100 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES 



of frosts is over, and is killed by the first real frost in 

 the fall. The warmest and " quickest" of soil should 

 be chosen; the ground should be rich, and well sup- 

 plied with quickly available fertilizers. A handful of 

 chemical fertilizer beneath each hill is well applied 

 whenever possible ; for small gardening operations Corn 

 is occasionally started under glass, and set out when the 

 weather is warm. Corn may be forced under glass under 

 much the same conditions as tomato or eggplant. For 

 table use, the ear is picked when the kernels are plump 

 and well filled, but before it is ripe. Varieties are early 

 (dwarf) and late. The chief Corn diseases are smut and 

 blight. Pests are many. 



Soil. Warm and light, but with a good supply of 

 moisture, and a sunny exposure. Soil should be rich. 

 In rotations, Corn follows clover well. 



Hill or Drill Culture. Corn is usually grown in 

 hills, with -three plants in the hill ; but in intensive 

 gardening, Corn is often grown in drills, which with a 

 little more work and with less development of each 

 plant, and also with the stalks less able to support 

 each other against the wind, will produce more ears to 

 a given area. 



Distances are entirely according to variety, rows 

 from two and one-half to four feet apart ; hills in the 

 row the same, single plants a foot to eighteen inches. 



Depth. In spring, about an inch; later, one and 

 one-half to two inches. 



