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Corn

Categories: FARM CROPS

When the white man came to this country he found the Indians using corn;

for this reason, in addition to its name _maize_, it is called _Indian

corn_. Before that time the civilized world did not know that there was

such a crop. The increase in the yield and the extension of the acres

planted in this strictly American crop have kept pace with the rapid

and wonderful growth of our country. Corn is king of the cereals and the
<
r /> most important crop of American agriculture. It grows in almost every

section of America. There is hardly any limit to the uses to which its

grain and its stalks are now put. Animals of many kinds are fed on

rations into which it enters. Its grains in some form furnish food to

more people than does any other crop except possibly rice. Its stalk and

its cob are manufactured into many different and useful articles.



A soil rich in either decaying animal or vegetable matter, loose, warm,

and moist but not wet, will produce a better crop of corn than any

other. Corn soil should always be well tilled and cultivated.



The proper time to begin the cultivation of corn is before it is

planted. Plow well. A shallow, worn-out soil should not be used for

corn, but for cowpeas or rye. After thorough plowing, the harrow--either

the disk or spring-tooth--should be used to destroy all clods and leave

the surface mellow and fine. The best results will be obtained by

turning under a clover sod that has been manured from the savings of the

barnyard.



When manure is not available, commercial fertilizers will often prove

profitable on poor lands. Careful trials will best determine how much

fertilizer to an acre is necessary, and what kinds are to be used. A

little study and experimenting on the farmer's part will soon enable him

to find out both the kind and the amount of fertilizer that is best

suited to his land.



The seed for this crop should be selected according to the plan

suggested in Section XIX.






The most economical method of planting is by means of the horse planter,

which, according to its adjustment, plants regularly in hills or in

drills. A few days after planting, the cornfield should be harrowed with

a fine-tooth harrow to loosen the top soil and to kill the grass and the

weed seeds that are germinating at the surface. When the corn plants

are from a half inch to an inch high, the harrow may again be used. A

little work before the weeds sprout will save many days of labor during

the rest of the season, and increase the yield.






Corn is a crop that needs constant cultivation, and during the growing

season the soil should be stirred at least four times. This cultivation

is for three reasons:



1. To destroy weeds that would take plant food and water.



2. To provide a mulch of dry soil so as to prevent the evaporation of

moisture. The action of this mulch has already been explained.



3. Because "tillage is manure." Constant stirring of the soil allows the

air to circulate in it, provides a more effective mulch, and helps to

change unavailable plant food into the form that plants use.



Deep culture of corn is not advisable. The roots in their early stages

of growth are shallow feeders and spread widely only a few inches below

the surface. The cultivation that destroys or disturbs the roots injures

the plants and lessens the yield. We cultivate because of the three

reasons given above, and not to stir the soil about the roots or to

loosen it there.






In many parts of the country the cornstalks are left standing in the

fields or are burned. This is a great mistake, for the stalks are worth

a good deal for feeding horses, cattle, and sheep. These stalks may

always be saved by the use of the husker and shredder. Corn after being

matured and cut can be put in shocks and left thus until dry enough to

run through the husker and shredder. This machine separates the corn

from the stalk and husks it. At the same time it shreds tops, leaves,

and butts into a food that is both nutritious and palatable to stock.

For the amount that animals will eat, almost as much feeding value is

obtained from corn stover treated in this way as from timothy hay. The

practice of not using the stalks is wasteful and is fast being

abandoned. The only reason that so much good food is being left to decay

in the field is because so many people have not fully learned the

feeding value of the stover.





=EXERCISE=



To show the effect of cultivation on the yield of corn, let the

pupils lay off five plats in some convenient field. Each plat need

consist of only two rows about twenty feet long. Treat each plat as

follows:



Plat 1. No cultivation: let weeds grow.



Plat 2. Mulch with straw.



Plat 3. Shallow cultivation: not deeper than two inches and at

least five times during the growing season.



Plat 4. Deep cultivation: at least four inches deep, so as to

injure and tear out some of the roots (this is a common method).



Plat 5. Root-pruning: ten inches from the stalk and six inches

deep, prune the roots with a long knife. Cultivate five times

during the season.



Observe plats during the summer, and at husking-time note results.



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