242 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



favorable in the spring and early summer. Corn should 

 be planted sufficiently early to reap the advantages of 

 these favorable conditions. Also the attacks of bud- 

 worms are often escaped by planting the crop early. Where 

 corn is subject to injury by bud- worms it should be planted 

 either as early as possible or rather late. The late planted 

 corn rapidly grows beyond the stage in which it is attacked 

 by these insects. Also the soil becomes so warm as to 

 discourage them. It is thought that late planting re- 

 duces the injury from weevil by reason of the late date of 

 maturity. 



While the early plantings, as a rule, give the best results 

 nothing is to be gained by putting seed in soil that is too 

 cold or too wet to favor germination. Planting should 

 always be deferred until the ground is sufficiently dry to 

 work well and warm enough for immediate growth. In 

 the southernmost part of the cotton-belt, corn planting 

 begins in February and becomes general by the first of 

 March. As one proceeds North the average date of the 

 planting season gradually becomes later, being March 

 15th for the middle part of the Gulf states, and April 

 1st to 15th for the northern part. The optimum season 

 for planting corn in the different regions of the United 

 States is shown on page 243. 



294. Depth of planting. This varies with the tem- 

 perature and moisture of the soil. As a rule early planting 

 should be shallow, not over one inch, as at this time only 

 the surface soil is warm enough to germinate the seed. 

 Stiff heavy clays, especially those lacking in humus, 

 should be planted shallow, otherwise rains may so pack 

 the soil as to prevent the seed from coming to a stand. 

 The lighter, sandy soils should be planted deeper to insure 

 sufficient moisture for germination. These soils also warm 



