Farm Management and Farm Crops 105 



it? 



W. T. SkillinO 



FIG. 82. The amounts of the principal grains raised in the United States 

 shown relatively for 1917 : C, corn; 0, oats; W, wheat; B, bar ley; R, rye. t 



Its chief use is as feed for livestock, and about eighty 



per cent of it is fed in the neighborhood where it is raised. 



Only about two per cent is exported. Corn is a native Its origin 



of America. The Indians (who called it " maize," as 



people in other countries continue to do) were growing 



it when the early explorers came. It is supposed to 



be a descendant of a tall, grasslike plant of tropical 



America. Perhaps this explains why it does best in a 



climate where there are hot days and nights during 



the growing season (Fig. 83). 



Since aboi^t fifteen large ears of corn (five quarts Planting 

 shelled) are enough to plant an acre, it is easy to select 

 the seed with care, as directed in Chapter Seven. It has 

 been found that corn will yield a little better if it is 

 planted in drills rather than in hills ; that is, one grain 

 in a place and not several grains together. But if corn 



and care 



Hills or 

 drills 



