62 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



cold. By manuring land and by growing clover occasion- 

 ally, he can make a soil warmer, more retentive of moisture, 

 and increase its producing power, so that crops will grow 

 more rapidly and thus ripen in a shorter time. Climatic 

 conditions are usually favorable, so that, with good methods 

 of farming, good crops can be grown practically every year. 

 Some farmers in the corn belt have raised more than 

 one hundred bushels of corn per acre. Let us set our stand- 

 ard at that and be satisfied with nothing less. 

 Questions: 



1. Why do you think it worth while for a boy to study about 

 corn growing? 



2. Name at least four conditions necessary to secure a good 

 crop of corn. 



3. What may one do to reduce the bad effects of unfavorable 

 weather? 



Arithmetic; 



1. A and B each grow 40 acres of corn per year for 30 years. 

 How many acres does each grow in the 30 years? 



2. If B uses the best known methods of corn growing and set "es 

 an average yield of 20 bus. per acre more than A, how many k. '" 

 more corn will he raise in 30 years than A raises? How much will lu^ 

 extra corn be worth at an average price of 54c. per bushel? 



SIZES OF KERNELS OF CORN 



Variation of Com Kernels. — There is a great variation 

 in the size of kernels of corn; and while this has little to 

 do with the yield — that is, some varieties with compara- 

 tively small kernels may yield more than other varieties 

 with large kernels — it is, nevertheless, important to select 

 ears of corn on which the kernels are about uniform in size. 



To Compare Kernels. — Shell kernels from the tip, the 

 butt and some from the middle of an ear of corn, keeping 

 the three kinds separate. Lay three of the even sized ker- 

 nels from the middle of the ear together on a sheet of paper 

 and draw a circle about them. Make the circle just large 

 enough so the three kernels will lie flat within. (Circle 

 about the size of a nickel.) See how many of the small 

 tip kernels can be laid in this circle and how many butt 

 kernels. This circle is about the size of a hole in the plate 

 of the corn planter. Notice how much thicker some of the 

 butt kernels are than kernels from the middle of the ear. 



