36 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 
to blame for uneven checking. Uneven checking may be due 
to several causes. If the wire is too tight the planter checks 
too soon; if too loose it checks too late. To check true the 
driver should form the habit of always drawing the wire to 
a uniform tightness. While the slack should be kept out 
of the wire the driver should never form the habit of putting 
the point of the stake in the ground and using it as a lever 
to tighten the wire. This practice makes the wire too tight 
for even checking besides causing undue wear on both the 
wire and planter. If the planter checks too soon the shoes 
or runners should be pulled back. On all makes of planters 
with which we are familiar, there is a place on the tongue, 
(where it is bolted to the planter), to make this adjustment. 
If the checking is only a trifle ‘‘out’’ it may be corrected 
by shortening or lengthening the breast straps by which 
the tongue is raised or lowered. 
Disc Furrow OPENERS 
Dise furrow openers consist of small frames and two discs 
each. The frames are fastened to the shoes of the planter 
so that the discs are on each’side of the runner. The bottom 
of the discs are from one to two inches above the bottom 
of the runners, depending on how deep the corn is to be 
covered. The purpose of these discs is to throw out a furrow 
from two to five inches in depth. The corn is planted in 
the bottom of this furrow. 
We have used furrow openers on nine-tenths of our plant- 
ing for over five years, and can say without hesitation that 
they are a wonderful aid in maintaining clean eulture. With 
the aid of the furrow opener and the high arch surface culti- 
vator, our cornfields are as clean at husking time as they 
were formerly after the first plowing. The use of the furrow 
opener gives us a chance to cover all the weeds in the hill 
