434 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



619. Cultivation. If rain falls after planting and be- 

 fore the plants are up, a weeder (Figure 6) should be 

 used to break the incrustation. This implement may be 

 employed with good results until the plants are a foot 

 or more high. An occasional plant will be damaged, 

 but the benefits are much greater than the injuries. The 

 damage will be least if the weeder is used in the middle 

 of the day, when the plants are less rigid, than earlier or 

 later. Various other tools, the spike-tooth type and the 

 riding cultivators, are employed in caring for the crop, 

 and some hand hoeing is usually required. 



620. Suckering. Suckering is not as beneficial as some 

 growers suppose, but it is generally regarded as a profit- 

 able operation. Some varieties sucker much more freely 

 than others. 



621. Marketing. Sweet corn is often harvested before 

 it is ready. The kernels should be plump, but not hard. 

 It pays to exercise care in regard to this matter, for uni- 

 formity in size and degree of ripeness is an important 

 factor in commanding remunerative prices. The crop 

 is shipped in barrels, hampers and crates of various sizes. 



622. Returns. Sweet corn, under favorable conditions, 

 is a profitable crop. Prices paid by the packers range 

 from $9 to $12 a ton, and about $3 more when the husks 

 are removed. Maine canneries pay 2 cents a pound for 

 the corn cut from the cob. This is the fairest way to sell 

 sweet corn. It also encourages good breeding. Prices 

 on the market vary from 5 to 25 cents a dozen ears. 

 Gross receipts have been known to run as high as $350 

 an acre, but this is very unusual. A gross return of $100 

 makes corn a profitable crop, especially when the fodder 

 is used properly on the farm. Many general farmers, 

 who grow sweet corn on a large scale for market or for 

 packing, cut the fodder into silage as soon as the crop 

 is sold. 



