CORN 107 



Planting. When the soil is getting warm, and danger 

 of frost is past, it is time to plant corn. This is from the 

 first to the middle of May in the corn belt. Corn should 

 be run through a grader before planting in order to remove 

 the very small and extra large kernels. This will give more 

 uniform planting. The two-row planter is used almost 

 entirely. It can be used to drill the corn, that is, planting 

 one kernel in a place 8 to 18 inches apart in the row, or it 

 can be used as a checkrower, planting about three kernels 

 3 feet 6 inches to 3 feet 8 inches apart each way. With 

 rows both ways there is a better chance for cultivation, 

 but where the land is free from weeds, larger yields are 

 secured by drilling it. Where the soil is moist, corn should 

 not be planted over two inches deep. In very dry soils in 

 the Southwest corn is listed. Listing is planting corn in 

 the bottoms of furrows, so as to get the kernels where the 

 soil is moist. 



Frequent Cultivation. The field should be dragged 

 before the corn comes up. This will kill many small weeds 

 and keep the top soil loose. As soon as the corn is up so 

 that the rows can be seen, the corn cultivator should be 

 used. At first, while the roots have not spread out much, 

 corn can be cultivated deep; but later, when roots fill the 

 soil between the rows, cultivation should be shallow. 

 The ground should be stirred often in order to keep moisture 

 from evaporating, and to destroy weeds. Cultivation also 

 liberates plant food by warming the soil and letting the 

 air get into it. 



How Corn Is Harvested. Where corn is grown for the 

 grain, the ears are husked from the standing stalks in the 

 field. This is done either by hand or by machine. Where 



