430 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



producing belt when rail pens were about the only available means of 

 storing the corn crop. Much to the discredit of some corn growers 

 this method of storing is still in vogue, even in sections where good 

 means of storage could be afforded at little expense. For level ground, 

 double cribs wath an elevated driveway and approaches that will en- 

 able the loads to be driven through the cribs and dumped or scooped 

 out of the wagons without any high pitching are very satisfactory. 

 On sloping ground equally convenient cribs can be constructed at less 

 expense by extending the crib in such a manner that it can be filled 

 from the upper side and emptied from the lower side. This is a very 

 convenient arrangement, and if the slope of the hill is considerable 

 a driveway can be made below the crib so that with properly con- 

 structed chutes the ears can be allowed to roll into the wagons, avoid- 

 ing the labor of scooping. As the sides should be left as open as pos- 

 sible to permit of a good circulation of air, it is quite necessary that 

 the eaves extend well down over the sides of the crib so as to protect 

 the corn from driving rains and snows. 



PROTECTION FROM INSECTS, MICE, AND RATS. 



In sections where insects are destructive to stored grain, cleanli- 

 ness is of value in preventing injury from this source. Small quan- 

 tities of grain should not be left in the cribs during the summer, as 

 they tend to harbor these pests. Where insects are destructive to the 

 stored grain, it is a good practice to dispose of the entire crop as early 

 as possible and clean the cribs thoroughly, so that there ai left fe\v 

 hiding places and no food to carry the insects through the summer. 



As a protection against rats, mice, and sparrows, galvanized wire 

 netting of about one-fourth-inch mesh can be successfully used in the 

 construction of corncribs. This wire netting can be tacked to the in- 

 side of the uprights of the crib, and the strips which constitute the 

 sides of the crib can also be nailed on the inside of the uprights, thus 

 holding the wire netting in place. As a floor, which should be 18 

 inches or more from the ground, so as not to afford a hiding place 

 for rats, the wire netting can be tacked to the sleepers and the floor- 

 ing nailed over to hold the wire in place. For overhead protection the 

 wire netting is simply tacked to the joists. 



If cribs are built upon solid concrete foundations through which 

 rats can not burrow, no netting will be needed for the floor and the 

 structure can be kept near the ground. With ample roof projection 

 and upper ventilation no danger from dampness need be feared. 



CORN CULTURE IN THE SOUTH. 



The South has special advantages for the raising of corn, in 

 the long season during which it may be grown and in the ready sale 

 for the crop at remunerative prices. Planting may be done as 

 early as February in the Gulf States, or it may be deferred until after 

 a crop of oats or clover has been gathered from the land in June. 

 Killing frosts rarely occur before November, so that even the latest 

 plantings have ample time to mature, while the early plantings 

 may be harvested in time for growing hay or for sowing winter 

 oats or some other crop on the same ground. 



The Soil and Its Preparation. Any soil which will produce 



