8 AGRICULTURE 



the cause of the imperfect stand. Also compare your re- 

 sults with the stand found in the home fields of other mem- 

 bers of the class, and see if you can discover what produces 

 the differences in stand. Barring bad weather at planting 

 time, worms and other pests, at least a ninety-five per cent, 

 stand should always be secured. 



Barren stalks and suckers. Merely having the right 

 number of stalks in the field does not insure a crop, however. 

 These stalks must bear ears. There are two classes of 

 stalks that are of no use, barren stalks and suckers. 



Strong and vigorous-looking stalks may be barren. Bar- 

 renness may be caused by weak seed, injuries to the roots 

 by worms or insects, diseases, poor soil, drought, or too thick 

 planting. Suckers are but branches from the parent stalks, 

 and have no root of their own. They are worse than useless, 

 for they seldom bear ears, and are but a drain on the stalk 

 which supports them. Suckers are caused by thin planting, 

 especially in rich heavy land. There are also some strains 

 of corn which, through heredity, are likely to grow suckers. 

 Seed from sucker-bearing stalks should not be planted. 



Counting barren stalks and suckers. We shall now 

 determine the percentage of barren stalks and suckers in a 

 field. Take either the plots already counted for stand or 

 new ones, and go over them, counting the ears. Make a 

 record sheet of squares as before. In these squares record 

 (1) the number of stalks that has two ears, (2) that has 

 one ear, (3) that has no ear. Do this for each of four 

 plots ten hills square. 



SUMMING UP RESULTS 



1. What percentage of the stalks bears two ears? One 

 ear? 



2. What percentage of stalks is barren? If this per- 

 centage holds for the entire field, how much is the yield 



