84 



ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



device is called a ''corn tree." Any boy who can use a saw 

 and hammer can make one in a short time. To make it, 

 saw a 2 X 4, or better, a 4 x 4 off five or six feet long. To 

 the bottom end of this spike a plank 

 about 12 inches square, to form a base 

 sufficiently large so the tree will stand 

 firmly erect on the floor. It is well 

 to put some short braces from the 

 edges of the plank up to the 4 x 4 to 

 stiffen it. A row of finishing nails, nails 

 with small heads, are driven in each 

 side, of the 4x4 and about 2J^ inches 

 apart. An ear of corn is easily stuck 

 on each nail by jamming it on butt 

 first. The nail sticks into the pith of 

 the corn cob. This tree may be placed 

 in the attic or any other convenient 

 place where the corn will be kept dry. 

 If the tree is six feet high, it will 

 hold about 100 ears, or enough to 

 plant about five acres. If one wishes 

 to put- more corn on the tree, the 

 corners of the 4x4 may be beveled off, 

 making it eight-sided. There will then 

 be room for eight rows of corn. Thus 

 a tree six feet high will hold 200 ears. 

 It is well to plane the 4x4 smooth, so 

 that numbers may be placed at the base 

 of each nail, thus making it easy to 

 number the ears, if one wishes to test 

 each ear for germination. 



The double string method is Hke- 

 wise a very practical means of putting 

 up seed corn. Take a piece of bind- 

 ing twine about fourteen feet long. 

 Tie the two ends together. Then 

 string up the corn as indicated in Figure 35. The 

 strings with from ten to fourteen ears of corn in each are 

 easily handled and may be hung from the rafters or other 

 convenient places. 



Figure 34. — A simple 

 device for putting 

 up seed corn to dry. 



