TILLAGE, PLANTING, AND CULTIVATION 3S9 



soil space is allowed, the ground area lies waste. In brief, to CHAP, 

 secure the best yield, it is necessary that an acre should carry IX ' 

 as many maize plants as possible without injury to one 

 another. 



It is obvious that as the richness and texture of the soil and 

 the amount of available moisture vary tremendously, not only 

 in different parts of South Africa, but also on the same 

 farm, the optimum distance of planting will vary in different 

 places, and even on the same farm. There is no uniform 

 distance suitable for the maize crop in all parts of the country. 

 Owing to the difference in amount and incidence of the rain- 

 fall in different seasons, a greater distance of planting would 

 be desirable in some seasons than in others ; but as the farmer 

 cannot foretell the rainfall, he cannot vary his planting in 

 anticipation, but should regularly adopt the average distance 

 which his own records over a number of years have proved 

 most satisfactory for a particular field. 



Distance should also vary with the kind of maize grown ; 

 a large-growing sort naturally requires more plant-food, and 

 therefore more soil and light space, than a small kind. 



The farmer will find it to his advantage to carry out a 

 series of distance tests on his own farm over a series of years 

 and on different soils : a comparison of the average yields from 

 each planting at the same distance will (if carried out long 

 enough) give the optimum distance for that particular soil and 

 locality. But a single test is not sufficient ; it should be re- 

 peated for several years and the results should be compared 

 carefully. In order to start an experiment intelligently, it is 

 well to know something of the results obtained elsewhere, as a 

 basis on which to start ; a few such results have been given in 

 the following paragraph. 



348. Distance Tests in the Transvaal. — The following results 

 (Table LIII) were obtained from an experiment conducted at 

 the Botanical Experiment Station, Skinner's Court, Pretoria, on 

 shallow red soil of poor quality. The breed used was Hickory 

 Iving and only one grain was planted to each hill. It will be 

 noted that at the greater distances the results were not satis- 

 factory. 



Further results (Table LIV) were obtained from a subse- 

 quent experiment conducted at the Botanical Experiment 



