FIELD CROPS 421 



quence of heavy rainfall the stalks may increase rapidly in height, 

 and at the same time, for lack of cultivation or of soil fertility, 

 or for other reason, they may be slender or of poor color. Thrifty 

 corn plants are thick, strong, and of dark green color. 



Horse weeders and harrows should be used when needed to 

 break a surface crust, check insect depredations, or kill young 

 weeds that start before the corn is up or large enough to be worked 

 with other implements. During the first cultivation, or while the 

 plants are very small, narrow shovels that throw the soil but very 

 little should be used, and fenders are usually found desirable to 

 prevent the covering of the plants. 



Many comparative experiments of deep and shallow cultiva- 

 tion have been made, and on the whole the results are in favor of 

 shallow cultivation. There are but few occasions when deep culti- 

 vation is preferable. If excessive rains have packed the soil and 

 kept it water soaked deep cultivation will help to dry and aerate 

 it. Breaking the roots of the plants must be avoided so far as 

 possible. If roots are broken the plants will rapidly produce other 

 roots, but it will be at the expense of the vitality and food supply. 

 After the plants have reached a height of 2 or 3 feet, the soil even 

 in the middle of the rows should not be cultivated deeper than 4 

 inches, and usually a shallower cultivation will prove better. For 

 retaining soil moisture a loose soil mulch 2 or 3 inches in thickness 

 should be maintained. 



The best answer to the question of how frequently corn should 

 be cultivated is that it should be cultivated often enough to keep 

 down weeds and to maintain constantly a loose soil mulch till the 

 corn has attained its growth. To this end a greater number of cul- 

 tivations will be necessary when rains at intervals of about a week 

 cause the surface soil to run together and crust. This crust must 

 be broken and the soil mulch restored, or evaporation will soon rob 

 the soil of its moisture. It is a mistake to think that the longer the 

 drought the more frequent should be the cultivations. After a fine 

 mulch of about 3 inches in depth has been produced, its frequent 

 stirring is not necessary, except in so far as it is required to keep 

 weeds from starting. The essential object of cultivation is to restore 

 the soil mulch as soon after a rain as the condition of the ground 

 will permit. If this time is allowed to pass and the ground be- 

 comes hard and baked dry, the crop will suffer greatly, for the culti- 

 vation of hard, dry ground breaks it up into clods, allowing the air 

 to penetrate to greater depth and causing more injury than if such 

 cultivation had not been given at all. All observant farmers have 

 seen crops injured in this manner. 



Many crops are cut short by stopping the cultivation, because 

 the corn is too tall for use of a double cultivator without breaking 

 down the stalks. If the condition of the soil demands it, shallow 

 cultivation should continue, even though the corn is tasseling. 



HARVESTING AND STORING. 



Corn as a Forage Crop. Unless to be used for ensilage or cut 

 green and fed directly to stock, it is very seldom profitable to grow 



