PLANTING. 



HAVING selected his seed-corn with discriminating 

 care, having prepared it by steeping for an early and 

 vigorous start, having given it a moderate coating of 

 tar to shield it from its earliest enemies, and finally, 

 having imparted to his soil the requisite degree of 

 mellowness and fertility, the farmer is now prepared 

 to commit his seed to the earth. 



But here again he is confronted by problems pecu- 

 liar to the soil, and for the solution of which he must 

 rely mainly upon his own investigations. Before de- 

 positing his seed in the earth, it is needful to determine 

 the proper depth for planting, and the proper intervals 

 of space. These are points that depend materially upon 

 the variety of corn, the character of the soil, and the 

 manner of treating it. There is, therefore, no fixed or 

 uniform rule on the subject. The depth for planting 

 varies from one inch to two or three. In a very heavy 

 soil, the former would perhaps be sufficient ; in a very 

 light soil, the latter would scarcely be too deep. But 

 the proper distance between the grains is subject to 

 still wider latitude, and is even more dependent upon 

 varying circumstances. 



