CORN OR MAIZE 75 



in yield will compensate for the extra labor necessary in 

 keeping the field free from weeds. When corn is grown 

 for stover, the thicker rate of planting will give the highest 

 yield of roughage. When planting for the silo, the corn 

 should be drilled, if possible, at the rate of one grain every 

 10 or 12 inches. While this may not give as great a 

 tonnage as thicker planting, the percentage of grain is 

 higher, thus giving equal if not a little more feeding value. 

 61. Cultivation. — The principal reasons for cultivating 

 the corn during the early stages of growth are to kill the 

 weeds and conserve moisture. As has been pointed out, 

 growing corn requires a large amount of water, and the 

 amount of rainfall during the growing season is closely 

 correlated with the yield. While it is not possible to 

 control the amount of rainfall during the growing season, 

 it is possible to save a large part of that which falls early 

 in the season for the use of the plants when their needs 

 for water are greatest. To do this it is necessary to keep 

 the surface soil broken up into fine particles, to form a 

 mulch which will prevent the water that is in the lower soil 

 from reaching the surface and being lost by evaporation. 

 Weeds are undesirable in a corn field because they not only 

 use up the water that should be left for the use of the corn, 

 but they also use up plant food. Therefore one operation 

 may serve to kill the weeds, and also to reestablish the 

 earth mulch to prevent evaporation of water. When the 

 plants are small, this can best be done by a weeder or a 

 spike tooth harrow, providing the ground is not cloddy 

 at the time of cultivation, and if large annual weeds have 

 not got a start. Cultivation is therefore rendered less 

 difficult by thoroughly preparing the ground before 

 planting. If a weeder or harrow is run over the field on a 

 hot, simshiny day, before the plants are up, it will establish 



