240 ^ FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



in such a condition as to necessitate planting on narrow 

 beds or ridges makes checking impractical. Also a large 

 percentage of the corn land in the South is cut up into 

 small irregular shaped fields that do not admit of the ready- 

 use of any except one-horse drills in planting. The fact 

 that one-horse drills are much cheaper than check-row 

 planters is partially responsible for their more general use. 

 In regions where the land is level or gently sloping, two- 

 horse drUls are coming into general use. 



Checking corn. — By this practice the grains are planted 

 in hills so that the rows will run both ways, and can be 

 cross-cultivated. Its advantages over drilling relate 

 largely to economy of production rather than to larger 

 yields. It is especially recommended for level lands that 

 are foul, as it avoids the use of the hoe in keeping down 

 weeds between plants in the drill. Corn is usually checked 

 by using a two-horse check-rower. This is an adjustable 

 implement which permits the planter to space the rows 

 and the distance between the hills to suit the requireiAents 

 of the land. By means of a wire chain stretched across the 

 field one man and team can plant in straight rows in both 

 directions, 12 or 15 acres a day. Corn is sometimes 

 checked by hand, the rows being carefully laid off at 

 uniform distances each way. The seed is dropped where 

 the furrows intersect. 



As the price of farm labor in the cotton-belt advances, 

 the practice of checking corn will become more general 

 on the level lands, and the laborious practice of "hoeing 

 corn" will be abandoned. 



Listing -corn. — The practice of planting corn in a deep 

 furrow made with a double-mold-board plow known as a 

 "hster" has become quite general in the drier regions 

 west of the Mississippi River. Usually the furrows are 



