No. 4.] CORN GROWING. 105 



on the same land, depending npon the liberal nse of stable 

 manure and coniniercial fertilizer and cover crops for main- 

 taining the soil. While this can be done and a high average 

 yield of corn maintained, yet it is not a practice which should 

 be universally adopted, and can only be used to advantage 

 where for special reasons it is found necessary. That treat- 

 ment of the land which shall cause a cultivated crop like corn 

 or potatoes to alternate with a sowed crop like oats or grass 

 and clover tends to keep the soil free from weeds, to prevent 

 the waste of plant food, to increase the soil humus and to 

 bring about generally those conditions which are found favor- 

 able for crop production. Whether farm manure shall be 

 plowed under for corn, or Avhether it shall be applied as a 

 surface dressing after plowing, must be determined by the 

 local conditions. If that method of plowing is practiced 

 which leaves a furrow on edge rather than completely invert- 

 ing it, the manure niay be apjilied before plowing, and then 

 harrowed in with the disc harrow. By thorough incor]iora- 

 tion with the soil it will not only furnish plant food for the 

 crop, but Avill serve to improve the physical condition of the 

 soil. To leave the manure in the yard until after the corn 

 ground is plowed, and then to haul it over the plowed land in 

 distributing it, greatly adds to the labor without producing 

 marked increase of the crop over that method of applying the 

 manure before plowing. Where farm manure and commer- 

 cial fertilizer are both used upon the same land for corn, if 

 the manure is plowed under and the commercial fertilizer 

 applied as a surface dressing they will supplement each other, 

 the commercial fertilizer starting the corn off vigorously and 

 the farm manure serving later in growth. It is impossible to 

 lay down any definite rules which will apply in all cases, but 

 the practice must vary according to th^ ty])e of soil, according 

 to the condition of the manure and according to the ])revious 

 treatment of the land. 



In planting corn a system of cheek-row planting has many 

 advantages over drilling or rowing but one way. Where the 

 soil is infested with weeds and grass it is a great advantage 

 to be able to cultivate the corn in two directions. This can 



