CORN LETTERS FROM THIRTY FARMERS 155 
when the furrow slice is turned over, capillarity, which was destroyed 
when the furrow was turned, is quickly re-established, since the dirt 
on the sub-surface is pulverized and not cloddy. As soon as the ground 
is plowed it is harrowed. This forms a dust mulch, and prevents the 
moisture in the ground from escaping. We harrow the plowed ground 
after each rain, as soon as it will do to get in the fields. By doing 
this the moisture is conserved, and no crust is allowed to form up 
to planting time. 
Our spring plowing is from six to eight inches deep. We plow 
ten inches deep in the fall, and aim to turn all our new ground at this 
season of the year. Freezing and thawing during the winter months, 
followed by early spring discing, puts this deep plowing in ideal shape. 
We are cranks on conserving moisture and our efforts along these 
lines bring us big returns in the fall when we husk our corn. Gentle- 
men, the farmer can not take too much time in the preparation of the 
seed bed for corn. Of all the grain crops grown, corn is the one that 
responds the quickest to thorough preparation before putting the seed 
in the ground. We believe that « forty-acre field, properly prepared, 
will grow as many bushels as eight acres plowed only three or four 
inches deep, and left to dry out until planting time. Practice thorough 
cultivation and plant pure bred seed corn, and you will be well paid for 
your time and money spent. 
As soon as the seed bed is as good as we can make it, we start 
planting. We check three feet six inches each way, and plant from 
one to one and one-half inches deep. The field is harrowed as soon as 
planted in order to kill the small weeds and sprouted weed seeds. We 
do not feel justified in harrowing after the corn is up, since the harrow 
teeth break off and cover too many hills. Since we only plant two 
kernels to the hill, it is necessary that they should all grow. 
We start cultivating rather deep when the corn is from four to six 
inches high, and make every effort to kill all the weeds at this plow- 
ing. The second cultivation is not so deep, since by this time the 
corn-root system has extended in all directions. 
When we ‘‘lay the corn by’’ we throw up a small ridge, but are 
very careful not to cut many roots. During the first three cultiva- 
tions we use four-shovel plows. For a fourth cultivation we use an 
old mower wheel and run it between the rows. This conserves the 
moisture, and helps in getting a larger yield. 
We think the shovel cultivators are the best all-around cultivators 
you can get. At the same time surface cultivators are coming into 
