50 



Campbell's 1902 Soil Culture Manual. 



something wonderf ally attractive. The growth of roots as shown under the 

 heading of root development is also interesting. Do not put in too much 

 seed. There are unquestionably many instances where very light crops of 

 corn have been secured from too much seed, when had there been one half 

 as many stalks growing there would have probably been two or three times 

 as much corn. I have frequently heard the remark, if you don"t put in the 

 seed you can't get the crop, indicating the crop was guaged by the quantity 

 of seed, but this is another mistake and is begining to be more generally 

 understood. The strongest evidence along this line is found in some 

 experimental work w^hich we conducted in 1897, where eight ears of corn 

 were raised from one single kernel, four ears growing on the original stock, 

 and two each on two suckers or shoots. Seven of these were well devel- 

 oped ears, the eighth having corn about half the length of the cob, both 

 the upper and lower ends of this cob being bare of corn, 



AMOUNT OF SEED NECESSARY. 



One fact may not be generally known or understood, and that is that 

 every healthy corn stalk starts from five to ten ears. Now the develop- 

 ment of these ears depends entirely upon the physical condition of the soil 

 and an ample supply of available soil moisture and plant food at all times. 

 It is true there are instances, or conditions that might exist by which 

 more corn might possibly be got from two, three, or four stalks in a hill 

 than one. These would be rare cases and where by extreme heat the 

 demands upon the supply of moisture and plant food might suddenly 

 destroy the vitality, or life of all the ears that were started on the corn, 

 except the top one. Then a sudden and liberal rain immediately replen- 

 ishing the soil about the roots with the necessary moisture which would 

 immediately increase the available supply of plant food and push to com- 

 pletion the single ears left on each stalk, when w^e would have two, three 

 or four ears to the hill as against one ear if we had but one stalk. 

 Then again should the dry period continue longer without any rain we 

 might lose all the ears, because the demand for moisture to supply the 

 growth and development of two, three, or four stalks would be just that 

 much greater than for one stalk, consequently the one stalk could endure 

 the drouth longer without suffering, and probably reach the next rain 

 when ample moisture would mature one or two good ears as against none 

 at all with a larger number of stalks. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROOTS. 



It will be seen from these facts that it is possible to secure as large 

 a yield from one kernel in a hill as from three kernels in a hill, and in the 

 semi-arid belts much more probable. In cut No, 9, we show a siugle stalk 

 of corn and the general direction and development of roots. This illus- 



