<0 P A G R I C U L T U R E . 55 



absorbs more freely the light and heat of the HUH ; 

 but in every instance there is a limit to the number 

 of stalks -to be left on the ground. Young farmers 

 arc' more apt to -err in having their corn too thick, 

 than in having it too thin. This crop demands more 

 than simply an abundance of nutrition- from the soil ; 

 it requires a full supply of both light and heat, with 

 a free circulation of air, 



Modes of Planting. There .are two modes of plant-, 

 ing practised by the best farmers, both of which have 

 their advantages under peculiar circumstances. By 

 one of these methods, the land to be planted is marked 

 off by bedding up in parallel ridges, and at the proper 

 distance apart for rows, varied according to the fertil- 

 ity of the soil. If the land is level, or nearly so, the 

 rows are generally made straight but if the land is 

 hilly, they are made to wind around the faces of the 

 hills, in such a way as to be nearly horizontal. The 

 width between the rows varies from three to five 

 feet. These ridges or beds are then split with a 

 suitable plow, and the corn dropped into the furrow, 

 a,t from one to three feet apart, and covered with a 

 harrow or the hoe, to a depth which should not exceed 

 two inches, unless the soil is very dry or sandy. 



The other mode of planting differs from the fore- 

 going in the method of arranging the rows. The 

 land is laid off in two directions, at right angles to 

 each other, so that one set of furrows run lengthwise, 

 and another set run across the field, dividing the 

 whole field into little squares. At the corners of 

 these squares, where the furrows cross each other, 

 the corn is dropped. The rows must be wide enough 

 apart for a plow to run conveniently both ways 



