CORN 



15S6 



CORN 



WHERE THE WORLD'S CORN IS GROWN 



tended for ensilage. "J Machinery for the plant- 

 ing and culture of corn is well developed, so 

 that practically no hand work need be done 

 from preparing the land to harvesting the crop. 

 However, in regions where the average acre- 

 age is small (less than ten acres per farm), 

 the planting, hoeing and harvesting are still 

 done largely by hand. 



Corn thrives best in rich, black soil, and may 

 be heavily manured without danger of caus- 

 ing the stalks to break down, as with the other 

 cereals. Where crop rotation is practiced corn 

 is usually planted on clover or grass sod, while 

 most of the farm manure is also applied to 

 the corn crop rather than to the wheat or to 

 the oat crop. About 160 days is required for 

 the largest yield of corn, but in most of the 

 corn belt of the United States the season is 

 shorter than this varying from 160 days in 

 Kentucky to 100 days in Wisconsin. 



After the corn is up it requires about three" 

 to four cultivations to keep^down the weeds; 

 after the plants are large enough to shade the 

 ground thoroughly, no further ' cultivation is 

 given. From the middle of July to the end 

 of August corn makes its most rapid growth, 

 developing the ears during that period; it is 

 very essential that the weather be hot, with 

 plenty of clear sunshine and with two or three 

 heavy rains. 



A total of twelve to fifteen inches of rainfall 

 is required to produce a good crop. Corn is 

 ready to be picked or cut and put into shocks 

 to cure about September 15, or if left stand- 

 ing the ears may be gathered any time after 

 November 1. Usually the corn harvest is com- 

 plete by the last of December. 



Methods of Harvesting. Corn is cut on a 

 small scale by the use of a swordlike blade 

 operated by hand, but on large farms up-to- 

 date machinery is made to perform the labor 

 of harvesting. One type of corn binder cuts, 

 binds and discharges the standing corn as fast 

 as the horses walk, performing from five to 

 eight times as much work per day as a man 

 would do. Very ingenious picking machines 

 have also been devised, which greatly facilitate 

 the work and also save time. Economical 

 farmers utilize both the stalks and the ears. In 

 putting corn into shocks the stalks should be 

 set vertically, with only sufficient slant towards 

 the common center to make them stand se- 

 curely. Too much slant makes it possible for 

 the shock to become water-soaked. 



Cost of Production. The United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture has made a survey of 

 the cost of corn production and has furnished 

 statistics that should be of interest to 

 the agriculturist. It was found that the neces- 

 sary expense of producing a crop is nearly as 

 great for a small yield as for one double its 

 size; and that the profits from a field yielding 

 eighty bushels per acre are over twice as great 

 as those from one producing forty bushels. 

 ( Therefore the value of the corn crop will in- 

 crease in proportion as methods of production 

 improve. Farmers receive the highest returns 

 from their labor who produce the largest crop 

 per acre. A study of the illustration The 

 Farmer and the Nation accompanying the 

 article AGRICULTURE will show that Canada leads 

 the countries of the world in average produc- 

 tion per acre, that New Zealand is second, and 

 the United States third. 



