162 THE CULTURE OF CORN 
asked in a spirit of derision if he intended to gather his 
corn with a weeder. But this farmer’s corn is always 
entirely free from weeds and produces fine yields no 
matter how dry the season may be. 
When the corn is large enough plow the corn each way 
as deep as possible getting as close to the corn as you can. 
All cultivation after this must be such as stirs the soil 
to the depth of an inch, the cultivation to be frequent 
and kept up until the corn is well along towards matur- 
ity. When corn is too large to cultivate with two-horse 
cultivators, a one-horse cultivator that barely scratches 
the soil should be frequently used. 
Good corn culture means an early starting and a late 
discontinuance of the cultivators. 
I have known corn yields to be cut short by lack of 
early and late cultivation. When the growth of corn has 
been once stunted the damage done cannot be repaired. 
I once gave one-half of a field of corn two late culti- 
vations with a one-horse combined harrow and cultivator, 
and increased the yield nearly ten bushels per acre over 
the half not cultivated. 
The corn’s crisis is when it has completed its stalk 
growth and begins making the ear. If at this time the 
dry season begins and soil becomes so compact and dry 
that moisture and air is excluded, conditions favorable 
to the proper maturity of the ear are cut short. At this 
critical time the cultivators should be kept moving. 
