FARM PRACTICE IN" THE CULTIVATION OP CORN. 49 



the cultivating is done with sweeps covering all the middle with three 

 furrows, and by the last cultivation the land is comparatively level. 



As shown in Table XXII, often two or more implements are used 

 for the same cultivation. Fertilizer is frequently applied to corn at 

 the second or third cultivation, in which case the fertilizer distributor 

 (fig. 35) is run close to the corn row and the middle plowed out with 

 the sweep or 1 -horse turning plow. 



Yery little stable manure is produced. Practically no cover crops 

 are grown, but at the last cultivation cowpeas are often sown broad- 

 cast between the corn rows. Frequently peanuts are planted in drills 

 between the corn rows at the last 

 cultivation, and after the corn is 

 gathered the field is pastured 

 with hogs. Most of the corn is 

 of the white dent varieties. 



The most prevalent weeds are 

 crab-grass, cocklebur, and smart- 

 weed. Fig. 35. — A fertilizer distributor. 



SURVEYS IN AUGUSTA COUNTY, VA. 



Augusta County is located in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., and the 

 soil is of the Hagerstown series. This region is extremely rolling 

 and in some places rocky, but the farms are divided into large fields, 

 and improved machinery is generally used. (Table XXIII.) The 

 work is mostly done with 2 and 3 horse teams. Except for a few 

 bottoms none of the land is tile drained, but practically all the land 

 is drained by surface ditches to prevent erosion. 



Most of the leading roads have been macadamized and are operated 

 under the toll system. The farms are usually operated by the owners 

 with hired labor instead of tenants. The farms are large, and the 

 people generally are in comfortable circumstances. 



On most farms a rotation of corn one year, wheat two years, and 

 hay two years is maintained. A large percentage of the land is in 

 pasture, and apples are extensively grown. The farm income is prin- 

 cipally from apples and grain, supplemented by hay and cattle. 



The com is grown on pasture or hay sod, and most farmers prefer 

 to plow this land in the spring. Usually the breaking is done level 

 with a 2-horse or 3-horse plow. After breaking, the land is har- 

 rowed once or twice with a spring-tooth or disk harrow, and before 

 planting it is gone over with :i spike-tooth harrow or roller. The 

 planting is largely done with 2-horse 2-row planters. Corn is usually 

 planted level and in drills '.'>[ feet apart, with one stalk every 18 

 inches in the drill. Where the land is not too rolling, the corn is 

 planted in checks -'>\ feet sipart each way, with two stalks to the hill. 



