SWEET CORN 225 



or in hills in check rows 24 inches apart. The larger sorts should 

 be planted in rows which are 30 or 36 inches apart and at in- 

 tervals of from 10 inches, for a single stalk in a place, to 30 or 

 36 inches in checks. The seed should not be planted deeper 

 than i inch in retentive soils, nor more than i^- inches in the 

 looser and lighter soils. Planting which is done early in the season 

 should be shallower than is necessary later when the soil is warm 

 and dry. 



The climatic conditions must also be taken into consideration 

 in determining what system of planting to follow. Early crops on 

 land which is subject to heavy rains or which has a high- water 

 table should be planted on a slight ridge, but in most places in the 

 humid section flat planting and cultivation is best. In the dry belt 

 corn usually does best if planted in a slight furrow. A lister is 

 frequently used for preparing corn ground in such sections. In 

 order to secure a continuous supply of corn for the table for the 

 longest period possible, both early and late sorts must be employed, 

 as well as a succession of plantings. Gardeners usually gamble 

 with the weather on their early and late plantings ; the great value 

 of early corn compared with the cost of seed justifies them in taking 

 chances on the early plantings. If the normal season for planting 

 corn is May I, in any given locality, one is justified in planting 

 his sweet corn the first or second week in April. Three out of 

 five plantings at this date may be caught by frost, but the successes 

 will amply repay the risk, for the only loss sustained in any event 

 is the cost of the seed and its planting. Late plantings should be 

 made with both early and late sorts, since an early sort will some- 

 times escape an autumn frost when a long-season sort would fail. 

 The precaution of planting both the early and late plantings on the 

 most frost-free soils should also be observed. 



For a limited family supply of sweet corn a few 6-inch or 8-inch 

 pots may be used to advantage for bringing on from 25 to 50 hills. 

 These may be started three or four weeks in advance of the normal 

 planting season, and after all danger of frost is past (in fact, after 

 the first outdoor planting is a few inches high) these potted plants 

 may be transplanted to the open. A greenhouse or hotbed will be 

 necessary to start them in, for they will not thrive under the more 

 rigorous conditions of the cold frame. 



