GROWING CULTIVATED CROPS IN DRY AREAS 279 



small-growing varieties of corn may be planted more 

 closely than those that are larger. As corn in northerly 

 areas is more dwarfish in its habits of growth than corn 

 grown southward, it may be planted more closely. But 

 such planting can only be carried so 1 far, in areas where 

 moisture may be deficient, or it will be adverse to 

 growth in the corn. When corn is grown mainly 

 for the fodder the planting may be thicker than when 

 grown mainly for the grain. Usually it should not be 

 grown so thickly, however, as to prevent the growth of 

 nubbins on the stalks. Experience can alone determine 

 this in each locality. In very dry areas it may be neces- 

 sary to plant the seed so distant as to preclude the possi- 

 bility of securing large yields. With a rainfall of, say, 

 15 inches, the aim should be to have not fewer than 4 

 stalks in a hill, and when planted in drills for fodder, the 

 aim should be to have from 4 to 8 inches between the 

 plants. 



The amount of seed called for will also be influenced 

 by the size of the seed. For hill planting less than one 

 peck will usually suffice for an acre, and in many in- 

 stances considerably less. P'or drill planting as much as 

 two pecks of the large varieties'with large kernels may be 

 called for. 



In dry areas many growers favor planting corn by 

 the method known as listing. Furrows are opened with 

 a plow called a lister and the seed is planted in the 

 bottom of the furrow in rows or in hills. The chief 

 advantage claimed for the system is that it starts the 

 corn farther from the surface than when planted in the 

 ordinary way, and that in consequence it roots in a more 

 moist, soil. The labor involved in preparing the soil is 

 also less. The cultivation of the ground is usually all 

 given after the corn has begun to grow. Under some con- 

 ditions better crops may be grown thus than in the ordi- 

 nary way. The chief objection to the system is, that 



