PLANTING AND CULTIVATING THE CORN CROP 239 



The ears to be tested are placed on a table or convenient 

 place and numbered consecutively. Six grains are taken 

 from each ear and placed in the corresponding square on 

 the cloth. In sampling the ears one should take two grains 

 near the butt, two from the middle and two from near 

 the tip. The grains are covered with a second cloth on 

 which is placed a little sawdust. The whole is thoroughly 

 moistened and kept for six or seven days where the tem- 

 perature is regular from 60 to 70 degrees F. Moisture 

 should be added once a day during the test. All ears that 

 do not show a vigorous germination should be discarded. 



292. Methods of planting corn. There are three 

 methods of planting corn in the cotton-belt. These are: 

 (1) drilling; (2) checking; (3) listing. The most profitable 

 method will be determined by a number of factors, most 

 important of which are soil topography, injury from 

 weeds and grass, moisture supply, and cost of farm labor. 



Drilling. The greater part of the corn crop in the 

 cotton-belt is, at present, planted in drills. The rolling 

 lands so often suffer from washing that it is necessary 

 to preserve them as much as possible by running the rows 

 at right angles to the slope of the hill, rather than by plant- 

 ing the corn in check-rows. Each row forms a miniature 

 terrace and erosion is thus reduced to a minimum or in 

 many cases, entirely prevented. It is also easier to place 

 fertilizer evenly under drills than under hills. Contrary 

 to the rather general impression that heavier yields are 

 made when the corn is planted in drills, which distribute 

 the plants evenly over the ground, than when it is planted 

 in check-rows, nearly all of the experiments so far con- 

 ducted have shown no difference, or comparatively small 

 differences due to methods of distribution, when the num- 

 ber of plants to the acre remain the same. Land that is 



