30 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



of only a few days, especially when the weather 

 is dry, even though the land is not foul with weeds 

 that it may the more perfectly retain its moisture. 

 The harrowing should cease when the plants are sev- 

 eral inches high. For reasons that will be manifest, 

 the harrow should be light, should have a broad 

 sweep, and when in use the teeth should usually be 

 set to slant backward. It should also be driven 

 across rather than along the drills, that fewer plants 

 may be covered by the harrow. When the crop must 

 be planted on foul land, more seed should be used 

 than would otherwise be necessary, to allow for the 

 freer use of the harrow, and consec[uently for the 

 loss of a larger percentage of the plants. 



When the cultivator can be used, its use ought 

 to begin soon after the harrowing has ceased, and it 

 should continue at intervals until the feeding of the 

 crop has virtually begun. These intervals should 

 usually be not more distant than, say, seven to ten 

 days. The cultivation should be shallow, that the 

 corn roots may not be broken, and that the moisture 

 may be better conserved than it would be by deep 

 cultivation. It should come close up to the line of 

 the rows, that weed growth may be checked to the 

 greatest possible extent. 



Feeding. — The feeding of the corn may begin 

 as soon as it is fully in tassel, or even sooner but for 

 the loss in maximum development that would ensue, 

 and this feeding may be continu'ed until the crop is 

 matured. But when fed to swine it may be well to 

 defer the feeding until the corn in the ear is nearly 

 ready for table use. The residue of the green 

 corn, if the crop is not all consumed, mav be cut at 



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