8 BULLETIN 219/ U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tween the weight of the grain and the total weight when corn is 

 husked. The grain weights are converted into bushels on the basis 

 of 70 to 75 pounds per bushel, depending upon the dryness at the 

 time of husking. 



In some cases when the crop did not dry out or cure well the 

 weights have been arbitrarily reduced by the percentage estimated 

 or determined to be necessary to bring them to normal air dryness. 

 Only occasionally is it necessary to do this in the Great Plains area. 



SEEDING AND STAND. 



The time of planting corn at the various stations is more uniform 

 than the time of seeding the small grains. Small grains are usually 

 seeded as early as the season will permit in the southern as well as in 

 the northern portion of the area. This is done because the small 

 grain will withstand the cooler weather of the early spring and may 

 be able to mature in advance of drought which so frequently occurs 

 at about harvest time. Corn, on the other hand, requires warm 

 weather and a warm soil. In the southern portion of the territory, 

 therefore, where the growing season is longer, the usual practice is 

 to wait for the soil to become warm, thus delaying the planting. In 

 the northern part of the territory the season is so short that the 

 planting can not be delayed, and the planting season is advanced to 

 the limit of safety. This delay in the southern part and advance- 

 ment in the" northern part tends to equalize the time of planting 

 throughout the territory. In the southern part of the territory the 

 usual date of planting is May 10 to 15; in the northern part, May 25 

 to June 1, a difference of about two weeks. 



At North Platte all the corn included in these studies was planted 

 with a lister. At all of the other stations the corn is surface planted 

 in rows, with the exception of one or two listed plats at each station. 

 To insure a uniform stand, the corn is planted thicker than it is 

 intended to grow and then thinned to the desired stand. This may 

 in some cases interfere with differences in stand that might result 

 from differences in seed bed, but it appears to be the only practicable 

 way to handle the crop in experimental work where it is desired to 

 eliminate as many variable factors as possible. 



The thickness of the stand of corn that is finally established at 

 the various stations depends upon the amount of water which past 

 experience has shown may be expected during the growing season 

 and upon the expectation of producing grain. At the Judith Basin 

 Field Station the corn is thinned to a distance of 9 inches between 

 the plants. At this station there is enough available water to main- 

 tain a thick stand, but the growing season is so short that grain is 

 not matured. At the stations where the amount of available water 

 is less and the growing season longer, the distance between the 



