18 
BULLETIN 1292, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
operations are performed on corn as on cotton. Siding and barring 
off are performed in the same way and for the same reason as on cot- 
ton. A few farmers cultivate middles by running one furrow, but 
the common practice is to run two furrows with a shovel cultivator. 
Very little hoe work is done on corn. Thinning out by hand or with 
a hoe and hoeing the weeds at the same time is the usual method 
followed. (See Table 20.) 
Before the corn is harvested it is the custom to gather fodder for 
winter feed. It is seldom that all of the available fodder is pulled, 
Fig. 9. — A good stand of corn with cowpeas broadcasted between the rows 
as the practice is to take it where the yield is best. The leaves are 
pulled by hand from the stalks and tied by a leaf into small bundles 
weighing 1J^ to 2 pounds and then hung on an ear of corn to dry. 
When cured, the bundles are gathered and stacked around poles or 
put in the barn. (See Table 21.) 
Two methods of harvesting corn are practiced, both of which are 
equally common. Some pull the corn and throw in piles and then 
later on haul in; others pull and throw it into a wagon, which saves 
the labor of later loading it into the wagon. When corn is pulled, 
the shuck is not removed. At the time of feeding, the shuck may be 
removed or left, depending on the practice of each farmer. (See 
Table 22.) 
