CORN 149 



is practiced principally on the friable, loamy soils of Kansas, 

 Nebraska, Oklahoma, and western Missouri and Iowa. 



When corn is surface planted it is either placed in check rows 

 with the hills from 40 to 44 inches apart each way, and with 

 from 2 to 4 kernels in each hill, or it is drilled, the rows being 

 from 40 to 44 inches apart and the kernels placed from 8 to 

 20 inches apart in the row. In the Southern states the space 

 between rows varies from 44 to 60 inches. Checked corn may 

 be cultivated in two directions, and it is therefore easier to keep 

 it clear of weeds than is the case with drilled corn. Under 



FIG. 70. The "rag-doll" seed tester. (Photograph from Iowa State College) 



similar growing conditions there seems to be little difference in 

 yields from the two methods. Corn planted by listing with- 

 stands drought better than surface-planted corn. In listed corn 

 the grain is drilled, and then covered by the lister. 



185. Rate of planting. Corn is planted thicker on fertile 

 soils and in the North where the plants do not grow rank 

 than on thin soils and in sections with the longest growing 

 seasons. Throughout most of the corn belt, farmers usually 

 plant either 2, 3, or 4 kernels per hill when the corn is check- 

 rowed, or I grain every 13 to 16 inches if it is planted in drills. 

 Corn planted for silage is often planted somewhat thicker than 

 that grown for grain. 



