FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 49 



LESSONS OF THE YEAR IN GROWING CORN. 



E. A. CROMAN, GRASS LAKE. 



You ask me to give my experience for the year in growing corn. I 

 want to go back a little further and tell you what I have learned in 

 the past ten years. In that time we have had drouths and wet seasons, 

 clover sod to plant on and no clover sod. We have had to substitute 

 some kind of green manure to make humus and retain the fertility. 

 In all these years the best results have been on clover sod, with a 

 covering of barn-yard manure during the summer and early fall. The 

 next best results have been on corn ground sown to rye and not pas- 

 tured in the fall but left to grow and make as much top as possible 

 and then plowed under the same as you would clover sod. 



THE SELECTION OF SEED. 



We select seed direct from the stock before cutting. This enables 

 us to select from stalks that are straight and if possible that have two 

 ears of good medium length. We select as soon as the ear gets well 

 dented. Tie ears together and hang up to cure. 



PLANTING. 



We begin about May 15th. We mark three feet eight inches each way 

 and plant with hand planters. 



CULTIVATION. 



We begin as soon as planted. If it looks like rain we run the harrow 

 so as to have all that is planted harrowed before it rains. Our reason 

 for this is that in planting with a planter there is always left a small 

 hole, and the rain runs in and a crust is soon formed. If not harrowed 

 before it rains, the harrow is more liable to knock out the corn. We 

 use the harrow continually until the corn gets to the height of three 

 or four inches, and then start the cultivator, and one that has very 

 narrow teeth, and continue to cultivate, we might say, until the corn 

 is ready to cut. As we do not let our corn ground lie uncovered 

 through the winter, we either sow wheat or rye the last time through. 



CUTTING. 



We begin as soon as corn is well dented, putting 49 hills in each 

 shock, and begin husking as soon as corn is fairly cured. 



CARE OF FODDER. 



We draw direct from the field to the shredder and run the shredded 

 corn stalks into a large mow. If we can get the shredder and husker 

 early enough, we let the husker do the work. This we can not always 

 do, so we start husking by hand and generally finish with shredder and 

 husker. 



