PRODUCTION OF CORN 81 



nated, the corresponding ear should be set aside. Only 

 those ears which the test has shown to have perfect germi- 

 nation should be saved for seed. 



The time and labor spent in preparation to secure a good 

 stand of corn is insignificant compared with the gain in 

 yield. A crop that must be replanted rarely matures. By 

 comparing the number of stalks per acre in a perfect stand 

 with the number in a poor stand some idea of the difference 

 in value may be obtained. In a good stand, there might be 

 10,000 to 12,000 stalks; in a poor stand, 7000 to 9000 a 

 difference of about 3000 stalks, or a yield of more than 

 thirty bushels. Probably the difference would never be so 

 great, since a perfect stand rarely, if ever, occurs, but this 

 example emphasizes the importance of good germination. It 

 has been estimated that, in Iowa, the stand of corn has been 

 increased fifteen to twenty per cent since the practice of 

 making germination tests has been generally adopted by the 

 farmers of that state. Thus several million bushels are 

 added to the annual crop of the state. 



Planting. Corn is planted in rows usually three feet, 

 six or eight inches apart. This space permits easy cultiva- 

 tion and gives the plants sufficient room. 



There are two ways of planting the rows: drilling, in 

 which single grains are planted at about twelve inch inter- 

 vals; the hill method, in which three or four grains are planted 

 together in hills spaced to correspond to the distance between 

 the rows. Both methods are so familiar that further details 

 need not be given. The yield per acre of drilled corn is 

 slightly greater than that of corn planted in hills. But this 

 gain is sometimes offset by the greater ease with which weeds 

 may be kept down in fields planted by the hill method, since 

 cultivation may be done in two directions. 



