19 



Burroimciss of tlio stalk socin.s to ddpriid iiiuch iiioio on tlic coiidiLioius uiidt^r \vlii<;li 

 the crop is jriown, us thickness oC pljuitini^ and tho season, than on the variety. 



The date of phxnting within the limits ordinarily fixed for corn planting in this 

 latitude had little inllucnco ou the yield of a medium maturing variety. 



Depth of planting did not materially affect the yield either la 1888 or 1889. In 

 the latter year tho roots which supported the plant during tho most of its growth 

 usually started within 2 inches of the surface, whatever tho depth of planting. 

 Unless the soil near the surfiico has not sufficient moisture, there seems to ho no good 

 reason for planting corn in this region more than about '.i inches deep. Drill- 

 planting was not found materially better than hill-planting, either fov the production 

 of corn or fodu<!r. The (|uantity of sc^ed planted contndlod the yield, rather than 

 planting one or four kernels in a place. For corn alone, planting at the rate of one 

 kernel every 9 or 12 inches gave better results than thicker or thinner planting. 

 For fodder, planting at the rate of one kernel every G inches gave better results 

 than planting twice as many kernels. 



Stirring or cultivating tho .soil while the crop is growing was not essential in either 

 1888 or 1889. Good yields of corn wore obtained where there was no cultivation after 

 planting, except to remove the weeds by scraping the surface. 



Preventing tho growth of weeds was more important than stirring the soil. 



Root pruning injured the crop. Stirring the soil to a depth of 4 inches or more 

 will injure many roots of the corn. Comparatively few roo s will bo aftecttHl if tho 

 soil is not stirred more than 2 inches deep. 



Shallow-working cultivators gave better results than deep-working ones, but re- 

 quired more care and skill in their use. The deep-working shovel cultivators killed 

 the weeds more thoroughly than the shallow-working ones, but the latter injured 

 the roots less. Usually, frequent cnltivation did not repay the extra cost. 



Commercial fertilizers failed to increase materially the yield of either corn or fodder 

 in any one of nine trials. The soil apparently had a sutiQcient supply of plant food 

 that these fertilizers furnish. 



Stable manures increased the yield of corn and fodder in most cases, but not always 

 enough in one year to repay certainly the cost. Fair crofts were produced on land 

 which had been in corn for fourteen years without manure of any kind. For like 

 soils in Illinois, the estimates often made of the value of either commercial or barn- 

 yard fertilizers, based on tho price at which tho elements of jilant food contained by 

 them can be bought, are misleading. 



The yield of most varieties, and the average yields of all, in 1888 and 1889, were 

 above tho average reached by good farmers in -field culture. Probably the chief 

 reasons for this result were that the varieties were better than the average ; that 

 more than usual care was taken to secure a good seed bed and to plant well, thus 

 securing a good and uniform staml ; and that the cultivation was more careful than 

 an average field culture. 



Garden experiments with sweetcdrn, 1889, T. J. Burrill, 

 Ph. D., and G. W. McCluek, B. S. (pp. 1574-287).— 



Experiment JSfo. 49 — iSiveet-cornj testing varieties. — The experiment was 

 in general like that reported in Bulletin No. 4 of this station, an ab- 

 stract of which may be found in Experiment Station Record Vol. I, No. 

 1, p. 33. Classified descriptions of thirty-three varieties not described 

 in Bulletin No. 4 are given, and tabular records for some eighty varie- 

 ties tested iu 1890. The results of tests of the vitality of seed corn 

 used in the greenhouse and the fields are condensed in the following- 

 table ; 



