AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 33 



THE PROFLTABLE AMOUXT OF SEED PER ACRE FOR CORX. 



W. H. Jordan. 



The opinion has prevailed somewhat in the past, if a practice is 

 any indication of an existing opinion, that the larger the amount of 

 seed used the greater the yield of corn for soiling or fodder 

 purposes. 



In many instances not less than a bushel of corn has been sown per 

 acre on the plot that was to furnish fodder corn in late August and 

 during September. The resulting product has always been a large 

 weight of immature, very watery fodder. 



Possibly the practice was correct if we assume that the gross 

 weight of a green crop is a correct measure of its value. 



We know that this is not the case, but, that the value of any 

 crop is chiefly measured by its yield of dry matter, and we have 

 found out that the largest food product is obtained when the 

 amount of seed approximates, at least, to that planted in ordinary 

 field culture. More or less discussion still exists, however, in 

 regard to the exact quantity of seed that is conducive to the 

 maximum yield. A very common custom is to plant five kernels 

 in a hill with the rows three and one-half feet apart and the hills 

 three feet. This is nearly equivalent to rows the same distance 

 with single kernels drilled in at a distance of seven inches apart. 



During the past season an experiment has been carried on by the 

 Station for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of seed most 

 profitable in corn raising. 



A plot of one acre was used for this purpose. This plot received 

 five cords of manure and five hundred pounds of commercial fer- 

 tilizer. It was divided into twelve plots, or four sets of plots with 

 three plots in a 'set. 



On one plot in each set the single kernels were planted six inches 

 apart, on another nine inches, and on the third twelve inches. This 

 gave four plots or one-third of an acre planted by each method. 

 The corn was allowed to stand until the kernels glazed and was 

 then cut, weighed and sampled. 



Below can be seen the gross yield of crop per acre, the percentage 

 and the total yield of dry matter. 



