754 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



yield. Give an extra harrowing and rolling, extra manure, extra 

 care and attention, and you will get extra crops. Extra cultiva- 

 tion pays. Put the same labor on twenty acres that you have 

 been accustomed to put on thirty acres and you will get just as' 

 large a crop without going over as much ground. 



Corn should never be planted till the ground is dry and warm 

 .If planted in cold, wet ground it will come up, if it come up at all, 

 yellow and spiudling, and will be slow in taking on a thrifty 

 growth. It had better be planted late than in a soil in an un- 

 suitable state. Much corn is planted on poor land and too far 

 apart, causing a great waste of time and labor. Much corn is also 

 planted too deeply. The same is true of most other seeds. Seeds 

 must have air and heat to germinate. If they are planted near 

 the surface they get both. Much of the grass seed fails to germi- 

 nate by being covered luo deepl}'. 



A single handful of manure put into a hill of coi*n, will often 

 make the difference between four or five little "nubbins," and six 

 or eight great plump ears that will shell their bulk of sound corn. 

 A thousand handfuls count up heavily in the autumn corn crib. 

 How many handfuls of manure are daily lost in your stockyards 

 that might be saved in nice order by a little care in heaping \\\\ 

 and covering from washing rain ! 



An Experiment icilh Corn. — The following is the result of an 

 experiment with Indian corn. That which was planted at the 

 depth of 



1 inch, came up in 8i days. 



Ir- " " " ..... Oi " 



'^' " " " .... 10 " 



9JL a u (( 111 (( 



3" *' " " . 12" " 



3^ " " " '. '. '. .* '. 13 " 

 4 " " " 13^ ." 



The more shallow the seed was covered with earth, the more 

 rapidly the sprout made its appearance, and the stronger after- 

 ward was the stalk. The deeper the seed lay, the longer it re- 

 mained before it came to the surface. Four inches was too deep 

 for the maize, and must, therefore, be for 3^et smaller grain 

 kernels. 



Tomatoes should be transplanted into ground that has been 

 thoroughly plowed and subsoiled. It will do to manure them in 

 the hill. Give generous treatment if you would have an abun- 

 dance of fruit. Let them stand in rows five feet apart each way. 

 Place a good stout stake beside each one, and tie them up as they 

 grow. Never let the fruit or vines droop over on the ground. 



Sqtiashes, Cantelopes, Cucumbers, and Watermelons plant about 

 the 15th. Make rich hills, and be careful to stick the seeds into 

 the ground point downward; don't put them deep. We advise 



