136 A HOME VEGETABLE-GARDEN 



tinuous lusty growth. Scatter wood-ashes be- 

 tween the rows, twice in the early part of the sea- 

 son; and sprinkle nitrate of soda about the hills. 

 Care is needed in the use of the nitrate lest this 

 foliage food should defeat the purpose of the ashes 

 and, instead of a harvest of ears, our corn strip 

 should produce a crop of silage. Use the ni- 

 trate only twice. As we go along the row, pulling 

 out some of the weakest shoots, scatter a table- 

 spoonful of sodium nitrate around each hill, work- 

 ing it into the soil with a claw-weeder. 



After the nitrate and the ashes have been dis- 

 tributed, then cultivate. At first, tillage must be 

 shallow, for young corn rootlets feed near the sur- 

 face. As the roots become stronger and turn 

 down, extending into the soil, work the hook in 

 further to encourage deep wide-reaching root 

 growth. Deep rooting anchors the tops against 

 the sudden heavy winds that sometimes lay the 

 corn strip flat on the ground. Working the soil 

 up over the young surface roots and around the 

 hills also aids the corn in getting a firm grip in 

 the soil. Deep rooting reaches the moisture in the 

 under soil and so affords relief in time of drought. 

 Deep rooting reaches, at the same time, the fresh 

 food supplies "unlocked" in midsummer. Vary 

 the depth of tillage to fit root growth ; always fin- 

 ish with light stirring of the surface to form the 

 dust mulch so essential to conserve the moisture 



