104 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
March, 1917 
Left: Original Crosby, a proven favorite. Right: Howling 
Mob, a leading second early. (Both white) 
ties rather than to count on the late sorts 
in both classes for your late supply of this 
delicious vegetable. More than once have 
I seen Country Gentleman “nipped” by early 
September frosts from sowings made middle of 
June. 
Of course, there is one sure way to beat 
Jack Frost in his own game! Simply start 
your seeds indoors while he still makes sur- 
prise visits outdoors. Handy little paper pots 
may be bought at surprisingly low cost. 
Most seedstores now carry them, too. Take 
three evenly sized kernels to every 3-inch pot 
and press them about one inch deep into 
the soil. Do this any time after April first 
and keep the pots reasonably warm and 
evenly moist. Within two weeks sprouts 
will show. When the little plants are about 
3 inches tall, begin to keep them cooler to 
keep them from becoming spindly. It is 
hardly safe to set them outdoors before all 
danger from frost is over — about the time 
your Maple trees are out in full leaf. 
Now, there are two ways to proceed in 
setting out these pots. If you have succeeded 
in raising 3 fine sturdy plants of about equal 
size, set out your plants in hills three feet 
apart, pots and all. The pots easily rot, 
while protecting the young corn from cut- 
worms early in the season. But don’t forget 
to tear of the bottom of each pot so that the 
roots ma}^ spread quickly. 
On the other hand, if you have not suc- 
ceeded in getting a good “stand” (and this 
frequent^ happens to all of us, no matter 
how carefully seeds are selected) set your 
pots one foot apart in rows, with three feet 
between the rows. And don’t set your pots 
in one straight row, fifty feet long, bur rather 
in five short rows, each ten feet long, forming 
a little “block” or square. This is a point 
some gardeners are apt to overlook. Yet, 
upon its observance depends entirely how well 
the patch is fertilized which, in turn, deter- 
mines how well the ears will be filled. 
While the subject of fertilization is before 
us, let me caution you not to plant white 
and yellow sorts of the same season of matur- 
ity side by side. If you do, you are bound 
to find yellow kernels all through the harvest 
of white ears and vice-versa. Not that it 
matters much or affects the quality in any 
way. But don’t suspect your seedsman of 
selling you a poor strain if you ignore the 
question of cross-pollination. 
CORN FOR FIVE FROM JULY TO FROST 
About Decoration Day I generally sow three 
fifteen-foot rows each of Golden Bantam and 
Sweet Orange. A week to ten days later I 
sow an equal amount of space to Howling 
Mob and Golden Rod. Of course, middle of 
April, I start about fifty pots of Early Dawn 
in our warm and sunny cellar. This gener- 
ally insures us the first ears of the season- for 
the “Fourth of July” dinner. For a succes- 
sion up to frost, I depend on repeated sowings 
of Golden Bantam and Howling Mob. And 
it is perhaps worthy of mention that these 
two sorts seem to have a heavier husk than 
most others. As the result, they not only 
resist the attack of worms admirably, but also 
stand slight frosts without material injury 
to the ears within. 
Notwithstanding many opinions of others 
to the contrary, I have found the growing of 
corn in rows, with the plants one foot apart 
in the row, to be far preferable to the hill 
method. A given area will then yield more ears 
and, where the soil is rich and well-fertilized, 
the ears will be just as large as those grown 
on plants in hills. In poor soil, of course, 
where manuring in hills has to be resorted to, 
the method of planting in hills is the only 
choice. Where corn is planred in rows, slight 
hilling is advisable, especially in windy sec- 
tions. Every time the wind blows your corn 
over, its development receives a setback. 
To get the best out of every ear of corn 
you grow, regardless of variety or in which 
season you harvest it, the question of gather- 
ing is of prime importance. To know whether 
the corn is “ready” (at the best stage of de- 
velopment in flavor and quality) open the 
husk just a little and press a fingernail against 
a well developed kernel. If the skin yields 
to a slight pressure and plenty of milky juice 
is noticeable, the ear is ready for pulling. 
\\ hen gathering the first picking, don’t pull or 
jerk the whole plant, but rather give the ear a 
twist and a downward break. 
Left: Carpenter’s Golden Sweet, one hundred days to 
maturity. Right: Golden Rod, a combination of Golden 
Bantam and Stowell’s Evergreen. (Both yellow) 
Don’t gather the ears until about half an 
hour before you wish to eat them. Have the 
water at a boiling point and boil ten minutes. 
That allows five minutes for getting them on 
the table “piping hot.” At the risk of being 
considered extravagant I suggest that a half a 
teacupful of granulated sugar be added to the 
boiling water. It works as insurance against 
disappointments in quality over which, in the 
case of sweet corn, we have all too little control. 
THE SWEETEST CORN FOR THE HOME GARDEN 
NAME 
READY FOR 
LENGTH OF 
AVERAGE 
NO. OF ROWS 
REMARKS ON THE VARIETY 
TABLE 
EAR 
PER EAR 
The Choicest White Kinds 
Earlv Dawn 
75 davs 
6 in. 
10 rows 
Earliest sort of good size and really fair quality 
Pocahontas 
85 davs 
8 in. 
10 rows 
Very first of second early sorts. Exceptional quality 
Gregory’s Original Crosby 
87 davs 
8 in. 
14-18 row 
Of verv choicest quality. Remarkable ears illustrated 
Howling Mob 
90 davs 
9 in. 
12 rows 
The leading second early white grained com of quality 
White Evergreen 
95 davs 
10 in. 
12-14 rows 
Choicest strain 
Country Gentleman 
100 days 
9 in. 
zig-zag 
Best flavored of all real table kinds 
The Pick of Yellow Kinds 
Golden Bantam 
80 davs 
6 in. 
8 rows 
Most popular earlv standard yellow 
Golden Sugar 
85 davs 
7*-8 in. 
10-12 rows 
A newcomer with all the Golden Bantam flavor in larger size 
Seymour’s Sweet Orange 
90 davs 
7 in. 
12-14 row 
Of light yellow color but equal in flavor to darker sorts 
Golden Rod 
93 davs 
6-8 in. 
8-10 rows 
A happv offspring of Golden Bantam and Stowell’s Evergreen 
Golden Cream 
96 days 
6 in. 
zigzag 
A shoepeg variety, offering Golden Bantam and Country Gentleman flavor in one 
Carpenter’s Golden Sweet 
100 days 
7 in. 
12 rows 
The latest of the yellow kinds of really delicious quality 
