202 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



until your field is level and in condition for 

 a potato patch. Decide on what variety or 

 varieties of corn you will grow and be 

 guided in your selection by the demands of 

 your market, the yield and the feeding 

 value of the different varieties. Select 

 sound well matured ears of uniform size 

 and color, remembering the law of nature 

 is. that like begets like. Any farmer can 

 steadily improve the quality and increase 

 the yield by selecting the best specimens 

 of a certain type of corn he wishes to grow. 



As a rule the earliest planting makes the 

 best corn. The planting, however, should 

 be delayed until the seedbed is warm 

 enough to readily germinate the grains and 

 frosts are scarcely to be expected. From 

 April 20 to May 20 covers the period when 

 corn sh,ould be planted, although earlier or 

 later plantings may sometimes do equally 

 well. Shallow planting will give the best 

 results. The corn will come up better and 

 quicker and will make a better growth. 

 One to one and one half inches is about the 

 right depth. It is a mistake that deep 

 rooting of the corn plants depends on deep 

 planting. If the eeedbed is rightly pre- 

 pared the corn roots will take care of them- 

 selves. If there is lack of moisture at time 

 of planting a greater depth may be 

 necessary. 



It doesn't pay to get in a hurry when 

 preparing to plant corn. I mean by this 

 it doesn't pay to leave anything undone 

 that ought to be done in order to gain time 

 that you may beat your neighbors. 



Tests made by agri exper stas have gen- 

 erally resulted in more bushels of corn per 

 acre from planting in drills 16 tol8 in. apart, 

 than planting in hills. In these tests, how- 

 ever, the cultivation has been very thor- 

 ough, so that the drilled corn had as good 

 a chance as that planted in hills. The 

 greater ease and thoroughness of cultivating 

 corn checked or planted in hills is much 

 in favor of that method of planting. The 

 better method for most farmers is that of 

 checked-rowing or planting so as to admit 



of cultivation two ways. I think about the 

 only reason most farmers have for drilling 

 their corn is that is more easily and 

 quickly done than checking. 



Do the easy and the rapid methods of 

 farming always pay? Let each corn grower 

 as he plans his work for the coming 

 season which marks the first year in the 

 new century destined to be greater than all 

 the past, decide to practice intensive cul 

 ture with this great staple of American 

 agri not more acres but more bushels." 



RENTING THE FARM. 



The old farmer who has moved into 

 town to please his family and because he 

 has a vague notion that he ought to retire 

 is often a pathetic sight. His occupation 

 is gone, and with it the interests of a life 

 time. He enters a new environment and 

 feels himself shrinking in importance as 

 the days go by. With the removal of all 

 obligations to busy himself, he often falls 

 into the habit of doing nothing a good share 

 of the time, and hugs the chimney corner 

 when he is not gossiping with old cronies 

 at the village. store. He grows old rapidly 

 and from being a man of some distinction 

 in the community he rapidly deteriorates 

 into the class of superfluous individuals 

 who contribute nothing to society. Such 

 is not necessarily the fate of all men who 

 retire from the active management of farms, 

 but it occurs frequently enough to afford 

 plenty of examples. One wonders why 

 they are so easily persuaded to relinquish 

 an active life, yet the reasons are abundant 

 enough if one takes the trouble to investi- 

 gate. Perhaps the children are growing 

 up and clamor for greater scholastic advan- 

 tages than the district school affords, and 

 better society. They unite to persuade pa 

 that he is getting old, that he needs a rest 

 and that he ought to rent the farm and 

 move to town where Jack may eventually 

 secure a clerical position and Mary learn 

 dressmaking. His life has seemed to him 



