984 Rural School Leaflet 



are grouped closer together in hills. Many acres of corn are sown in 

 drill rows each year. This gives single stalks a chance to grow by them- 

 selves in the row. For growing the best cars the stalks should stand not 

 nearer than one foot apart in the row. In planting corn for exhibition 

 it is wise to plant more seed than is necessary to make a stand of plants. 

 Some stalks will be stronger than others and the weak ones can be thinned 

 out. Four to eight quarts of seed corn will be required to plant an acre, 

 depending on the size of the kernel and the variety of corn used. 



Cultivation. — When the corn has sprouted and begins to appear in 

 the rows, the weeds also are growing and it is time to cultivate thoroughly. 

 Many corn-growers use a weeder for stirring the surface of the soil before 

 the corn begins to appear. The weeder is intended to kill weed seeds as 

 fast as they sprout, preventing them from becoming rooted in the soil. 

 The weeder does not cultivate deep enough to tear out the corn that is 

 sprouting in the ground. Cultivation between the rows of corn helps 

 to warm the soil, and that makes the corn grow faster. When the 

 corn is very small and its roots have not grown very far out into the row, 

 the horse cultivator can be made to dig deeper than the corn is planted. 

 This will loosen the soil, which may have been packed down in fitting 

 and planting the field, and later the corn roots will grow out into this 

 soil more readily. Until corn tassels it may be cultivated every week 

 with benefit, but as it grows taller and its roots spread the culti- 

 vation should be shallower and farther from the rows, so as not to disturb 

 the roots. Hand-hoeing is necessary only to kill the weeds that grow 

 in the row where the cultivator does not reach them. 



When corn has been planted thickly enough to require thinning, the 

 weaker plants should be pulled up when the corn is a few inches high. 

 It is wise to wait until the corn is too large for crows to pull or cutworms 

 to destroy. Of course these enemies should be kept away if possible. 

 For pop corn and flint corn planted in hills, three or four stalks should 

 be left in each hill after thinning. For dent or flint corn it is best to leave 

 not more than three stalks in the hill. These should be the strongest 

 and most vigorous plants. 



Harvesting. — When the corn begins to show yellowing husks and leaves, 

 this is a sign that it is ripening. It is usually harvested at this stage, 

 but for prize-winning corn the stalks should be left standing until the ears 

 are very ripe unless damage from weather or from animals is likely. When 

 the stalks are dead and the ears hang down in their ripe husks, it is time 

 to harvest the corn. Husk all the ears and spread them out carefully, 

 so that you can choose those that you wish to exhibit. 



The ears of corn from which the prize-winners are to be selected should 

 be chosen from the entire crop at harvest time. It will be wise to choose 

 more than ten ears and hang them up indoors where they may cure 



