PRIME CORN AND ITS CULTIVATION—WHAT VARIETY TO GROW—DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING AND CARE 
EY D. R. Edson 
T HE platter of corn that gives you a complete, soul-satisfying 
sense of perfection is usually an accident. Nothing is 
easier than to have one or two such delectable, melting feasts of 
sweetness; but few garden stunts are less frequently achieved than 
to have a continuous supply of sweet corn, in prime condition, 
over the six to ten weeks through which it may be had, according 
to season and climate. 
Now, I maintain that a platter of good sweet corn is as well 
worth a little extra thought and effort as anything which the gar¬ 
den has to offer. And, furthermore, to succeed in having a con¬ 
tinuous supply of corn in prime condition is not a particularly 
difficult task—it is a matter of additional “knowing,” rather than 
of additional “doing.” 
Sweet corn, to be at its best, must be taken at just the right 
stage of development, a condition which it passes through very 
quickly. A little too early it is too soft and milky; a little too late, 
and the skin of the kernels has begun to get tough, too much boil¬ 
ing is required, and that indescribable “sweet toothsomeness” of 
corn that is just right has begun to disappear. (Incidentally, too, 
you should “have the pot boiling before you go out to pick the 
ears.” Sweet corn goes stale very quickly, and, although it will 
remain edible for a number of days, every hour spent between the 
garden and the table takes the fine edge off the quality.) So, the 
only way to solve the sweet-corn problem is to have a new supply 
coming on every week or two, and have it just about large enough 
to last until the following one will be ready. If there is a surplus 
of ears that begin to get hard, they can be used to advantage for 
stewing — taking the kernels off the ears before cooking — for suc¬ 
cotash or for canning. 
Either one of two methods may be followed. You can make 
repeated plantings of one kind, at intervals of one to two weeks, 
and thus keep it “coming on” until frost. Or, by planting several 
different varieties at one time, carefully selected to mature in 
“succession,” a supply for four to six weeks may be had from a 
single planting, so that two plantings only will be required to cover 
the whole season. Which method may be best to follow will de¬ 
pend on individual circumstances and taste. By the former the 
supply can usually be more accurately regulated; and where one 
variety, such, for instance, as the little honey-eared Golden Ban¬ 
tam, is a universal family favorite, this will be the easiest way — 
provided the gardener can be depended upon not to forget his 
planting dates. Where space is limited, too, it gives one the 
opportunity of planting his weekly row or two of corn where a 
previous crop has been cleared off, or between rows of stuff that 
will soon be gone by, and can be cleared away by the time the corn 
needs the room. Where space is not so restricted, and variety is 
appreciated, the second method will probably prove the easiest to 
follow. 
The matter of variety, as affecting quality—as well as obtaining 
a continuous supply—is very important; more so than with most 
of the garden vegetables. But, before discussing varieties, let us 
take just a glance at the different types to be found, for, after all, 
they offer more definite distinctions than “varieties” that are, to 
say the least, dependent to some extent upon the claims of rival 
seedsmen, as well as upon distinctions of merit. 
I he several varieties of Early Adams are not true sweet corns 
at all. Their sole merit lies in their extreme hardiness, enabling 
extra early planting. The gardener who appreciates quality will 
omit them altogether, realizing that something much better may be 
had but a few days, if any, later. The second class may be termed 
the Extra Early true sweet corns, such as the several varieties of 
Cory and similar sorts. These are of fair table quality, but not 
nearly so good as the larger later varieties. You may have noticed 
upon opening a couple of packages of seed corn that there was a 
great difference in appearance, the kernels of one sort being 
smoother and very hard and flinty, while those of the other sort 
looked so shriveled and dried up that you doubted their being fit 
to plant. The smooth “flint” seed is a characteristic of the hardy, 
early sorts; when you find seed of a variety like that, you can plant 
it comparatively early, but plant only enough of it to last you until 
the better sorts may be had—a week or ten days, perhaps. Then 
come the medium and late white sorts, of which Crosby’s and 
StowelFs Evergreen are types. All these are the regular straight- 
rowed white sweet corn. Of course, “quality” is to some extent 
a question of personal taste. For what I consider the top-notch 
of quality in table corn I look still farther. There are two other 
types. The “Shoe-peg,” in which the kernels are white, but 
wedged in irregularly as thick as they will go, and tapering in 
shape, with plump, round ends; and the colored sorts with ears of 
yellow, black or purplish grains. The latter have had a hard time 
winning their way to the distinction they deserve, on account of 
the universal prejudice against their color, especially the yellow 
sorts, which, until they become known, are generally mistaken for 
field corn ; or, by those who think themselves wise in horticultural 
matters, for good-intentioned sweet corn which, through too close 
(Continued on page 316) 
(281) 
