1022 Rural School Leaflet 



cultural directions 

 E. R. Minns 



Choosing the soil. — In order to grow the largest yield of corn at the 

 least expense, you should choose the warmest and most fertile soil on 

 the farm. It should be fairly well drained and well stocked with humus. 

 Although climate has much to do with the success of a corn crop in this 

 State, you will be most likely to get a good yield if you choose the soil 

 carefully. 



Preparation. — In laying off a plot of one acre, you should first decide 

 on the distance between the rows that you will plant. Then you can 

 decide on how many rows wide the plot must be, and make the length 

 for one acre accordingly. If the land has not already been well manured 

 before you decide to use it for corn, it should have twenty or more loads 

 of barnyard manure applied to it. Well-rotted or partially decayed ma- 

 nure may produce the largest yield per acre, but it will increase the cost of 

 manuring. Two loads of fresh manure are equivalent to about one load 

 of well-rotted manure. The plowing should be done as early as the ground 

 is dry enough for good plowing. This will give time for the furrows to 

 become settled and for capillarity to become again established in the 

 soil. If the ground is a piece of sod or if it has a winter cover-crop on 

 it, the early plowing will prevent rapid evaporation of moisture from the 

 soil and at the same time start decay in the vegetable matter plowed 

 under. Plowing, harrowing, and cultivating in the spring all tend to 

 make the soil warmer, and that is important in starting a crop of corn. 

 If the ground can be plowed a month before time to plant the corn, so 

 much the better. If the ground is moist, use the roller sparingly. Corn 

 roots need a mellow seed bed. The roller may press the soil together too 

 closely for good corn-growing. If the furrows become somewhat dry 

 before you can fit the seed bed with harrows, the roller will help reestablish 

 the capillarity and crush any dry lumps of soil. The cornfield, when 

 ready for the planter, should be fairly smooth and the surface lightly 

 stirred. 



Fertilizers. — Ordinarily, good crops of corn are grown without the aid 

 of commercial fertilizers. To grow a large crop of corn may require the 

 use of some good fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and possibly 

 potash. On peaty soils, potash especially is beneficial to corn. Just 

 before seed-sowing, three to five hundred pounds of the fertilizer should be 

 mixed with the soil where the corn plants will get it early in their growth. 

 The amount of fertilizer used should be regulated by the probable benefit 

 and by the cost. Excessive use of fertilizers may produce a big crop, 

 but at an expensive cost that will offset the advantage of increased 

 yield. 



