70 



CEREALS OR GRAINS 



affords the young crop a chance to get its growth before the ad- 

 vent of the dry hot weather in the summer. The tillage should 

 be as a rule moderately deep, but there is a great diversity of opin- 

 ion on this point. The Southern Experiment Stations generally 

 recommend that the plowing have a depth of five or six inches, 

 while many of the Western and Northwestern Stations recommend 

 a breaking depth from six to nine inches. After the plant begins 

 to grow, shallow cultivation is always the rule everywhere, as deep 

 plowing would injure the roots of the plant. 



Selecting Seed. To secure the best seed we must not wait 

 until the corn is gathered, but we should go out into the field 



before the crop is gath- 

 ered and select the most 

 productive plants and 

 take only the largest and 

 most perfect ears. The 

 stalk should be provided 

 with plenty of leaves and 

 should bear two or more 

 good ears which point 

 downward when ripe. 

 The rows of grain should 



Improvement of corn by selection. . . . 1,1 



be straight and the ear 



should be well filled out at both ends. Such a selection as this 

 means considerable trouble, but it will pay for the time in the 

 end. Do not overlook the time required for maturity in making 

 your selections. It is also best to reject the grains at either end 

 of the cob, since they are generally imperfect. See that all grains 

 have clean, healthy looking kernels. Do not plant two varieties 

 side by side, as they will mix and taint the purity of your crop, 

 Pop corn and common yellow corn often mix when planted in 

 adjoining fields. Plants soon become adapted to the climate, and 

 locally grown seed carefully selected will in the end frequently 

 give better results than any imported seed. 



Method of Planting. In pioneer days the field was laid off in 

 furrows and cross furrows from 2| to 3 feet apart each way, and the 

 corn was dropped by hand, three or four grains to the hill, accord- 

 ing to the judgment of the farmer. A little later the hand planter 



