180 



CORN 



During a wet time, when the sun shines but little, a harrow culti 

 vates young grass rather than kills it. Sunlight is required to dry 

 out the roots which are turned up to the air. Harrowing wet ground 

 puddles the surface, instead of producing a dust mulch. On the other 

 hand, a dry soil requires deeper tillage than that secured by the har- 

 row. Care should be taken to note that the plants are not turgid and 

 full of moisture when harrowed, because they snap off easily when in 

 such condition. In the sunshine they usually bend easily and allow 

 the harrow to pass over them without injury. 



DISC CULTIVATOR 

 Used especially in damp; weedy ground. 



The third consideration is the size of the corn. Wallaces' Farmer 

 advocates the following as the ideal method of planting: Thoroughly 

 prepare the seed bed as has been previously described. Plant the corn 

 and instead of following the planter with a harrow and harrowing it 

 lightly crosswise, cultivate each row with the ordinary shovel plow. 

 Set the shovels to throw considerable dirt, but not enough to ridge 

 the rows very much. If the land is level, wait two or three days, 

 then harrow crossways of the field. Two things are accomplished 

 by this practice. Practically all of the corn has been cultivated once. 

 The ground has been loosened to considerable depth. The harrow 

 has pulverized the surface and turned to the sun many sprouting weed 

 seeds. The whole process is more rapid and less tedious than care- 

 fully plowing weedy corn the first time. On hilly land, subject to 



