184 CORN 



According to Bulletin No. 13 of Illinois, the average of three plots 

 for three years, 1888, 1889, 1890, at that Station, was 81.8 bushels per 

 acre, when cultivated shallow. Three other plots cultivated deeply 

 for the same time averaged 74.1, or an increase of ^.y bushels in favor 

 of shallow cultivation. 



Frequency of Cultivation. The number of cultivations which a 

 field of corn should receive during a season depends primarily upon 

 the conditions of climate and soil. The growth of both corn and 

 weeds is governed by the amount of rainfall and sunshine. Often in 

 the fore part of the growing season, rainy weather will keep the teams 

 out of the field until the grass has almost choked the corn. Clear days 

 follow which push the corn forward so rapidly that not more than 

 two cultivations are given to the field. A cold summer may hold 

 the corn back so much that it is laid by after four cultivations and is 

 yet under size. 



The key to the successful solution of this proposition is keen 

 observation. There can be no set rule as to the number of times, 

 other than that the corn should be kept free from weeds and grass, 

 and that the surface of the ground should have the best possible mulch 

 to conserve the moisture. Many fields suffer greatly from a lack of 

 cultivation, either because a heavy carpet of weeds has been permitted 

 to grow up, or because a great deal of moisture has been lost. There 

 are, however, instances where cultivation is so frequent as to be detri- 

 mental. For example, in dry seasons when the rainfall is slight, there 

 is nothing gained by continually cultivating the fields that already 

 have a good dust mulch on their surface. There is such a thing pos- 

 sible as the surface becoming somewhat compact by lying for some 

 time without being stirred, even though there is not much rainfall, but 

 to keep continually cultivating corn in a dry season when there is 

 a dust mulch already established, is only a means of stirring up the 

 surface soil and permitting the air to penetrate deeper ; thus drying it 

 out to a greater extent than would have been the case had there been 

 no cultivating at this time. 



There is no question but that many crops are cut short because of 

 a lack of cultivation when the corn becomes too tall for the ordinary 

 two-horse cultivator. The corn draws hardest upon the soil at the 

 time when it is putting forth its silk and tassels and maturing the ear. 

 When there is a tendency for the season to be dry, with an occasional 

 shower, it would be very profitable to run a single-horse cultivator 

 between the rows to keep the dust mulch established after the corn 

 has become too high to use the two-horse cultivator. 



