Pop Co k.n 1537 



PLANTING 



The seed should be planted about May 25 to June 5, in the 

 latitude of Central New York, or as soon as the ground has 

 wanned up so that the seed will germinate and not rot. The 

 planting should be done with a corn planter or an ordinary grain 

 drill, making the rows three and one-half feet apart and dropping 

 the kernels about eight inches apart in the row. 



SUBSEQUENT CARE 



The field should be rolled at once after planting, and it should 

 be gone over crosswise of the rows with a slant-tooth harrow o,r 

 weeder every five or six days until the corn is six or eight inches 

 high. This will tear out a little of the com, but more has been 

 sown than was needed so as to allow for this. It is a large num- 

 ber of well developed ears rather than stalks that we are trying 

 to obtain. The balance of the season the cultivation should be the 

 same as for ordinary field corn. Pop corn ripens in one hundred 

 to one hundred and thirty-five days from planting, according to 

 the variety, weather conditions and other factors. The maturity 

 can be hastened to some extent by a liberal application of the phos- 

 phatic fertilizer. On the other hand, it is retarded by the use of 

 large quantities of stable manure, which gives an excess of nitro- 

 gen late in the season. It is especially important that pop corn 

 should ripen before frost comes, since, if injured for popping, 

 it has little value for anything else. 



HARVESTING AND STORING 



Pop corn is harvested the same as other field corn and is usually 

 husked by hand. The price paid for husking by the bushel is 

 usually 50 per cent, higher than for field corn, as the ears are 

 much smaller. When it is to be stored the cribs are usually lined 

 inside with 14-inch mesh woven wire netting to protect the corn 

 from rats, mice, squirrels and other vermin. The great difficulty 

 in keeping pop corn from one season to another without having it 

 destroyed by rats or mice, is the chief reason why the business has 

 gradually come into the hands of a comparatively small number 

 of growers who are especiallv equipped for handling it success' 

 fully. 



