STALKS PER HILL 165 



acre in favor of one plant every 12 inches, as compared with three 

 plants every 36 inches. The gain in stover was 659 pounds per acre. 

 However, the question of cultivation and harvesting of the crop is to 

 be considered. Corn planted in hills is more easily harvested, and 

 gives a better opportunity in cultivating or keeping the weeds in 

 check. 



Second. The custom of the locality or even the section of the 

 Corn Belt aflfects thickness of planting. The Georgia Experiment 

 Station found that better results could be obtained by having the rows 

 four feet apart with one stalk every three feet in each row. The same 

 station found that on ground which could produce around 30 bushels 

 of corn per acre, the best results could be had with the rows four 

 feet apart with cne plant every two feet in the row. The Indiana Ex- 

 periment Station, in carrying on investigations for a period of eight 

 years, secured the best yields with planting in rows three feet eight 

 inches apart and one plant every 10 3-4 inches in the row. 



Under Iowa conditions, the majority of growers usually check 

 three feet six inches both ways, making 3^556 hills per acre, By such 

 a plan, each hill has 1764 square inches of surface. The cultivators 

 as usually used on the farm are set for this width, and there is no line 

 of weeds left in the center between the rows. On the poorer soils 

 of the state a three-foot eight inch planter is used, which plants 3,240 

 hills per acre. Sometimes the corn is planted three feet eight inches 

 one way, and a three foot six inch check wire is used. 



Third. The nature of growth of variety is another factor influenc- 

 ing the closeness of planting. Large, rank growing varieties require 

 greater distance between the rows, because of over-shading. Low 

 growing kinds requiring short seasons may be planted more closely. 



The occasional planting of other crops with corn may make a great- 

 er distance between hills and rows desirable. 



Number of Stalks Per Hill. There is more or less difference of 

 opinion upon this particular point. In the early years of corn grow- 

 ing in the central West, the number of kernels per hill was con- 

 trolled by such an adage as "Always plant five kernels, one for the 

 blackbird, one for the crow, one for the cut worm and two to grow.'' 

 However, it may be said that the amount of corn that can be pro-- 

 duced on a given area of land is determined by the soil, seed, and 

 management, together with the climatic conditions. Naturally, land 

 rich in fertility can maintain a greater number of stalks per acre than 

 can poorer land. While in the former case four or five kernels to 

 the hill may not be too many, in the latter two kernels to the hill 



