68 



FIELD CROPS 



soil and weather. Corn planted May 20 may easily out- 

 strip in growth and yield that planted under less favorable 

 conditions ten days earlier. 



It is quite obvious that no definite date for planting can 

 be set, even for one locality, and much less for the United 

 States. It is usually well to plant as early as soil and weather 



Figure 25. — Average dates of beginning corn planting throughout thr United 

 States (Bureau of Statistics, Bui. S4). 



conditions will warrant. The date will naturally vary in 

 different parts of the United States, fi"om March in the 

 South to June in the extreme North. The accompanying 

 map, Figure 25, shows the average date when corn planting 

 is begun in the various sections, as compiled from a large 

 mass of information on this subject collected by the Bureau 

 of Crop Estimates of the Department of Agriculture. 



