Rural School Leaflet 983 



should be used to make the seed bed level, fine, and loose to a depth 

 of about three inches. Rolling will not be needed on land plowed the 

 previous autumn. On fields that are a little lumpy the roller may be used 

 with good results just before marking and planting. 



Commercial fertilizers can be profitably used on corn under some 

 conditions. If barnyard manure cannot be obtained before plowing and 

 the soil is not rich, good corn may sometimes be grown with the aid of 

 two to five hundred pounds per acre of fertilizer containing nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash. Some successful farmers use one to two 

 hundred pounds per acre, even though the field may be manured before 

 plowing. This fertilizer should be mixed with the soil, either in the row 

 or on each side of the row, but it is best not to have the seed touch the 

 fertilizer in the ground. Homemade fertilizers, such as wood ashes and 

 droppings from poultry, are sometimes used in corn hills in order to 

 make the corn grow. 



Planting. — For growing prize-winning corn the very best variety that 

 you can find should be used. A variety of corn that has been grown in 

 the neighborhood for many years by some careful farmer will give better 

 results than will one which may come from a distance. Some- 

 times a better variety can be bought in another State or county, but it 

 is best to find a home-grown variety if possible. The seed corn used 

 should be tested in order to see whether it will sprout vigorously. This 

 should be done before planting time. Even a good variety of corn may 

 fail if the seed has not been properly cured and stored during the winter. 



In planting corn one should try to cover the kernels with fine soil just 

 deep enough so that they will be surrounded by sufficient moisture to 

 make them sprout and begin to grow. One inch is usually deep enough. 

 In very loose soils one and one half or two inches may be required in 

 order that the seed may reach the needed moisture. Pressing down the 

 soil around the hill of corn may help bring the moisture nearer the surface 

 and thus sprout the corn faster. The width of rows and the distance 

 apart of hills or stalks in each row must be varied to suit the kind of 

 corn that one is growing. Small varieties of pop corn and flint corn do 

 not need wide rows. If rows are three feet apart, that will give ample 

 room for cultivation. Good corn is sometimes grown in rows not more 

 than thirty inches apart. Where weeds are likely to be troublesome, 

 it is thought best to plant corn in hills. Four or five kernels should be 

 planted in each hill. If the hills are rowed in two directions the work 

 of cultivation is made more effective. Large varieties of corn are usually 

 planted in rows forty or forty-two inches apart, with hills three feet or 

 more apart in the row. It has been found by experiment that better 

 ears are produced when the stalks stand apart in the row than when they 



