GRAIN CROPS. 299 



gluten which exist in smaller proportion than in Northern corn, 

 being confined mainly to the sides of the grain. As the grain of 

 this variety ripens, and the starch shrinks, the top of the kernel 

 falls in, producing a dent or depression. 



As a general principle, it may be stated that the Southern corn 

 is less nutritious than the Northern varieties. 



CULTIVATION. 



Corn delights in a soil filled with decaying organic matter of 

 both animal and vegetable origin. It also requires for its perfect 

 growth that the soil be warm^ sufficiently moist^ loose in its texture^ 

 and, above all, not too wet. 



As the plant is peculiarly suited to tropical climates, — and 

 requires, at some time during its growth, an intense heat, — it 

 should not be planted until all danger of frost has passed, nor 

 until the soil has become thoroughly warmed. In the latitude of 

 New York the seed should not be put in before the tenth of Mav, 

 and, — on land that is perfectly adapted for its growth, — it is as 

 well to defer planting until early in June. Put in at this time, the 

 seed will germinate very rapidly, and the growth will proceed 

 without the check that often results from the cold storms of May. 

 It takes longer to recover from a serious checking of the growth 

 than to make a good growth later in the season. The chief 

 advantages of early planting are, that the work is out of the way, 

 and that, in exceptional seasons, the crop will arrive a few days 

 earlier at maturity. This is not always, — perhaps not generally 

 — the case, and in this latitude it is considered quite safe to post- 

 pone planting until June. 



The moisture that the soil requires is rather the natural damp- 

 ness of freshly-stirred land than the drenching wet of heavy rains. 

 If the soil is loose and friable, so that the air can circulate among 

 its cooler shaded particles, enough water will be condensed from 

 this air to fully supply the crop, and if cofh, growing on good land, 

 could be well hoed every day, it would not require a single drop 

 of rain during the whole period of its growth. On the other 

 hand, if the soil is stiff and compact, and is not hoed or cultivated 



