CORN 71 



Planting. — When the seed bed is in good condition and the 

 soil is warm enough the corn should be planted. Corn is a 

 warm weather crop, so that generally it pays to wait until the 

 top soil has warmed up. It is usually planted in May in the 

 corn belt states. The two-horse check-row planter is now 

 used almost entirely by farmers. Only very small fields are 

 planted by hand. Corn is planted either in hills or in drills. 

 There is really no difference as to the amount of corn that 

 can be raised by the two methods. The corn in drills is not 

 so easy to keep free from weeds, for such corn has to be culti- 

 vated in one direction all the time and the weeds get a start in 

 the row unless the early cultivation has been carefully done. 

 It is desirable to have two to three kernels of corn dropped in 

 each hill when hilling it, or a kernel about every sixteen inches 

 when drilling it. The seed should usually be covered about 

 one-and-a-half to two inches deep. In the drier regions of the 

 west and sometimes on sandy ground corn is listed, that is, it 

 is planted in a furrow, four or five inches below the level of the 

 ground. A machine called a lister, throws open a furrow, and 

 drops and covers the corn in the bottom of it. Listing is not 

 desirable where there is a heavy rainfall. 



Cultivation. — If necessary, the cultivation of corn can 

 begin before it is very large, even before the young plants are 

 out of the ground. If, by reason of wet weather, the weeds 

 get a start, the field may be harrowed with a spike-tooth har- 

 row, or by following the rows made by the planter wheels, 

 a sulky corn cultivator may be used. Usually, however, cul- 

 tivation does not begin until the young corn plants are three 

 or four inches high, and, if the seed bed has been well pre- 

 pared, it will usually not be necessary to commence sooner. 



Corn should be cultivated often enough to keep down weeds 



