72 FIELD CROP^ 



of corn is grown. From 12 1o 18 acres may be planted in a 

 day by one man and two horses with a two-row planter. 

 Most of these planters may be used for either checking or 

 drilling corn. There are two types of horse planters. In 

 the round-hole type, the desired number of kernels to the 

 hill is regulated bj^ the size of the holes in the disks or planter 

 plates used; in the other, the edge-drop planter, the number 

 of kernels to the hill is regulated by the number of places in 

 the edge of the disk, each of which will permit one kernel to 

 enter edgewise. The edge-drop planter is more accurate 

 than the round-hole planter if the seed corn used is all graded 

 to a uniform size, but with irregular kernels of corn the round- 

 hole type is to l^e preferred. 



CULTIVATION 



84. Objects of Cultivation. The objects of cultivating 

 corn are to conserve moisture, to liberate plant food, and to 

 destroy weeds. As previously stated, (Section 70), it is cheaper 

 to do as much of the cultivation as possible before the crop 

 is planted. The labor of keeping a field in good condition 

 during the growth of the crop is thus greatly reduced. 



85. Harrowing. There is considerable difference of 

 opinion as to the advisability of harrowing corn land after 

 the crop is planted. During the first day or tw^o after 

 planting, it may be harrowed without danger of injury, but 

 as soon as the kernels begin to germinate there is danger 

 that the harrow teeth will destroy some of the young plants. 



It seems somewhat inconsistent to spend considerable 

 effort in grading and testing seed corn to insure a perfect 

 stand and then take the risk with the harrow to destroy 

 from to 10 per cent of the plants at one operation. One 

 can hardly set any hard and fast rules for the care of corn, 

 1 because so much depends on the soil and especially on the 

 weather conditions; but, if planting is deferred until condi- 

 tions are favorable and the seed is planted only on soil that 



