30 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 



weather is on the road it is sometimes advisable to start plant- 

 ing even if the ground is a little cold, in order to finish before 

 the season is too far advanced. \A.t the Illinois Experiment 

 Station at Urbana (latitude forty degrees), a six year's test 

 shows the largest yield to come from corn planted May 4th to 

 9th.) 



PROPER DEPTH OF PLANTING 



The depth of planting, like the time of planting, is governed 

 to a considerable extent by the nature of the soil and the 

 amount of moisture near the surface. On warm, light soil, 

 corn should be planted deeper than where it is cold and heavy. 

 Again, the depth of planting will be governed largely by the 

 time of planting. In early planting, only the surface soil is 

 warm enough to germinate the kernels. The subsoil is still 

 wet and cold. Later, when the surface soil has become 

 warmer and dryer, the seed may be planted deeper. 



In planting corn, the fact must be kept in mind that for 

 quick germination plenty of air and warmth are just as 

 essential as moisture. Nine years out of ten there is enough 

 moisture in the soil to sprout the corn, although the season 

 of 1913 was an exception. It was then necessary to plant 

 about four inches deep in Central Illinois in order to provide 

 sufficient moisture. While we planted over four inches deep 

 the season mentioned, we used furrow openers on the planter 

 runners so that by throwing out a furrow it was not necessary 

 to cover the seed with more than two inches of dirt. We 

 always use furrow openers on our planters and vary the 

 depth of the furrow according to the condition of the ground, 

 but in no case do we cover the seed with more than two 

 inches of dirt. About one and one-half inches over the seed 

 seems to bring the best results on our brown silt prairie soil. 



Repeated experiments have proved that plants cannot 

 be made to send their roots deep into the soil by planting deep. 



