70 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Distance in planting. The distance between rows is 

 usually a matter of custom, growing out of local experience. 

 Forty-four inches is a common distance. If the corn is 

 planted with a check-row planter, it may be planted forty- 

 four inches each way. When corn is drilled, the distance 

 between rows is sometimes three feet and six inches. When 

 planted in hills, and the seed is good, three kernels to the 

 hill will produce the desired number of stalks. 



Depth of planting. The depth of planting should depend 

 on the season, the kind of soil, and its condition. If the corn 

 is planted early while the soil is comparatively cold, shallow 

 planting is to be recommended. When the soil has become 

 warm and mellow, deeper planting may be safely done. It 

 should be remembered that corn kernels will not sprout unless 

 they get sufficient moisture, and at the surface of a dry soil 

 there may not be enough moisture to cause- prompt 

 germination. 



X. CULTIVATING CORN 



Purposes of tillage. Tillage breaks up the soil, making 

 possible the free movement of air and moisture. It mellows 

 and pulverizes the soil, thus promoting the processes that 

 increase the availability of the plant-food materials; it pro- 

 motes the warming of the earth, and destroys weeds. 



First cultivation important. This first cultivation of the 

 corn may be done with a t\yo-horse, double-shovel cultivator. 

 If such an implement is used it should be supplied with 

 fenders to keep the young plants from being covered or 



