COEN TILLAGE 179 



cultivatio of a row of cowpeas halfway between each pair of 

 corn row^ 



While he spacing best for any particular field must be 

 decided V the farmer's judgment, the following distances 

 are wide r applicable in the cotton-belt : (1) for poor land, 

 rows 5 f ?t apart and plants 2| to 3 feet ; (2) for good 

 upland, iws 4 to 5 and plants 2 feet apart, or checks 3| 

 feet apar each way; (3) for good bottom land, rows 4 

 feet apar and plants at intervals of 1 to 2 feet. With 

 improveit nt in preparation and in fertilization and in 

 prize patoes, corn may be planted considerably closer. 



168a. laying by " the corn crop. " Laying by" is the 

 name give to the last cultivation or tilling. Most farmers 

 cease tilliE; corn just before the first tassels appear. Ex- 

 periments ndicate that a later tilling, if quite shallow, is 

 often prof able. On the other hand, if the last cultivation 

 must be < >p, or even moderately deep, it should not be 

 late. Deo tillage doubtless explains the prejudice against 

 late tillage 



In givin the final cultivation, care should be taken to 

 leave the irface as nearly level as practicable. In this 

 condition, here is a larger and more equally distributed 

 supply of loisture for the plant roots than would be the 

 case if the arth were heaped in ridges along the line of 

 plants. Along suitable implements for the last cultiva- 

 tion of cor are scrapes and one-horse spring-tooth cul- 

 tivators (H 87). 



169. Plating other crops with corn. In the southern 

 parts of Aibama and Georgia and elsewhere, corn and 

 peanuts a? often grown together by the following 

 method : 



