156 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



CHAPTER XX. 



CORN GROWING. 



Corn is a crop which requires a season a little longer 

 than small grain and the crop does not thrive best where 

 the nights are cool, so that the northern limit of the corn 

 belt is easily reached. But with care corn may be grown 

 far north in a satisfactory manner and is a good crop in 

 a large part of the semi-arid region. The care referred 

 to relates to the preparation of the seed bed, the previous 

 fitting of the soil, the manner of planting, the time and 

 manner of cultivation. No crop is more responsive to 

 good treatment than corn. No crop suffers more from 

 carelessness or ignorance on the part of the farmer. 



The first thing a farmer must consider is the prepa- 

 ration of the soil. Corn is a crop which demands culti- 

 vation during the growing season, put it also demands 

 a preparation quite equal to that of wheat or other grains. 

 Among the hills of New York and New England the 

 farmers give a great deal of care to the preparation of 

 the soil for the corn crop, for the farmers have learned 

 by experience that it is poor economy to put good seed 

 corn into badly prepared ground. It is on the corn fields 

 that they most generally use barnyard manure, and it is not 

 infrequent that they treat the corn ground to from $2 

 to $4 worth of fertilizing per acre, there being many 

 places where this seems to be necessary every year if 

 good crops are to be had. 



Professor Bailey, of Cornell university, has well said 



