drained aiid well handled to obtain the 

 best results. The corn crop requires a higher soil temperature than our other 

 common cereal crops and also appreciates good soil ventilation, and must have 

 plenty of moisture but not excessive moisture. It is said that it will send its roots 

 to a depth of fifteen or twenty feet for water. Being a great rooter it must have 

 plenty of room. 



it is common practice to manure sod before plowing for. corn. It is a question 

 whether it would not be better to manure a year earlier and thus secure some of 

 the benefits of the manure to the pasture. 



. .. rKEPARATlOX. 



Do not delay the plowing till you are just ready to plant the crop. 



In all i)lowing the work should be done when the soil is in such condition of 

 moisture that it will turn over mellow. One week of delay, and especially in sod, 

 may make it impossible to secure, without great expense in time and labor, a 

 mellow seed-bed.* 



Do not be afraid of overworking the soil from the time it is plowed till planting 

 time. Such working will 



1. Improve the moisture conditions, 



2. Promote the changes of plant food into soluble form, 



3. Improve the temperature conditions, and 



4. Destroy weeds whose growth has been promoted by previous stirring. 



Experiment 1. Prepare two boxes or pans about three inches deep, fill each two 

 inches deep with moist sand. Place in each one hundred kernels of corn from the 

 same seed ear if possible. Koiv cover one-half inch deep with the same kind of 

 sand and tvater from time to time. Place one box under the kitchen stove or in 

 some very icarm place, and place the other in a cool place, say in the cellar. 



(a) Count the number of corn plants up in tico days, three days, four days 

 ■and so on. 



(b) Note hoio long before the first plant appears in each. 



(c) Report results. 



TIME OF PLANTING. 



Plant as soon as the soil conditions are favorable and the danger of severe frosts 

 is past. I would rather run the risk of planting a little too early than a little too 

 late. , . - 



THICKNESS OF PLANTING. 



This must depend upon the use to which you wish to put the crop and also upon 

 the strength of your soil. On ordinary soil in Michigan, the common method 

 seems to be three stalks in hills three feet eight inches apart. Where the corn is 

 planted for ensilage, it is a common practice to plant to have two stalks in hills 



*See Article on Puddling of Soils, p. 85, Farmers' Inst. Report, 1902-1903. 



