190 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



the intersections of the lines either with the hoe or the hand corn 

 planter. For planting in rows the drill attachment or hand dropping 

 in the furrow is used, followed by the harrow. 



Depth of planting depends upon the soil and the situation for 

 the reasons given in the chapter on propagation. On very light 

 soils in dry regions very deep covering is admissible because the 

 few inches at the surface count for nothing, but on heavier soils 

 in good moisture, and especially early in the season, shallow cover- 

 ing is preferable. 



For succession there should be planting done in the garden 

 every two weeks during the local season. 



Selection of Seed Corn. W. D. Trewhitt, of Kings county, 

 gives seed selection much credit for his high acreage yield. Two 

 selections are made each year. While the corn is still in the field 

 it is gone over the first time, stakes being stuck in the ground near 

 those stalks which are medium in size and which carry a medium 

 amount of long, straight row ears. At harvesting time the ears 

 from these stalks are husked separately and taken to the barn where 

 they are later picked over again. Here the ears are compared again, 

 the above qualities as well as the tightness of the grain on the ear 

 being considered. The ears scoring the highest in this final selec- 

 tion are the ones used for the next year's seeding, the butt ends, 

 however, never being used for seed. 



In 1912 W. G. Stimmel, then superintendent of the Stanford 

 ranch at Vina, began selection from the growth of eastern seed 

 secured an improved type which is called ''Stanford Yellow Dent" 

 and has gained wide approval. 



Cultivation. If deep working of the soil is the foundation of 

 a corn crop as stated, frequent summer cultivation is the building 

 itself. If the ground is well laid off, the cultivator can be used to 

 advantage, even before the corn shows up to destroy weeds and 

 loosen the surface. Afterward the cultivator should be run at very 

 short intervals, for the hot, dry season is always right at the heels 

 of the corn planter and should never be allowed to catch up with 

 it. Some of the finest corn we ever saw was grown in Orange 

 county in this way: The land was plowed four times, irrigated 

 twice, hoed twice, and cultivated and worked in a most thorough 

 manner. In the whole process of raising the corn the grower went 

 over the land no less than sixteen times. It is hardly to be expected 

 that such diligence will be general, but it has to be recognized as the 

 price of the best results. 



Combinations with Corn. As a tall, upright plant corn is avail- 

 able for sticking in with other vegetables of spreading habit and in 

 hot regions may be used to give partial shade to other plants which 

 do not enjoy summer heat as much. In the field planting of 

 squashes, cow peas and other running plants is available here as 

 elsewhere, if there is soil moisture enough. In the garden a wider 

 range is available. 



