CORN BOOK for YOUNG FOLK WILLIAMS AND HILL Class _SBjli- Book I_M^ W(n Copviiglit N",-. - CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK BY CHARLES BURGESS WILLIAMS h DEAN OF AGRICULTURE, NORTH CAROLINA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND ENGINEERING AND DANIEL HARVEY HILL EX-PRESIDENT NORTH CAROLINA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND ENGINEERING GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY CHARLES BURGESS WILLIAMS AND DANIEL HARVEY HILL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 220. TCfte gtftengum greg< GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. MAR 17 1^21 PREFACE If a young farmer can be led to acquire skill in growing one crop, he will unquestionably apply the principles that brought success in the one crop to all his other crops. The authors of this book, there- fore, think it best not to confuse the mind of a beginner by a discussion of all the standard crops, but rather to teach the general principles of crop growing through their application to a specific crop. The fundamental principles, like seed selection, the preparation of a seed bed, tillage, rotation of crops, and control of moisture, are practically the same for all crops. The unessential differences, like methods of planting or harvesting, are easily acquired. Corn was selected because it is almost universally grown in our country. One of the serious obstacles to the classroom study of a standard crop is that timely illustrative material cannot usually be secured. The teaching of the lesson cannot be made to correspond to the seeding, cultivation, or growth of the crop. The necessities of the school often require the class to be studying the root system of a plant when the snow is on the ground or its flowers when the plant itself is being harvested. To obviate this difficulty iv CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK the authors have centered much of the teaching around carefully selected photographs which with absolute timeliness illustrate almost as clearly as natural objects do. Hearty thanks for illustrations are accorded to the following: Bureau of Crop Estimates, Office of Corn Investigations, Office of Farm Management, and Office of Acclimatization and Adaptation of Crop Plants of the United States Department of Agriculture ; to the Kansas and North Carolina State Departments of Agriculture; to the North Carolina Hall of History; to the Experiment Sta- tions of Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia; to the Agricultural Gazelle of New Soulh Wales, Farm Business, and Ohio Farmer) to the American Seed- ing Machine Company, S. L. Allen and Company, Deere and Company, Dunham Company, Eureka Mower Company, Ginn and Company, International Harvester Company, Rock Island Railway, Roderick Lean Company, and S. W. Wilkinson and Brother. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Importance of Corn Crop . i II. The Beginning of the Corn Crop .... 9 III. Climate and the Corn Crop 17 IV. Races of Corn 31 V. The Growing Plant 45 VI. Markings of Good Seed Ears 61 VII. Markings of Good Seed Ears (Continued) . . 78 VIII. Place and Manner of selecting Seed ... 93 IX. Storing the Seed 113 X. How TO TEST Seed Corn 121 XL Soil for Corn 140 XII. First Steps in Cultivation 150 XIII. The Second Step in Cultivation 163 XIV. The Third Step in Cultivation — The Seed Bed 175 XV. The Fourth Step in Cultivation — Planting 182 XVI. The Fifth Step in Cultivation — Tending THE Crop 203 XVII. Harvesting the Crop 215 XVIII. Corn Silage 232 XIX. Storing the Ears 239 INDEX 243 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK CHAPTER I IMPORTANCE OF CORN CROP Just as the Rocky Mountains tower over our other ranges, so corn towers in value over our American crops. No other crop occupies so many acres; no other sells for so large a sum. This hardy plant ripens its grains in many climates and makes itself at home in many soils. Few^ crops are treated in such widely different ways. On the best American farms corn is usually given a rich, mellow seed bed. It is cultivated by excellent machines, gathered by a costly harvester, and ground by a well-equipped mill. In parts of Africa the seeds are still dropped into holes made by a sharpened stick. The plant is still cultivated by wooden plows, the ears carried to the storehouse in baskets, and the grain beaten into food with a stone. The amount of corn grown in the United States is enormous. To state that our country grows yearly over 3,000,000,000 bushels of corn gives no clear CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK idea of the greatness of the amount. Our minds cannot without aid form a picture of so many bushels. But suppose our nation should undertake to haul these bushels in two-horse wagons. If the drivers put 40 bushels in each wagon, the train of wagons would stretch out in an unbroken line for 426,000 miles. One hundred and fifty million horses w^ould be needed to draw^ the wagons. This is about seven and a half times as many horses and mules as we have in the United States. Suppose that each team could be given wings and could fly through the 240,000 miles between the earth and the moon. When the last wagon of the long train left the earth, the first wagon would be three fourths of the way back to the starting point. If these wagons were piled one on the other, the}^ would make a tower over 71,000 miles in height. Fig. I. Our Greatest Cereal IMPORTANCE OF CORN CROP 3 Big as this crop is, however, modern thrift pro- vides ways to use not only these milHons of bushels of grain, but also every part of the stalk which bears the grain. Of course the greatest use of corn is to feed man and his domestic animals. Everyone is familiar with the many forms in which ground corn is served on our tables. Nearly every- one has occasion to see how greedily animals eat both grain and stalk. Many do not know, however, that corn is widely used in the arts. At present 50,000,000 bushels of corn are manufactured into starch, sirups, and sugar every year. The United States sends annually to foreign countries 83,000,000 bushels of corn. With the rapid growth in the use of starch and of corn sirups and sugars our country will probably soon consume as much corn in making these products as it sells to outside countries. A study of Fig. 20 will help us to remember some of the more recent uses of the corn kernel. The germ is found at the bottom of the kernel. The cen- tral portion of the kernel is called by the long name "endosperm." The outside of the kernel is, as you all know, called the hull. Corn oil and oil cake are made from the germ. Corn oil is used in making soap, soap powders, oilcloth, paints, varnishes, and a kind of rubber for overshoes, automobile tires, and other kindred products. When the oil is purified it is used in place of lard in bread, cakes, salads, and liniments. The oil cake is a stock food. 4 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG POLK From the endosperm immense quantities of starch are made. Starch and two of its products — corn sirup and dextrin — are used in so many ways that even to name them would be tiresome. They enter into such foods as jelHes, sauces, puddings, pie filhngs, candies, mincemeats, preserves, and canned meats. They go into pastes, gums, mucilages, inks, black- ing, shoe polish, and hair tonics. They are useful in tanning leather, thi'ckening colors for calico, filling cloth, and in paper manufacture. They find a place in the making of mirrors, tires, chewing-tobacco, face powders, laundry supplies, and vinegars. Corn husks are made into hats, doormats, and a fine quality of bank-note paper; they also furnish pack- ing for horse collars, furniture, and coarse mat- tresses. Paper is made from the blades and stalks. The cobs go to market in the shape of corncob pipes. Even the pith is seized by careful fingers and made into box-board, guncotton, and a packing for armored ships that may be pierced by shells. To aid in seeing how important this widely used plant is to the American farmer, let us study a map prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture. What do you find stated in the right corner of the map to be the total yield of corn in the United States? Taking the population of our country as one hundred and ten million people, how many bushels would come to each man, woman, and child 6 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK if the entire crop were divicled among them ? The average price of corn in America for the year in which this map was made was about ^1.28 a bushel. Take the figures showing the total yield and see what was the money value of the crop for that year. If you should divide this crop among the Fig. 3. Sherman Hall and his Yield of 107.33 Bushels twenty-five million school children in America, how much money would you receive ? What do you learn from the dark circles within the state bounds ? Which state has the largest circle ? How does this large state circle compare with the circle in your state? In 1915 the United States produced about three fourths of the world's supply of corn. Name from the map the ten states that grew most of this IMPORTANCE OF CORN CROP 7 corn. Would anyone be right in calling these states the Corn Belt ? Can you find out whether some of these states are also in the Cotton Belt ? As you perhaps know, corn grows best in sec- tions that have comparatively warm, moist, fertile soils and that also have comparatively long growing- seasons. Will these facts or any one of them ex- plain why there are no large circles in the New England States? Is it for the same reasons that the map shows no large circles in the states west of Kansas and Nebraska? The average yield of corn in the United States is about twenty-six bushels to the acre. In many states the boys taught in the corn clubs have doubled this yield. Suppose we could by following the methods taught in this book double the total yield of the United States, how much would this add to the wealth of our country? How much would it add to the value of your corn crop? Would doubling the yield double the cost of growing the crop? In answering this question, think about these other questions: Would there be any added cost for rent? Would the labor cost any more? Would the ferti- lizer be more costly? Would it take more seed? Would more tools be needed? Would the crop be harder to harvest? Should you not, then, as a wise young grower be willing to study constantly and carefully these methods, and use them on your own farm? 8 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Name some articles in your home in which corn products are used. 2. Remembering that the United States raises three fourths of all the corn grown in the world, draw a circle to show the size of the world crop. 3. Soak a grain of corn in water, then split it and see whether you can separate the germ, the endosperm, and the hull. Note the difference in color between the germ and the endosperm. Does the oil in the germ cause this difference in color ? 4. Allowing forty bushels to the wagon, how many wagons would it take to haul at one time the total crop of your state ? How many horses would be needed to draw these wagons ? H a horse is nine feet long, how long would the line of horses be ? 5. Measure your home crib or any other crib and, allowing two and one-half cubic feet of corn in the ear to one bushel of shelled corn, see how many bushels the crib will hold. CHAPTER II THE BEGINNING OF THE CORN CROP Most of our greatest crops were grown in the older countries centuries before America was discovered. Wheat and oats seem to have had their first homes in central Asia. Sugar cane was brought from India. Cotton, although it is now so largely an American crop, was, like sugar cane, perhaps first grown in India. As Americans, however, we are proud that corn, our greatest crop, is a native of our own country. It was unknown to the Old World before Columbus made his remarkable trip. Perhaps some pupil is ready to ask: '' Is that not a mistake ? We read in the first book in the Bible, 'And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea,' and of course the Bible was written iong before the time of Columbus." In early writings, however, the name " corn" is usually given to the greatest grain crop. When this word, then, is used in the Bible, wheat, not Indian corn, is meant. All the explorers of America were struck by the beautiful new grain plant found on our shores. Co- lumbus writes King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, " On one of the islands I found fields eighteen miles long growing in maize (corn)." Cartier was one of 9 lO CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK the first to sail into the cold waters of Canada. He says that he found a great town (now known as Montreal) situated in a cornfield. John Smith, hero of the colony of Jamestown, calls attention to the useful- ness of Indian corn. The Pu- ritans mention corn in New England and say that the Indians used fish as a ferti- lizer for corn. Early visitors to America ex- pected to find many wonders like fountains of youth and caves of jewels. Although they did not find the expected wonders, they told some things almost as surprising. One of these writers says of corn: Heer [here] of one graine of maize a reed doth spring. That thrice a year five hundred graines doth bring. Fig. 4. First Picture of Indian Corn (After John White) THE BEGINNING OF THE CORN CROP II In 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh attempted the first English settlement in America. This colony started cabin homes on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Among the daring men who came with this col- ony were Thomas Hariot, a writer, and John White, Fig. 5. Indian cooking Corn. (After John White) an artist. Hariot wrote, in what now seems to us queer spelling, the first article ever written about Indian corn. He thus describes the new plant: Pagatour, a kind of graine so called by the Indians; the same in the West Indies is called Mayse ; Englishmen called it Guinney Wheate or Turkey Wheate according to the names of the countreys from whence the like hath 12 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK beene brought. The graine is about the size of an ordinary EngHsh peaze, not much different in forme and shape, but of divers colors : some white, some red, some yellow, and some blew. All of them yeelde a very white sweete flower ; being used according to his kinde it maketh a very goode bread. . . . It is a grain of marvellous greate increase ; of a thousand, fifteene hundred and some two thousand fold. There are three sortes of which two are ripe in eleven or twelve weeks at the most ; sometimes in ten after they set, and are then in height of stalke about six or seven foote. The other sorte is ripe in fourteene, and is almost ten foote high ; of the stalks some beare four heads, some three, some one and two ; every head containeth five, sixe or seven hundred graines within a fewe more or less. Of these graines besides breade the Indians made victauU either by parching them or seetheing them whole until they be broken, or by boyling the floure with watter into a pappe. Our corn-club boys will even now find it hard to equal the yield of corn as given by Hariot. He says, "An English Acre doth there yield in croppe of corn, beanes and peaze at the least two hundred London bushells." Not only did this colony furnish the first histor- ical account of our great crop but also the earliest drawings of the natives. John White, the artist, drew many striking pictures to show how the Indians looked and how they lived. Among these drawings were two showing the ways in which the Indians cooked their corn. One of these Is copied In this THE BEGINNING OF THE CORN CROP 13 book; these drawings were the first Indian-corn pictures ever looked on by Enghsh eyes. If it had not been for corn, America could prob- ably not have been settled when it was. You re- member what a trying time the early settlers had. They were three thousand miles from supplies. Their ships took three months to cross the ocean. Some- times ships trying to reach them with food and clothes were driven back by storms. Often for weeks and months " they cast longing eyes to the east " to see whether help were coming. In this " starving time," as it was afterwards called, the poor sufferers lived largely on food made from corn. Their Indian neighbors taught the men how to grow the crop. The squaws showed the women how to crush the grain in wooden or stone mortars and how to make dif- ferent palatable dishes from the grains. In the absence of grass crops the animals of the settlers were largely supported by the corn plant. Three years after Jamestown was founded the colonists were cultivating thirty acres in corn. One of the Fig. 6. Indian Mortar for CRUSHING Corn 14 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Pilgrim writers of New England tells how they fertilized their fields of corn with fish. He says: According to the manner of the Indians we manured our ground with herring, or rather shad, which we have in great Fig. 7. Indian Stone Mortar for crushing Corn abundance, and take with ease at our doors. You may see in one township a hundred acres together set with these fish, every acre taking a thousand of them, and an acre thus dressed will produce and yield as much corn as three acres without fish. As the number of people in America grew larger the growing of corn increased rapidly. At an early THE BEGINNING OF THE CORN CROP 15 date barrels of corn began to go in large quantities to the Old World. The countries around the Medi- terranean Sea were suited to the new grain crop, and it gradually spread over large sections of Europe, Fig. 8. Indians clearing Land by Fire for Corn (After John White) Asia, and Africa. The Portuguese were great sea- goers in that day, and they took corn into their colonies. POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Try to find from your histories what crops, besides corn, America gave to the world, 2. Our modern fertilizers are bought to supply three plant foods. Which of these does for our corn what the fish did for the Indian's corn ? Do we now use fish in any form as a fertilizer ? 1 6 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK What does the fact that the Indians had to use fish show about their lands ? Does your land suffer from the same lack ? 3. Study the picture (Fig. 8) to see how Indians cleared their lands of trees. Would this slow and troublesome way of getting rid of trees explain the need of fish ? 4. The Indians used one thousand herring to the acre. If each herring weighed half a pound and contained 8 per cent of nitro- gen, how much nitrogen did the Indians use to the acre? How does this compare with what our farmers use ? 5. From a comparison of the pictures in this chapter write a paragraph on " The Indian Way of growing and cooking Corn." 6. What per cent of your own farm is planted in corn } CHAPTER III CLIMATE AND THE -CORN CROP Each plant has, of course, a home where it first grew. If a plant is valuable for its body, its fruit, its flower, or any other part, man will sooner or later take it into every country in which it will grow. The more valuable the plant, the wider it will be scattered. Students of the corn plant think that its first home was in warm table-lands high above the sea level, — perhaps as high as four or five thousand feet. There it proved so hardy and useful that men who are always hunting new foods learned its value and wanted to plant it wherever they settled. Hence, in the course of time, it became, as we have seen, one of the most widely grown of farm crops. In spite of its wide growth corn is still very sen- sitive to climatic conditions and refuses to yield its highly prized grains except in climates like that from which it came or to which it has adapted itself. Suppose you wanted to buy a farm on which to grow corn. Would it not be well to know in which climates to buy? First, is it necessary for corn to have the same height above the sea level as it had in its first home ? If corn will grow on lands lower 17 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK or higher than 4000 feet, will this not prove that the same height is not needed? In India it fruits at a height of 7000 feet above the sea, in Peru at 8000 feet, and in Mexico at 10,000 feet. At the same time it makes a good crop in North Carolina at sea level. Would you, therefore, in choosing a farm have to think much about height ? Could you safely buy anywhere in Ohio, in Tennessee, in Kan- sas, or in Vermont? In selecting your farm you will, so far as height goes, have to keep in mind one other fact. In the Middle States corn that will ripen in one hundred days at a height of 1000 feet will need one hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty days at a height of 2000 feet. If you want to grow early corn, would you buy at a height Fig. 9. Corn grown in Highlands OF Montana CLIMATE AND THE CORN CROP 19 above 1000 feet? Do not forget that great height means cool nights, and such nights require a longer growing-season. The different kinds of corn take from ninety to about one hundred and eighty days to ripen. If you bought a highland farm, would you have to plant slow or rapid ripening kinds? Fig. 10. Iowa Field with Abundant Moisture Corn, Hke all bulky crops, must have abundant moisture. It takes from eighteen to twenty tons of water to make one bushel of corn. Fig. 10 shows an Iowa cornfield, and Fig. 1 1 a Georgia cornfield. Let us see how much moisture is needed to make good crops such as are shown in these pictures. The average rainfall during May, June, July, and August, in Iowa, through a period of eighteen years, was four 20 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK and one-half inches. In -Georgia it was four and seven-tenths inches. Both of these fields received, whether or not the average amount fell on them, enough water to meet their needs. Now glance at Fig. 1 2. This picture shows the size of corn grown in a section of Arizona. The average rainfall where this Fig. II. Georgia Field where Moisture was Ample corn was grown was, for the same months, only about nine tenths of an inch. Do you wonder at its small size? In buying a corn farm would you not ask about the average rainfall during the growing- season ? Would you buy even a farm at a low price if the average monthly rain in summer was below four inches ? If you wanted to buy in Arizona, would you not buy close to an irrigation ditch ? CLIMATE AND THE CORN CROP 21 Even in the Corn Belt there is a close connection between the amount of rainfall and the yield of corn. In 1 89 1 the average rainfall in Iowa (one of the largest corn-growing states) for the four growing- months was 4.3 inches. The state averaged for that year thirty-eight bushels of corn to the acre. In Fig. 12. Corn in Dry Lands of Arizona 1894, a very dry year, the average rainfall in the same state for the same months was only 1.7 inches, and the average yield to the acre was only fourteen bushels. For lack of the usual rain the yield fell off nearly three fourths. If this happened in a good corn state like Iowa, could you risk buying a farm in any section where the annual rainfall was low? Not only must corn have enough rain but it does best in climates where the rainfall during the period 22 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK of its growth is fairly well distributed. An ideal season is one in which three or four inches of rain fall during both May and June, and a little more in July and August when the plants are tasseling and silking and the grains are filling. Let us take another illustration from Iowa. In 1900 that state averaged forty-three bushels to an acre. This was the largest average yield in eighteen years. It will be in- teresting to note how the rain was distributed during the four growing- months of that year. In May, 3.3 inches fell;injune,4inches; in July, 6.2 inches; in August, 4.7 inches. Now compare this with the very next year's yield. In 1 90 1 the average for the same state was only twenty-six bushels. How was the rainfall distributed in this year? In May the rainfall was 2.3 inches; in June, 3.7 inches; in July, 2.3 inches; in August, 1.3 inches. You will notice that in this year the rainfall Fig. .13. Navajo Corn in Dry Lands OF New Mexico CLIMATE AND THE CORN CROP 23 for the two months most important in the growth of the crop was far smaller than in the other year. On the other hand, during tasseling and silking time, heavy rains (especially heavy, blowing rains), are very harmful to the crop. Such rains at this time not only wash the pollen away, so that it does not fall on the silks, but they prevent a proper growth of the roots. Therefore, in buying a corn farm should you not take time to study not only the average rainfall during the growing-season but also how this rainfall is distributed ? Perhaps some of you have read that corn is grown in South Africa and that the rainfall there in our summer months is comparatively small. You are, therefore, ready to ask how corn can be grown in that country. Turn to your geographies and you will find that the months for growing corn there are December, January, and February. In these months there is enough rain to grow the crop. Now will you not turn to the graphic map on page 5 and let us think over another climatic effect. Notice on the map that beginning in the south and going north the circles grow larger until a line north of Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois is reached. Then the dark circles again grow smaller. These circles, of course, show that the corn crop is largely raised in seven states ; namely, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio. The average summer temperature of these states is 24 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK between seventy and eighty degrees ; they also have in summer comparatively few cloudy days. Would not these facts lead you to think that it would be well for you to buy your farm in a climate hav- ing about this same amount of heat and sunshine? Fig. 14. Thriving Corn in the South But suppose for family or other reasons you w^nt to buy a corn farm south or north of the Corn Belt. You will then wish an answer to these questions: Could the states lying south of the Corn Belt become great corn-growers ? Could the states lying north of this belt be made to yield heavy crops of corn ? 26 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK In the South there is 'no reason why the corn yield on any well-tilled farm should not be large. In fact, the largest number of bushels produced so far on a single acre of an American farm was produced in South Carolina. Many heavy yields have been made in all the Southern states. Why, then, if such yields can be made below the Corn Belt, is not more corn grown in that section? There are two main reasons: First, in the Corn Belt few crops can be grown year in and year out that pay so handsomely as corn. This is not true in the South ; while corn grows admirably, other crops like cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, peanuts, soy beans, and sweet potatoes bring the farmer, as a rule, more money than corn does. Moreover, having a climate suited to so many crops, the Southern farmer natu- rally wishes to grow a variety of crops so that if one fails or is low in price another may supply his needs. Hence, instead of planting their lands mainly to corn as the farmers in the Corn Belt do, the planters in these Southern states grow many kinds of crops. The second reason is this : owing to long summers the humus in Southern soils is used up during the year more rapidly than is the humus in the soils of the Corn Belt. If a plentiful supply of humus is kept in Southern soils, you need not fear to buy a corn farm anywhere from Virginia to Texas. Now to answer the second question, namely, Could the states north of the Corn Belt be made to yield CLIMATE AND THE CORN CROP 27 heavy crops of corn regularly? In these states there is some of the richest land in the world. The rain- fall is plenteous and the height above the sea level is not too great. But, for all these climatic blessings, these states can never become huge grow- ers of corn. Why not? The growing-season is too short. You will under- stand this better if you compare the growing-season of a state in the Corn Belt with that of a state north of it. Let us count the growing- season as the time between the average date of planting and the average date of harvesting. In Illi- nois, the largest corn- producing state at present, there are one hundred and sixty-nine growing-days. In Texas, of the Southern Belt, there are two hundred and seven growing-days. Now selecting North Dakota or Maine, of the Northern Belt, we find that both of these states have only one hundred and seventeen Fig. 16. This Montana Corn had ONLY One Hundred and Seven- teen Growing-Days 28 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK growing-days. In other words, the growing-seasons in North Dakota and in Maine are fifty-two days shorter than the growing-season of IlHnois and ninety days shorter than the ripening-time of Texas. Now the most productive kinds of field corn take Fig. 17. Field where Conditions were Favorable about one hundred days to ripen. You see, then, that in IlHnois the crop has sixty-nine days in which to make itself safe from early frost or cold, while in North Dakota or Maine it has only seventeen days. Hence, in all these colder states the corn crop is necessarily a more or less uncertain one. In the Corn Belt there are almost no late spring frosts or early fall frosts. CLIMATE AND THE CORN CROP 29 Now you know how corn is injured by a very little cold. Indeed, the length of its growing-season is, as has been said, " measured by the last spring frost and the first one of autumn." One light frost in the fall at once stops its growth. No state, then, that does not have at least five months of freedom from frost can ever become a really great corn state. With your heart set on growing corn, would you dare select a farm in these colder states ? Taking all these climatic facts into consideration in your choice of a farm, are you not ready to say, " I will, other things being equal, most safely buy my farm in a section with these climatic features: first, where the height above the sea level is not too great ; second, where the rainfall averages at least four inches each month of the growing-season; third, where the rain in the growing-season is fairly distributed ; fourth, where there is an abundant amount of sunshine and not too many cloudy days ; fifth, where there are at least one hundred and fifty days of warmth and freedom from frost." POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. If a field of corn yielded one hundred bushels, how many tons of water did the plants need to make this yield ? 2. Explain what climatic reasons keep the states on the Pacific slope from being great corn states. 3. Why would a field of corn in Minnesota be expected to finish its growth in a shorter time than a field in Louisiana ? 30 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK 4. In case a friend told you that his prize acre of corn received only two inches of rain in July ^,nd one and one-half inches in August, would you think that his acre was likely to win the prize ? 6. Explain why the Southern states are not heavier growers of corn. Do the same reasons keep the extreme Northern states from raising corn in large quantities? CHAPTER IV •9 99P^ RACES OF CORN The human family — aHke in so many ways — is divided into races; namely, white, yellow, red, brown, and black. This division is, of course, made from the color of the five races. So, in like manner, corn plants are divided into races, but the division is not on account of color. Let us learn to divide corn into races. To do this we shall have to study a kernel closely and learn some new names. The kernels of each race differ. In Fig. i8 we see the front and back of a kernel from each of the principal races. Do you notice the sink in the first kernel of each pair.? Is there such a sink in the back of the kernels? Did you ever think what this sink is for.? The young plant which is to grow from each of these grains is cuddled in this sink. 31 Fig. 18. Front and Back of Kernels OF Different Races Top row (left to right) : flint, soft, pop. Bot- tom row (left to right) : sweet, dent, pod 32 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK /Endosperm-^, Tip Cap If you soak one of these kernels and then spht it with a sharp knife, you will see, if your eyes are sharp, what is shown in Fig. 19. In the middle of the kernel the young plant called the germ, chit, or em- bryo is shown. This germ, or embryo, reaches from A to B, Do you notice that the germ has a root (C) and a shoot, or stem (D)? Just below the Fig. 19. A Split g^rm you see the tip cap marked. Kernel This fastens the kernel to the cob and protects the lower end of the germ. Its wedge shape enables it to sink into the cob and hold the kernel in place. All around the germ, as shown in Fig. 20, are the starchy parts of the kernel. The starch on each side of the germ is harder and darker than the starch at the top of the kernel. Hence it is called the horny starch, while the whiter and softer starch at the top is known as crown starch. The young plant feeds on these starchy parts of the kernel until it is strong enough to draw its food from the soil. Both the young germ Germ Stan Gci-m Root Tip Starch Fig. 20. How Starch is dis- tributed IN THE Kernel RACES OF CORN 33 and its starchy food are very tender. To protect them nature has sealed them in a thin wafer-like layer, which goes entirely around the kernel. This covering just inside the hull is called the horny gluten. All the starchy parts, both horny and white, which are shut in between the horny gluten and the germ, or embryo, are called by the long name " endosperm." You will need to remember this long word, which means just the part around the seed or germ of every race or variety of corn. ^^ ^ A. Dent B. Flint C. Pop D. Sweet Fig. 21. Endosperm of Four Principal Races Now the endosperms of corns differ somewhat. Corns that have endosperms alike are put into one race, just as men who are colored alike are put into one race. Hence, to tell to what race a corn plant belongs we shall have to examine the endosperm of the kernel. According 'to the likeness of their endosperms corns are divided into the following races: dent, flint, pop, sweet, soft, and pod. Dent corn. By comparing the split kernels in Fig. 21 we shall see how the endosperms differ, and hence learn how the different races are classified. Find the hard or horny starch in kernel A. Is it in the sides of the embryo, or germ, 34 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK or is it in the top, or crown, of the kernel ? What fills the entire top of the kernel ? One whole race of corn has its Courtesy of American Agricultural Chemical Company Fig. 22. Dent Corn showixg All Parts of Ear starchy parts, or its endosperm, arranged in this way. Do not forget that these starches, both horny and soft (or crown), are held between the harder back and front of the kernel just as butter is held between two hard crackers. Now as RACES OF CORN 35 the kernel hardens in ripening, it loses moisture and shrinks. The softer starchy parts between the flat front and back of Courtesy of American Agfricultural Chemical Company Fig. 23. Flint Corn showing All Parts of Ear the kernel shrink more than the harder front and back. This inside shrinking leaves a slight trough, or dent, at 36 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK the top of the kernel between the front and the back. This dent occurs only at the top because nearly all the soft starch that shrinks most is at the top. All kinds of corns that act in this way are called dent corns. There are over three hundred and twenty kinds of dent corn. Among these you will find such favorites as Leaming's Yellow, Riley's Favorite, Boone County White, Iowa Silver Mine, Reid's Yellow Dent, Hildreth's Yellow, Cocke's Prolific, Mosby's Prolific, Horsetooth, Sanders's Improved, Hickory King, Southern Beauty, and Weekley's Improved. These kinds differ in the color of the grain, in the size of stalk and ear, in the number of ears to the stalk, and in other ways ; but they all have the endosperm alike. Flint corn. This race is next to dent corn in value. Examine the figure (p. 33) showing the endosperm of the flint kernel. Where do you find the horny starch } Does it not fill the top as well as the sides of the kernel 1 Does this not make the endosperm different from that of the dent } As the flint kernel ripens could it shrink at the top as the dent does } Since the horny starch is harder than the soft starch at the top of the dent, will this not cause the top of the kernel to be harder or more flintlike than the dent ? Does this fact show how this corn gets its name ? As is the case with dent corn, there are a great many dif- ferent kinds of flint corn. Among the kinds, or types, that are liked by farmers who grow flint corn are the following : King Philip, Longfellow, White Sanford, Smut Nose, Bloody Butcher, Gold Nugget, Squaw, Eight-Row, Twelve-Row, and Angel of Midnight. Siveet corn. Let us turn again to Fig. 21. In the drawing of the sweet-corn kernel look carefully for any hard or horny starch which would be shown, as in the dent and flint kernels, RACES OF CORN 37 by darkened areas. Does this not show that sweet corn has no hard or horny starch in its endosperm as the dents and flints have ? In all the sweet corns the starch of the endo- sperm has been largely changed to sugar ; hence the kernel shrinks evenly as it ripens. This gives to each kernel the wrinkled or shriveled look that marks this kind of corn. All sweet corn has a wax- like appearance. The generous amount of sugar makes it a favorite table corn. There are at least fifty different kinds or varieties of sweet corn. Among the most widely grown are the following : Country Gentleman, Stowell's Evergreen, White Cory, Marble- head, Golden Ban- tam, Early Landreth, Crosby's Early, Squantum, Stabler Early, Chicago Market, Black Mexican, and Ne Plus Ultra. Pop corn. This is the dwarf among the regular corns. It is small in stalk, kernel, germ, and ear. In looking at the pop-corn kernel in Fig. 21, do you see much soft starch in the endosperm } The dark shading tells you, does it not, that almost the whole endosperm is made up of flinty, or hard, Fig. 24. Sweet Corn 38 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK starch ? In the hardness of the endosperm is found the reason why this is the only kind of corn that '' pops " when it is heated. The flint kernel is harder than the dent kernel but not so hard as the pop-corn kernel. If a flint kernel is heated it will not burst and turn inside out as the pop corn does ; it will only crack. What makes the difference .? The popping is per- haps due to the fact that water boils at 212° F. If a weight is put on the vessel holding the water, the water will not boil until a much higher degree of heat is reached. Should you take the pres- sure off the water after the heat has passed con- siderably beyond 212° F., the water will flash into steam and expand vio- lently. This is what hap- pens in popping corn. Moisture is shut up in the kernel and held in by the hard endosperm. When you heat the kernel in your popper its hard endosperm acts just like the weight on the water. By and by, as the heat increases, the moisture is changed into steam, violently bursts the kernel, and turns the starch inside out. It becomes about twenty times its natural size when it is popped. A pint and a half of kernels will make almost a half bushel of popped corn. m % ^m p 'til i^BSft ^ i|l|i ■- ^H i«S: » ■• |i¥ffjj .■•.^. ^^fW ■ m ifp ^si |f|^ ^Titifl ^^^■Z^-^-'i B#a^^ ■ -ifiSi^iWE- xX^i^ 1 \^ 1 Ip l^ffi iffi i 1 1^^;^ J% w^^S ■t - . - ■ 1B«»I ||^flb^g^P|r ' H ^{ ^^^ tf|4|^S^ ' ^^u^^ 1 ^^ ^ir Fig. 25. Pop Corn (Rice and Pearl) RACES OF CORN 39 Pop corn is divided into two kinds : namely, the pearl and the rice. Of these the rice is the more important. In the rice variety the ears taper rapidly to the tip and the kernels are sharp at the crown. The best varieties of the rice kind are White Rice, Snow- ball, Old Homestead, and Monarch. The pearl varieties do not taper so much, and the kernels are round at the top. Among the pearl kind, White Pearl, Queen Golden, and Eight-Rowed are favorites. There are two other races of corn, known as the pod and the soft. As these two kinds have little market value, however, we shall pass them by. From a study of the split kernels we have found how the races of corn are grouped. Let us now examine the en- tire kernels and also the ears, so that we may know the races by sight. In Fig. i8 you are given a front and a back view of a kernel from each race. See how keenly you can point out differences be- tween these kernels. Which race has the largest Fig. 26. Pod Corn 40 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK kernel ? Which the smallest ? Which has the most wedge-shaped kernel ? Which the most wrinkled ? Which seems to have the largest germ ? Which is most nearly round? Which can stick in the cob best? Try to get kernels of each of the four most Fig. 27. Ears of Different Races grouped for Comparison useful races and examine them until you know one from the other. Notice also the color of each and the difference in hardness. In the same way compare the ears shown in Fig. 27. Examine the size and the shape of each ear. Which seems to have the most rows ? In which are the rows most nearly straight? Which has the least space between the rows? Which has the widest space? Which has its rows very crooked? Which is most wrinkled? Which would you think RACES OF CORN 4 1 has the largest number of kernels ? If possible, get an ear of each race and do not lay the ears aside until you can easily state to which race each be- longs. Compare the difference in color. Note the smoothness of the flint and the wrinkled look of the sweet. Count the kernels in each row and find out how many kernels there are in each ear. Note whether the number of rows is always an even number. Shell the kernels and note the size of the cobs. Be sure to see whether any of the smaller ears have cobs that look very large for the size of the ear. In addition to knowing these four races by sight are there any other facts about them that you, as a corn-grower, ought to know ? Should you not know which yields the most heavily? Which will suit your soil and climate best? Which will fit in best with your farm needs and with your markets? Nine tenths of the corn grown in America is dent corn. This means, of course, that of all the barrels of corn hauled by our railroads or used in our homes nine barrels out of every ten are filled with dent corn; one barrel only of the ten is flint, sweet, or pop corn. For every barrel of pop corn grown in our country there are raised, roughly speaking, two barrels of sweet, seven barrels of flint, and ninety barrels of dent corn. Would this fact not lead you to think that dent is the most valuable corn for our American growers? CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK What makes dent corn such a favorite? Its stalk and leaf are larger th^n the stalk and leaves of other races, hence it makes more forage. Its ears are larger, hence it makes a large yield. As a result of tests for three years at the Pennsylvania Experi- ment Station it was found that the dent corn nearly doubled the yield of the flint corn. The dent husks do not cling to the ear so closely as the flint husks do, hence thedents are more easily husked. The ker- nels of the dent are softer than those of the flint corn, hence animals can more easily chew the grains. As a rule, however, dent corns need a longer growing-season than the other kinds do. Therefore they will not suit cold climates, where the growing-seasons are short. With all these qualities in its favor, why does not dent corn take the place of flint corn on our farms .^ It is because flint corn is finely suited to cool climates on account of its ripening earlier than dent corn. If you look out of a train window and see large fields of flint corn, you may be sure that you Fig. 28. Highly Bred Dent Ears RACES OF CORN 43 are in a cool climate. This race is very useful for forage, as it produces many suckers and its leaves and stalks are not as woody as those of the dent. The hardness of the flint kernels makes this kind of corn excellent for long sea voyages. It owes this ex- cellence to two qualities : first, after its kernels once dry out, they do not readily take up enough moisture to spoil ; second, the hardness keeps insects from injuring the kernels. There has been a remarkable increase from year to year in the amount of corn canned. This, added to a growing fondness for fresh sweet corn for our tables, has caused a great increase in the planting of sweet corns. Canners use this kind of corn almost entirely because its kernels are so rich in sugar. By carefully selecting suitable seed, sweet corn may be grown in almost any climate in which other corns will grow. As this kind of corn suckers freely, it is valuable for forage. Since the invention of movable machines for pop- ping the kernels of pop corn, and since merchants and street sellers have found a ready sale for the crisp popped kernels, there has been a widening area planted in pop corn. In almost every town the pop-corn wagon with its ovens for heating the kernels is as familiar a sight as fruit stands or cigar stores. Except for its use in this form pop corn has little market value. Hence it is not necessary to consider it in further detail. 44 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Draw in your own way the endosperms of each of the four leading races of corn. 2. After soaking a grain of corn for some hours, split the kernel, and see if you cannot cut out the germ. Make a rough drawing of it as it looks to you. 3. If a pop-corn kernel contained as much hard starch as a dent or flint kernel, would it pop ? Why will it not pop until after it has been gathered for some time ? 4. If you were going to move from Texas to Maine, and had a splendid Texas seed corn, give reasons why you would not trouble to take this seed corn for planting in your new home. 5. Name a few states in which you would expect only flint corn to be grown as a field corn. 6. Explain why flint and pop corn have no dents in their kernels. 7. Explain why sweet corn is wrinkled. CHAPTER V THE GROWING PLANT If you work hard or if you play hard, you need, in order to keep up your strength, food, water, air, and sunshine. The making of seeds and fruit is the work of the plant. In order that the plant may do its work it must have food, water, air, and sunshine. The water, air, and sunshine which the plant uses are just like the water, air, and sunshine which you use. So far, then, you and the plant are alike in your needs. The food of the plant, of course, is not like yours. How does its food differ from the bread and meat and vegetables on which you live ? The plant after its first few days of life lives (i) on water and the plant food which water holds and (2) on the carbon dioxide which it gets from the air. All animals, including mankind, live on plants, for the animals which man eats feed on plants. The more we can get plants to do for us the better we live. Is it not worth while to study the life of plants so that by proper feeding and tending we may get them to do their best for us ? We do not know the plant until we learn how it begins its life, how it feeds during its early and later days, how it 45 46 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK grows, and how it flowers and fruits. We must, in order to get this knowledge of the corn plant, learn what are the duties of the germ, the roots, the stem, the leaves, the tassel, and the silk. The germ, or embryo, from which the new corn shoot springs, is, as we saw in the last chapter, safely housed in the center of the kernel. There it is so thoroughly protected that it can live a long time. Around the germ lies the en- dosperm, which is also carefully sheltered by the horny gluten. So carefully has nature wrapped the germ and the endosperm within the hard walls of the kernel that the germ keeps its power to sprout for from two to four years. It is not safe, however, to plant kernels after they are two years old. When you fill the seed box on your corn-planter with dry, dead-looking seed kernels, you almost wonder whether there is any life in them. However, with a faith born of experience, you plant the kernels. If the ground is in good condition and the season favorable, those dry, dead-looking kernels send up Fig. 29. The Plant starts TO Grow 48 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK living shoots within a few days. What moved the kernels to life ? What did they find in the soil that they did not find in the crib ? Did they not find the four things spoken of at the beginning of this les- son, — air, warmth from the sun, moisture, and food? Fig. 31. The Ditch takes away Excess Water You understand at once how the buried kernels got their air, moisture, and warmth, but do you know how they obtained their food ? As soon as those dry kernels felt the spring air, were wrapped in the spring warmth, and were soaked in spring moisture, their germs swelled into life. At their awakening the germs had no roots with which to feed. Hence, while they were forming roots, the young plants in the germs lived on their endosperms. THE GROWING PLANT 49 By the time the plants had used up the food of the endosperms their roots were ready, if the soil was in good condition, to support the young plant. APPLYING THE LESSON 1. How can you help the soil to get air? Look at the field shown in Fig. 30. It has been deeply plowed, and then harrowed until the soil is open and finely grained. Cannot plenty of air press into such soil ? 2. How can you help the soil to get warmth ? Will not the deep plowing, and the harrowing, and fining of the soil described above open the way for sunshine to flood into the soil ? 3. How can you help the soil to get enough moisture and yet keep it from getting such an amount as to drown the young plant.? In Fig. 3 1 we see one way to help. Do not the ditches like the one shown in the figure carry away water that would keep the ground cold and soggy.? Note in Fig. 32 how hard the soil is packed. Would water run off such soil or would it sink in to be used at need by the young plant ? Do you see, then, that if you want the tiny young plant to get the air, moisture, warmth, and food that will enable it to do its best for you, you must give it a deeply tilled, harrowed, and fined seed bed in which to grow ? As soon as the germ awakens into life it sends a tiny root, known as the root sprout (Fig. 33), into the soil. This root sprout branches later and forms Fig. 32. A Packed Soil 50 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK other roots. These are called the seed roots and are marked i in Fig. 34. They feed the young plant until the first green leaf, shown as the stem sprout in Fig. 35, appears above the ground. Then follow the roots shown at 2 in Fig. 34. These, since they grow from the stem and not from the kernel, are called the first roots. As soon as they start to grow, they seek the topsoil, where they find the warmth which en- ables them to gather food for the young plant. These roots feed the growing plant for some weeks. Next follow the circle roots. shown at 3 in Fig. 34. They are called circle roots because they grow out from one of the joints. Fig. 33. Root Sprout or nodes, of the stem, like spokes from the hub of a wheel. Their manner of growing is shown in the small drawing in the lower right corner of Fig. 34. They grow rapidly and are sometimes eight feet in length. They are the plant's main food-gatherers, and send out many smaller roots where warmth and moisture and food can be found. Then, at a higher joint of the stem (marked 4, in Fig. 34), the second circle roots begin their work; at a still higher joint (marked 5), the third circle roots spread out. From a joint just above the ground (marked 6), the brace roots, which keep the stalk steady as it THE GROWING PLANT 51 grows, shoot downward. Note that the roots start- ing at 3 grow straight out at first and later turn down, but that those starting at 4, 5, and 6 grow straight downward. Since they go deeper into the soil than the other roots they are often called Fig. 34. Root System the subsoil roots. When the corn plant is fruiting, these subsoil roots act like a pump to draw water from the soil into the plant. If they are cut the plant is, of course, much injured. As the plant grows, it forms a mass of roots, spreading for several feet in all directions. In Fig. 38 note how the roots spread from row to row and how near some of them are to the surface. 52 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Soon after the roots of the corn plant begin to grow, fuzzy hairs (see Fig. 36) form near the tips of the roots. These hairs are very useful, for through them the plant gets its food from the soil. The larger roots do not take food from the soil ; they merely carry food from the root hairs to the plant. How do the hairs on the roots get the soil -food which the plant needs .f^ In this way: the water of the soil dissolves the plant food, just as water dissolves sugar, and holds this food in solution in the same way that water holds sugar. With its food in solution the water is taken up by the root hairs. Therefore, in Fig. 2^7^ the hairy roots at work in the soil are called the mine. The larger roots then carry the watery food to the stem, and the stem carries it up to the leaves. Hence these larger roots and the stem are called the transportation system. Fig. 35. Stem Sprout THE GROWINCx PLANT 53 In the leaves the plant food brought from the soil meets another form of food. This is the food which the leaves have drawn from the air. From the two is formed the food needed for the growth of every part of the corn plant. Hence the leaves are called the factory where food is made. As soon as the new foods are formed they are distrib- uted by the sap currents of the stalk to all parts of the stalk and to the roots. The food thus distributed is, of course, used for the growth of the plant, and espe- cially for the development of the full-grained ear. The ear, since it finally receives so much of the plant food, may be called the storehouse of the plant. Whenever you look at a cornstalk try to remember first, that the roots are to hold the plant in place and to take food from the soil; second, that the stem is to lift the leaves and flowers high enough to get air and sunlight and to transport food material from the roots to the leaves and Fig. 36. Root Hairs on Main Roots 54 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK then to the entire plant ; third, that the leaves are like a factory in which the food from the roots and the food which the leaves draw from the air is made into nour- ishment for the entire plant. Tassel Factory where plant food is made into tissue Storehouse in which reserve plant food is found Transporta- tion system by which plant food is carried APPLYING THE LESSON 1. Corn roots, as you see in Fig. 38, spread from row to row in from thirty to fifty days. You have just seen how nec- essary these roots are to the plant's growth. Can a corn-grower afford to injure these roots ? Would you, therefore, after the corn is six or eight inches high, culti- vate with a deep plow ? About how deep should you cultivate .'' Would it be safer to cultivate deeply when the plant is very young than after it is older ? See Fig. 39. 2. Keeping in mind how the leaves help to feed the plant, do you think it a good practice to '' pull fodder " ? Mine from which all plant food except carbon is obtained Plant at Work THE GROWING PLANT 55 Fig. 38. Roots i:xtexd from Row to Row 3. Roots in their growth will not cross wide spaces in the soil What injury is done the future plant if the grower puts its seed in cloddy or ill- broken soil ? How can you avoid this injury ? Could you wisely say, '' Spare the harrow and spoil the plant " ? 4. As water is the only agent to dissolve plant food in the soil, can you allow any v^ater in a well-drained soil to be lost ? How will keeping a dry mulch on top of the soil save moisture? Will a good corn-grower follow the old saying, " Cultivate your corn four times and then quit " ? The cornstalk, made up of roots, stem, and leaves, the uses of which we have just seen, bears the flowers and fruit. You no doubt know that the tassel and silk are tlie Fig. 39. Feeding Roots fill the Soil 56 ■ CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK flowers, and the ear is the fruit. Without the flowers there would be no fruit, or filled-out ear. How do the tassel and silk aid the ear in filling out its kernels ? Corn, unlike most field crops, has its flowers in two separate places. The tassel, which is one of the flowers, is, as you have seen all your lives, at the Fig. 40. Corn Silks leading to each Kernel top of the stalk. The silk, which is the other part of the flowers, is at the tip of the ears. What does the tassel do for the ear? It bears the small yellow grains called pollen. The tassel forms a great deal of pollen and the wind scatters it far and wide. After a wind or a gentle shower in tasseling time, you have no doubt seen the ground almost covered with pollen. It is said that for every grain of pollen needed by the silk six thousand grains are produced by the tassels. THE GROWING PLANT 57 The silk too is abundant. What does it do for the ear? A close look at Fig. 40 will help you to understand the duty of the silk and the pollen. On the cob you see rows of unformed ker- nels. They are just ready to grow, but they will not grow until both pollen and silk have done their part. From each tiny kernel you notice that a sin- gle thread of silk forms and makes its way to the tip of the ear. As there are many kernels, there are many threads dangling from the ear. These silks are nature's traps to catch the pollen from the tassel above and bear it to the wait- ing kernels. No kernel will grow until a grain of pollen drops on its silk and grows down the silk tube to that kernel. Just as soon as the kernels receive the pollen from their silks they push out- ward in vigorous growth. If a single kernel fails to get its grain of pollen, it will remain unformed, or barren, as it is called. In Fig. 41 you can see an ear in which some silks failed to carry their pollen, and the barren kernels resulted. If all the silks in an ear fail in their job you will have a cob without grain ; or if some fail and others do not, you will have partly filled ears, such as are shown in Fig. 42. Fig. 41. Silks failed to do THEIR Work 5^ CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK The car grows out from the stalk on a short branch known as the shank. The ear is made up of husks to protect the tender kernels from weather and insects, of cob to hold the kernels, and of kernels to pro- duce new stalks. The shank grows out from a joint, or node, as it is called, on the main stem. If the shank grows too long, as w^e shall see in the discus- sion of the shank, the weight of the ear is likely to break the shank from the stalk. If the shank is too short the ear is held so straight that too much rain may enter and cause mold. In some ears the husks fit tightly around the ear. In others they inclose the ear loosely. Usually the husks entirely cover the ear, but sometimes they grow too short. In this case the tip of the ear is, of course, left uncovered, and birds and insects find it easy to rob the ear. Fig. 42. Ears showing Failure of Silks TO CARRY Pollen THE GROWING PLANT 59 The stalk may have only one ear or It may have several. Pop corns usually bear more ears than either the flint or dent corns. A single pop-corn stalk has been known to produce as many as nine- teen ears. As a rule, flint corn is likely to have more ears than dent corn. The number of rows of kernels on the cob varies greatly. In the most com- mon kinds there are usually from eight to twenty rows. The number of rows is always an even number. If odd numbers do occasionally occur, they are the result of some injury to the tassel. Each breed of corn generally has a fixed number of rows. For example, Hickory King usually has eight rows; Horsetooth, twelve rows; but some, like Ladysmith, vary from fourteen to eighteen rows. Of course an increase in the number of rows will give an increase in the number of grains. You must not think, how- ever, that an increase in the number of grains will necessarily give a larger yield, for the grains may be smaller and hence weigh less. The number of grains to the ear varies greatly in different kinds of corn and varies with the season and the richness of the soil. POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. When will a kernel not sprout ? 2. In what way does your food differ from the food of a corn plant ? 3. How does lack of rain cut off a plant's rations ? 6o CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK 4. From the way in which a plant grows, explain how hail or army worms injure corn. 5. If you were to tie a paper sack over an ear of corn when pollen was just forming, would grains grow on the cob ? Why not ? 6. If you wanted to share a neighbor's improved kind of corn seed, could you do it by planting your corn near his and cutting all your corn tassels off before they formed pollen ? 7. Could you expect a good ear of corn from a stalk growing alone in the middle of a forty-acre field ? 8. It takes about sixty gallons of water to grow one pound of dry cornstalk. How much water will be needed for a yield of six thousand pounds of dry cornstalk, which is about the amount produced by an acre yielding forty bushels ? CHAPTER VI MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS • Man, with all his boasted powers, is very help- less in controlling the yield of his crops. There are only three ways in which he can, by his own work, increase the yield of his plants. These are first, by selecting the best seed ; second, by cultivating in the wisest way, including proper drain- age of the soil ; third, by fertil- izing the soil so as to meet the needs of the soil and of the plant. These are his only weapons, for, of course, man s share in produc- tion is puny in comparison with what nature does in providing life, rainfall, and sunshine. Surely, then, man ought to learn to use his three weapons in a masterful way. The ear shown in Fig. 43 is a result of the wise use of these three weapons. At a corn show its perfect breeding won a prize of a thousand dollars. The giving of this prize shows people's interest in seed. 61 Fig. 43. A Thousand- Dollar Trophy Ear 62 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Every young plant which grows from a seed Hves for a time on the food which is stored in the seed. Its start, its vigor, — in truth, all its power to grow, — must be drawn from the dying seed. Can the farmer, then, who depends for success on hardy, fruitful plants busy himself about anything more important than good seed ? Compare the two ears shown at A and B in Fig. 44. Do you notice any very great difference between them ? Are they not about the same size ? Do not their grains seem equally sound and equally well formed ? Are there not about as many grains on one as on the other? Yet, in spite of their seeming equality of value, the one marked A sold at auction for one hundred and fifty dollars; the one marked B can be bought on any corn market for a few cents. Can you give the reason why one so far surpasses the other in price ? If you have ever tried to buy a registered pig or a registered calf you will easily understand the Fig. 44. Ears Alike in Appearance but Differ- ent IN Value MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 63 difference in the price of these two ears. You always find in buying an animal from a noted strain that you have to pay a higher price than when you buy an animal from an unknown breed. The famous breed has already proved its value for several generations. It is the same way with the two corn ears. For twenty corn generations the seed from which A was grown had been selected in the field as showing the best traits of a good ear. This high-priced ear had the best traits of these twenty generations. The buyer was sure that with good seasons and proper cultivation this ear would produce the kind of stalk, ear, and grain that he wanted. The ear marked B had no such history ; it was chosen from a pile of corn because it looked well. The corn grown from it might be good or it might be poor. There was no certainty that even under the best conditions its grains would produce such corn as a grower would be proud of. Is it, then, remarkable that a farmer who grows thousands of bushels of corn each year was willing to pay a handsome price for just such seed as he was sure would produce a paying crop? If you are planning to plant one acre, or a thou- sand acres, what then is the first thing for you to decide? Is it not that you will plant only the very best seed ? There are three ways in which to get seed. They are as follows : First, buy it from a distant grower or dealer. 64 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Second, buy it from a neighbor. Third, raise it yourself. Which one of these ways is best? Let us see. Frequently at corn shows or at fairs a grower in search of good seed finds excellent ears of corn. Often in seed catalogues he sees cuts of splendid- looking ears similar to those shown in Fig. 45. He may think that if he plants seed from these ears he will get equally good ears. This is not necessarily true, however, for several reasons : First, as we have just seen, these showy ears may have no inherited good traits. They may or may not produce ears as good as themselves. Second, even if the ears shown are from the very best strains of corn which have been carefully bred for years, they may not produce well away from their own homes. Third, corn does best in soils like that on which it grew. These ears may have grown on soil very differ- ent from that in which the grower wants to plant. Fig. 45. Showy Ears that may NOT MEET YOUR NeEDS MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 65 Fourth, the best seed corn is apt to lose in value if planted on land that is not about the same level above the sea as the land on which it has been bred. If these showy ears grew on land either much higher or much lower than the land on which they are to be planted, they would not be certain to make the best seed. Corn seed usually produces most heavily in the sections in which it was bred. Tests at several of the experiment stations show a difference of from two to thirty-one bushels an acre in favor of home- grown seed. Hence, if you decide to buy your seed corn, it will be best to buy from some honest, careful breeder in your own section or, better still, in your own county. A change from east to west or from west to east does not generally make so much difference in climate as does a change from north to south or from south to north. Therefore, in buying seed a grower will do well to buy from sellers east or west rather than very far north or much south of his farm. If you are going to buy seed corn you will do well to remember four things : First, buy the seed in the ear. You can then see the entire ear and tell whether it is the kind you want. You can examine grain, rows, butts, tips, and cob. Second, if your farm is in a climate in which frost comes early, you had better buy your seed from 66 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK sellers north rather than very far south of your home ; such seed ripens in less time than Southern seeds which have a long growing-season. On the other hand, seed from a cold climate is not good for a Southern farm : the corn does not use all of the growing-season ; hence the yield will fall short. Third, good seed bought at a distance is likely to do better after the second or third year than it will the first year. Corn makes itself at home in a few years. Fourth, do not stake your whole crop on any one kind of new seed. Wait until the seed has proved itself good before you risk an entire crop. APPLYING THE LESSON 1. If you live in Indiana would you be safe in buying seed com from Georgia ? If you live in Georgia would you do well to buy even the best seed from Illinois ? 2. Why should you not buy seed from the mountain section of Tennessee if you want to plant on the prairies of Kansas ? 3. At a corn show in Chicago a boy from North Carolina was struck by the fine ears of corn shown in Fig. 46. Could he safely stake his crop on seeds from these ears ? Fig. 46. Show Ears MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 67 4. Two stalks of corn grew in the same row. They were each equally distant from neighboring stalks, were planted, cultivated, and fertilized, in the same way. Of these two, one produced more grain than the other. Why ? 5. Suppose a bushel of corn will plant seven acres, and that one bushel of poor seed costs seventy cents and one bushel of fine seed costs two dollars and ten cents. If the better seed yields four bushels an acre more than the first, was it not cheaper to pay tv/o dollars and ten cents for the seed than to pay seventy cents .'' Instead of buying your seed, however, you will find it far more interesting and more profitable to raise your own seed. To do this you will have to learn to tell a good stalk and a good ear in order to select the best for seed. The Stalk You would not expect a weak, sickly man to be able to dig a deep ditch for you. Could you any more expect a weak, sickly stalk to bear a well- fruited ear of corn.f^ Must you not have a vigorous stalk if you wish a vigorous ear.^ Do not forget, however, that by a vigorous stalk we do not mean a tall stalk. Cornstalks vary in height from six to twenty feet ; sometimes they grow even taller. How- ever, plants above ten feet in height seem to spend their strength in making too much stalk instead of grain. On the other hand, a small, feeble stalk will not make a fine ear. Compare the size of the two ears in Figs. 47 and 48. The stalk shown in Fig. 47 68 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Fig. 47. A Healthy Stalk has a good body; its blades are wide and abundant; it is thick at the bottom and ta- pers gradually toward the top ; if you could see its roots, you would find them thick, feed- ing widely, and brac- ing the stalk against winds. The stalk in Fig. 48 is, as you see, undersized; its leaves are scant and nar- row; hence its ear is small. Compare also the two ears in these figures. Each is what might be expected from its stalk. Shall you not, then, start your seed selection notebook records with the following entry ? Note i . My seed should come from a well-grown, vig- orous, abundantly bladed, well- shaped, well-rooted stalk, one that is not too tall nor yet too low. MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 69 Height of Ear on the Stalk As you see in Fig. 49, the different kinds of corn vary much not only in the height of their stalks but also in the height of the ears on the stalk. You would have to jump to gather the ear on the right stalk and stoop to pull the ear on the left stalk. If you are to gather your own corn, would you not prefer the ears to grow at a convenient height from the ground ? Look at the ideal hill of stalks with their ears at the same height from the ground in Fig. 50. If you prefer growing corn with that sort of stalk, you will have to plant seed that will make such stalks. If your corn ever shows a desire to grow its ears too high on the stalk, you can, by selecting seed ears from stalks having low ears, check this desire. Fig. 48. A Feeble Stalk 70 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK On the other hand, if the ears begin to grow too low on the stalk, you can likewise, by selecting seed from ears higher from the ground, prevent this trouble. In Fig. 51 the corn on the left has been bred from low-eared stalks. The line across the stalks shows the differ- ence in height of ears in the two fields. But comfort of harvesting is not the only thing to be thought of in the height of the ear. Do you not recall how easy it is for windstorms to blow over your corn in spite of its brace roots? Will a stalk not blow over more readily if the ear is high ? On the other hand, unless you want your corn to ripen early, the ears ought to be fairly well up from the ground. As a rule, ears that grow low on the stalk ripen early and the stalks are low. Corn, to make heavy, well-filled ears, needs as long a Fig. 49. Varying Height of Stalks MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 71 growing-season as the climate will permit. Hence the low-eared kinds, inasmuch as they do not use all the growing-season, do not make heavy yields. Ears that grow higher on the stalk take more time to mature. Hence, under favor- able conditions, they can produce heavy ears. The stalk on the right in Fig. 49 took one hundred and thirty days to ripen its ear. The one on the left took only one hundred and five days. Of course you do not want stalks that are very tall, for such stalks grow in height at the ex- pense of the ear. However, some students of this book may live in sections in which, on account of early frosts, corn barely has time to ripen. If so, those students have probably seen this happen : of two fields planted at the same time and tilled in the same way, one ripened its grain before frost ; the other did not, and was ruined. Why was this? The next time any of Fig. 50. Ears at a Convenient Height 72 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK you see such a difference, notice the position of the ears on the stalk. The field that escaped had stalks with low ears. Hence, these stalks ripened faster than those which had their ears high. In such a climate would you not with this fact in mind select seed from a low-eared kind of corn? Fig. 51. Changing Height of Ears by Breeding In Fig. 49 you saw at what different heights ears grow on the stalks in some fields. Such fields are not so surely pollinated as fields in which the ears grow at an even height. Keep three facts in mind and you will readily see why. First, in dry climates corn pollen lives about three days; in fairly moist climates, from seven to eight days. MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 7Z Second, the pollen is scattered by the wind. A tassel does not necessarily furnish' its own silk with pollen. Third, ears low on the stalk ripen earlier than those higher. Now in a field such as is shown in Fig. 49 some stalks will have tassels and silk ready for pollination Fig. 52. Ears Ready for Tollex about the Same Time sooner than others. Hence pollination must go on from day to day from a comparatively small number of stalks. In a field similar to that shown in Fig. 52 all the ears are ready for their pollen at nearly the same time, and the pollen is formed about the same time. Hence the pollen falls in a perfect shower and is likely to reach all the silks. 74 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK We are now ready, are we not, for the second entry in our books? It will be: Note 2. I will select my seed from ears that are borne at a uniform height on the stalk. The Shank of the Ear The ear grows from a branch of the stalk, known as the shank. Examine the way in which the ears in Fig. 53 grow from their stalks. The ears on the left are borne on short shanks which hold them up almost ^straight. The ears on the right have longer shanks and hang downward. Unless the left ear is entirely covered at the tip by the husk, could not rain easily enter the ear? What effect would this produce ? Could rain so readily make its way into the ear on the right ? Would this ear, then, not be a safer one than the other to select for seed ? The shanks of the center ears are entirely too long. In case of high winds these ears would likely be torn from the stalk and rot on the ground. At the Illinois Experiment Station, stalks with straight-up ears and stalks with hanging ears were bred. It was found by actual count that the hanging ears con- tained only 2 per cent of moldy or rotted ears, while the straight-up ears had 5 per cent of such ears. Are we not ready for a third entry in our note- book ? Note 3. I will select my seed from ears that hang down from the shank. MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 75 Barren Stalks Stalks on which no ears are borne are called barren stalks. Such stalks produce tassels and shed their pollen like other stalks, but make no ears. A B c Fig. 53. Bad and Good Shanks A, too short ; B, too long ; C, good .or only nubbins. Sometimes the barren stalks grow to full size and look perfectly healthy. However, most of these stalks show a lack of vigor. Some corn-growers think that as many as one ear in every seven is barren. Would this mean that one acre in every seven produces no corn? 76 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK If one of these barren, stalks grows beside two productive stalks, would it injure these good stalks? Would it not steal moisture and plant food from them ? Would it not act just as a weed acts ? Would it be well for the pollen from such a stalk to fall on the silk of productive stalks ? Can barren stalks be prevented? If we think of the reasons for such stalks, we shall see some ways to lessen greatly their number. Among these reasons are the following: (i) injuries from insects and disease — these sap the vigor of the plant and leave it without strength to produce an ear; (2) un- favorable soil and season; (3) too thick planting — the stalks when too crowded cannot get sufficient food ; (4) poor tillage, and (5) poorly bred seed. When growers till and fertilize their corn well, poor seed is the most frequent cause of barren stalks. Then make this entry in your notebook : Note 4. To keep down the number of barren stalks, I must plant pure-bred seed, and cultivate and fertilize my corn with all the skill I can. APPLYING THE LESSON A member of the Boys' Clubs bought a piece of poor land in South Carolina, He was afraid of barren stalks and made up his mind not to have any in his field.. The first spring he planted his stalks at a good distance from one another in the row and put the rows wide apart. Was this right ? He picked for seed some large ears from his crib. Was this right ? Lie had a dry season and tilled his corn as often as he possibly could. Was this right ? MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 11 On most of his land he planted cowpeas at the last tillage of the com. Was this right? In the fall he followed his peas by clover. Was this right .? In the second spring he planted corn after the clover, and this time he seeded his land more thickly. Was this right ? He planted this year some South Carolina seed that had taken the first prize at the Columbia, South Carolina, Corn Show. Was this right ? On the part of his land not sown in peas and clover, he scattered stable manure rather thickly. Was this right ? On this land too he planted more closely than the year before. Was this right? Here he tried some prize seed from Mississippi. Was this right ? POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Draw a corn kernel and show the position of the embryo. Show also in the drawing where the food for the embryo is stored. 2. His neighbors laughed at a young farmer for paying forty dollars for an ear of corn for his seed patch. Explain why you think he may not have been wasteful of his money. 3. A child can become better than its parents. Can an ear of corn be better than its parents ? Good parents in a good home often have worthless children. Can good corn parents in a fertile, well-cultivated field produce worthless ears ? 4. A bright boy who wanted to grow corn inherited a farm on which corn had never been grown. A neighbor offered to sell him some tried corn at $4 a bushel. A seedsman six hundred miles north of his farm offered some showy ears at $2 a bushel. Another seedsman three hundred miles south of his farm sent him a cata- logue showing handsome ears at $2.50 a bushel. Which would he be wise to buy ? 5. A farmer after riding on horseback through his field boasted that his corn was so fine and tall that he could not touch the tassels with his riding whip. Was this an intelligent boast? Give three reasons for your answer. CHAPTER VII MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS (Continued) Number of Ears to the Stalk Your seed should be chosen to give you the great- est number of pounds of dry shelled corn to the stalk. Of the three stalks represented in Eig. 54 one stalk bears only one ear, one bears two ears, and one three ears. Shall you select seed from a stalk that yields one, two, or three ears? This is a vexed question with growers. Some stoutly insist that one large well-filled ear will produce the greatest amount of corn. They point out the fact that, as a rule, the size of the ear decreases as the number of ears increases. Others urge that a two-eared kind is the largest producer. These contend that you can get a greater weight of corn from two medium-sized ears than from one large ear. Stalks bearing more than one ear are called prolific stalks, and seed from such stalks is called prolific seed. Is there any way to settle this difference of opin- ion except by actual trial in the field? The North Carolina Experiment Station made exactly this trial for five years. The one-eared kinds and the prolific kinds were planted in alternate rows in the same 78 MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 79 field. This, of course, gave each the same kind of soil. The seasons, of course, were exactly alike for each kind. Each kind was planted at the same time, fertilized, and tilled in exactly the same way. At the end of the season the returns from each were carefully weighed. The prolific varieties yielded an average of thirty-seven bushels to an acre. The one-eared varieties aver- aged only twenty-nine bushels — a difference of eight bushels in favor of the prolific kind. The Alabama Experi- ment Station made the same tests for four years. This station found that prolific varieties yielded thirty-three bushels to the acre while the one-eared varieties yielded only twenty-seven bushels. The Tennessee Station after careful tests declared that the prolific kinds yielded more than the one-eared kinds. However, will it be fair to conclude that, because the prolific kinds yielded most in these three Southern states these kinds will be the heaviest yielders all over our country.? We must not forget what a difference climate makes in a crop. The Fig. 54. Stalks with One, Two, AND Thrf:e Ears 8o CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK prolific kinds of corn take longer to ripen their ears than do the one-eared varieties. In states like Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois, where the growing-season is much shorter than in the South, growers want a corn that will be certain to ripen before cold w^eather comes. Would the prolific kinds then be as good for these colder states as they would for the warmer states ? If you live in a cold state, would you there- fore plant a prolific variety? Moreover, on poor soils good one-eared varieties are generally the best producers. Hence, if you are so unfortunate as to have to plant your corn on poor land, should you try to grow prolific corn ? Would not seed from a choice one-eared variety be safer for you ? As another note in regard to seed selection, let us write : Note 5. If I live in a warm climate and have rich land, I will select a prolific variety of dent corn for seed, but if I live in a cold climate, I will choose a good one-eared variety for seed. Which of Twin Ears to Select If you are using a prolific seed, you may be puz- zled which of the two ears borne on a stalk to select for seed. Examine the stalks and the ears in the field. From the stalks bearing the tw^o best ears select the better ear of the two. This will usually be the top ear. But if both ears are good, there is no reason why you should not use both for seed. MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 8 1 The Ear and its Qualities Corn Is grown largely for its ears — they are the crown of a years work. If the ears are not full Fig. S5- Well-Shaped and Poorly-Shapeu Ears fruited, the labor of the grower is not properly rewarded. If we are seeking to grow seed that will make fruitful ears, we must know thoroughly all the marks of a fine ear. Contrast the ears in Fig. 55. You see at a glance, as far as shape goes, what is wanted in a seed ear 82 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK and what is not desired. Ears No. i and No. 2 have all the outward marks of excellent seed ears. Ear No. 3 begins to taper too much. Ear No. 4 is wretched. In spite of its attractive shape is it pos- sible that ear No. i might not be a good seed ear? Explain your answer fully. Let us see what advantages in shape ears No. i and No. 2 have over ears No. 3 and No. 4. Ears No. i and No. 2 are cylin- drical, that is, they taper very little from end to end, and this is the shape desired by most growers, for it is the only shape in which the same number of rows can grow from end to end of the ear. In a tapering ear like No. 3 and No. 4 there must be either some short rows, as shown in Fig. 56, or the kernels at the large end must be larger than those at the small end^ or have more space between them. Follow the rows of kernels in ear No. i. Do they not run straight from bottom to top.^^ Is this true of ear No. 2 ? Which has the larger number of kernels ? In which are the kernels most nearly of the same size } Will kernels of different sizes drop well from your corn planter? Which has the wider spaces, or furrows, between the rows ? Fig. s^' Here the Kernel Rows are partly lost MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 83 Length and Girth of Ear As climates and soils in the corn-growing area of the United States vary so widely and affect the crop so markedly, it is impossible to fix a standard of length for an ear. Where the growing-season is long and the soil fertile, large ears are usually the best producers among the one-eared varieties. But very long and narrow ears are to be avoided, for in such ears the kernels are generally shallow. In areas that have a short growing- season smaller ears should be selected. Of the one-eared vari- eties ears ranging from nine to eleven inches in length are per- haps best for seed. Of prolific kinds the best ears range from eight to nine inches in length. In addition to the length, the girth, or circumference, of the ear is always important. The ear should have circumference enough to hold a large number of rows of kernels. Compare the circum- ference of ears No. i and No. 2 in Fig. 57. Will not an ear like No. 2 have more room to hold its rows of kernels than ears like No. i ? Ears of the Fig. s7- Length and Girth of Ears 84 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK one-eared varieties vary from twelve to twenty-four in the number of rows; the prolific varieties from eight to sixteen. It will be prudent not to select Fig. 58. Butts and Tips seed from any one-eared variety that has fewer than sixteen rows or from any prolific variety that has fewer than twelve rows. Butts and Tips The end of the ear next to the stalk is called the butt; the opposite end is known as the tip. There should be no wasted space on the cob. Every part of the cob should be covered with kernels. The MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 85 yield of course will be greatest if both butts and tips are well filled out. A well-filled butt is more to be sought than a well-capped tip. Do not, however, select an ear solely because its butt and tip are nearly perfect. The size of an ear and its suitability to soil and climate are too important to give way to a search after perfect butts and tips. Fig. 58 presents a series of butts and tips. Give reasons for saying that No. i is a good butt. Why is No. 3 a poor butt? Does No. i appear to have a large or a small cob ? Does No. 3 appear to have a very large cob ? Is there much wasted space in No. i ? in No. 3 ? In the tips in the bottom row do you see any wasted space in No. i ? Is there such wasted space in Nos. 2 and 3 ? Would these six ears not yield more if all the ears had butts and tips filled as well as Nos. I and 2 have ? Space between Rows The spaces, or furrows, between the rows of ker- nels should not be wide, but yet wide enough, in sections with a short growing-season, to allow the ear to dry thoroughly before frost. Ears with wide furrows are apt to have rounded and not deep ker- nels. Such rounded kernels do not fill solidly the space on the cob. The ear on the left in Fig. 59 has straight and small furrows, yet the furrows are wide enough for air to enter and cause it to dry. In 86 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK the middle ear the furrows are nearly straight but rather wide. In the ear 'on the right the furrows are not only far too wide but very much out of line. Which would you be sure to select for a seed ear ? ^^H^I)^H ^Hr7 ^ ■■■ il Hi 1 ^ppi 1 ,^,^^^pl • ^H ■X*>-'tr. ^KV: t . • -- ' ^"^^^^^^^ -^4. *'' ^^^H ^^^^^^^» Kt R^g t^'- ■ ^^^^^^]v -4."' ^^^^^^^^'Vr l:^^ ^■c^' „.^ • '.;^^^f''-H ¥ kj m ::,^K|4 , ■ jg j^^^^^^H Fig. 59. Ears showing Spaces between Rows Color of Ear and Cob Each variety of corn has a natural or regular color. All carefully bred varieties are expected to be uniform in color. For example, white dent corns should yield white kernels, and yellow dents yellow MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS &7 kernels. Any mixing of colors shows that an ear or its parent ears received some pollen from stalks of an- other variety. Of course, no ear that has been so pollinated should be used for seed. In Fig. 60 there is shown an ear in which the color is a result of stray pollen. Even if such an ear has an almost perfect shape and has well-shaped kernels, good spacing between the rows, and excellent butts and tips, should you use it for a seed ear? The cobs, too, should have a regular color. With some few exceptions, such as the Calhoun Red Cob, the white and the yellow varieties should have white cobs and red varieties should produce red cobs. As a rule the white varieties have proved heavier yielders than the colored varieties. Yet, in spite of this fact, some yellow varieties out- yield many white kinds. The yield is not governed by the color, but will, of course, depend on the size of the ear, time of ripening, suitability to soil and climate, kind of kernels, a proper filling out of the kernels, the amount of grain to the cob, the amount of fertilizer used, and the excellence of the cultivation. Fig. 60. Varying Color op^ Kernels S8 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Size qf Cob The cob is merely a frame on which the kernels are fastened. The larger the cob, if all other things are equal, the more kernels can be fastened on it. However, there are objections to a very large cob; its grains are apt to be shallow and it is slow in drying. If the cob is so large that it holds moisture too long, its kernels may be injured by mold or by early frost. On the other hand, cobs that are very small cannot furnish framework enough for a large number of kernels. Hence a cob which is neither too large nor too small makes the best frame for the kernels. In Fig. 6 1 compare the four cobs with their ker- nels. Select the cob that makes the best frame for its kernels. Which cob is too large? Which too small ? Count the number of kernels around each cob. The biggest cob has the largest number of kernels around it. Would this prove that the total number of kernels on this cob would weigh more than the total number of those on the ear to the ■1 ♦ • *" \^ m W '^ L%/2 ^B ^'V>-^-j M Bg<^ 1/ > ^m Fig. 6i. Cobs of Different Sizes MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 89 right? The ear on the left has eighteen kernels around the cob. The one at the bottom has only eight kernels girdling it. Would this prove that the first ear would yield twice as much as the second ear? Which cob would be slowest in drying? Which ought to dry most quickly ? APPLYING THE LESSON 1. A banker offers as a prize for the highest yield from one acre a scholarship in the State Agricultural College. If you entered for this prize, would you select for seed a one-eared or a two-eared variety ? 2. Describe the shape of the ears that you would want for seed. We now seem ready for the next note in our seed- selection book, as follows : Note 6. From the best-bred ears on my own farm or in my own community, I will pick out for seed such as are firm, heavy, cylindrical, medium in size rather than very long or short, I will also take care that my seed ears have a good girth or circumference, with their butts and tips well filled, with straight and narrow furrows, with a cob not too large nor yet too small, with a strong short shank, and with uniform, well-shaped kernels. The Kernel Corn is, of course, grown largely for the kernels. No matter how much pleasure we may take in the grace of the stalk or in the richness of the harvest colors, it is, after all, around the tiny kernels with their food for man and beast and with their power to furnish seed for the next crop that our chief tftf ft ftfi II II ••II if Fig. 62. Varying Shapes of Dent Kernels f • • f f I I f ft If f t f f Fig. 63. Compare these Kernels MARKINGS OF GOOD SEED EARS 91 Fig. 64. This Shape Best large, deep, close-fitting ke Wedge-shaped kernels, not up the space most snugly and with least loss. Not only should the kernels be wedge- shaped but they should be uniform in size so that the corn-planter may drop them evenly in planting. As you will see by interest centers. As our study goes on, we shall find that each variety of corn, as is shown in Fig. 62, has certain pecu- liarities in the shape of its kernels, but, even with these in mind, there are some qualities which all kernels should have. Both the size and the shape of the kernels are important. As the entire space around the cob should be used, fairly rnels are to be sought, too pointed, seem to fill Fig. 6^. Kernels that will Grow 92 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK measuring the kernel in Fig. 64, the length of the kernel should be a little over one and one-half times the width at the widest part. The kernels should be about one half of the depth of the cob. Their thick- ness should be nearly the same from end to end. The ripe kernel should have, as in Fig. 65, a clean, strong, full tip. It should have the same fresh and glossy color in front and back. It should not be dis- colored, blistered, wrinkled, roughened, or cracked. The germ should be large, smooth, bright, and rather horny. The germ, w^hen cut open, should be fresh and oily in looks. Dull, dead-looking kernels have feeble life and are generally from weak stalks. In Fig. 63 four rows of kernels are grouped for comparison. What objections can you give to the shape of the kernels in the top row.f^ What to those in the second row ? Are the grains in the third and fourth rows wedge-shaped, deep, and uniform ? Are they near enough in size to be dropped evenly from the planter ? Would these be good kernels for seed ? POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Get your teacher to arrange a debate for some evening. Let the question for debate be : " Resolved that for this community a one-eared variety of corn is better than a prolific variety." Invite the farmers to join the debaters on each side. 2. Let the teacher provide a corn show for December, invite each pupil to bring the best home-grown ear, and have three pupils act as judges and give publicly the reasons for the award. Be sure to have each pupil bring at least one ear. CHAPTER VIII PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED Now, having become familiar with the outward marks of desirable seed ears, we must decide how, when, and where we can secure such ears. As already seen, there are three ways in which to secure seed : First, we may buy our seed from some grower who does not live near us. Second, wc may buy from some one in our own neighborhood. Third, we may, after the first year, raise our own seed. We have also thought over some of the objections to the first plan. However, as our success in grow- ing corn is so dependent on planting the very best seed, we cannot spend too much time in learning how to make a wise selection of seed. We see, in Fig. 66, an ear of a one-eared variety which is almost perfect in shape. In looks it is a model, for it has all the outward marks that are most highly prized. Its kernels are wedge-shaped, deep, and closely packed. Its furrows are close and straight. Both ends are well covered. Its cob is about the right size, and the entire ear well shaped. Maybe, 93 94 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK after you examine it, you are ready to say, "Such an ear is good enough for me." But do not be too hasty. Why may such a showy ear be unfit for seed ? First, can you from looks be sure that this ear would produce just such an ear as itself? It might do so, but on the other hand have we any such certainty, as we would have if we knew it came from a family of fine bearers? May it not be that this ear grew on a stalk that was highly favored by some acci- dent? Perhaps the stalk that bore it stood nearly alone in the field and received an undue share of food. Perhaps, owing to the un- evenness of the ground, the stalk got more than its share of mois- ture and fertilizer. You know that none of the qualities which a plant gets by accident is necessarily handed down to plants grown from its seed. Would it not be safer, then, not to stake your crop on looks alone, but to stake it on an equally well-shaped ear from a family that for some years had proved its worth in the field ? Second, no quality in seed corn is more to be sought after than that it should suit the soil and Fig. 66. Handsome Ears may disap- point YOU PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 95 climate in which it is to be grown. Can you at all tell whether this showy stranger w^ould suit your soil and your climate? The Nebraska Experiment Station planted five varieties of prize show corn from Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio, five varieties from various parts of the state, and seven from varieties grown near the station. The showy seed from outside the state yielded thirty-nine bushels to the acre; the seed from other parts of the same state yielded forty-five bushels, and the home varieties forty-eight bushels. Can you afford to lose nine bushels an acre on your crop by securing seed from a distance ? There are objections, also, to buying from growers even in our own sections. Is such buying not more expensive than growing your own seed? Is there any way for you to find out whether the grower has become careless in selecting or caring for his seed ? If his land is either poorer or richer than yours, would his seed suit your farm as well as seed bred on your own land ? Taking all these things into consideration, would it not be best for you, after the first year, to grow your own seed? Would not such growing add to the interest of your life on the farm and cause you to have a just pride in the excellence of your own seed ? If you decide to follow this plan, do you not wish to under- stand thoroughly the methods of selecting and improv- ing your seed? Unless you can start your crop each year with seed that has power to grow vigorously 96 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK and yield bountifully, you can never hope to be numbered among the most successful corn-growers. By buying for your first planting well-tried seed ears from a neigboring farm, you secure parent ears that ought to give you a fine start. Then it will be Fig. d"]. Corn from Good Seed your part to improve this seed from crop to crop. Of course, the first year you can do no more than to prepare your seed bed painstakingly and fertilize and cultivate your crop wisely and intelligently. This will give you stalks of such vigor as to bear large and heavy ears. You are to begin your seed selection with these ears. Accordingly you must decide where and when PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 97 and how to begin your selection. In planning your first selection, keep steadily in mind just what you w^ant. You already have ears with a fine family record. You want now to select from these ears only such as have lived up to their record. Then, after a careful comparison of your choicest ears, you want to put aside for seed only those of unusual excellence. Fig. 68. Corn from Poor Seed In this way you will start the second year with better seed than you had the first year. In making this comparison what sort of ears must you seek? First, ears which were borne on vigorous, healthy, natural plants. Second, ears from good stalks that grew under the usual conditions of the field. You do not want ears from stalks w^hich were favored by some accident like having no neighboring stalks to share their plant 98 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK food and moisture or by some other unusual advan- tage. A good ear borne under hard conditions is better than a good ear from a stalk which on account of some accident was fortunate in its growth. Third, ears from stalks that ripened their grain neither too early nor too late. Every plant needs to use for ripening its fruit all the growing-time which nature allows. If it does not do this, it is not suited to its climate and soil. Fourth, ears from standing stalks. Usually stalks that are thrown down are less vigorous than those that hold themselves steadily on their roots. Fifth, ears from which a heavy weight of dried kernels can be shelled. Sixth, ears that have all the desirable markings mentioned in the last lessons. Do you not at once see that to be guided by these rules, you must begin your selection in the field while the plants are still growing ? If your choice is to be made by noting both stalk and ear, of course, you can never do this after the ears are thrown in the crib. Hence, shall you not, first of all, decide that the sure way to improve your seed is to select it in the field ? When shall you begin this selection ? You will have to begin just as the corn is ripening and before the blades have lost their green, for at that time you can note the vigor or want of vigor of the entire stalk. If the stalk is undersized and spindling and PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 99 if the blades are not broad, green, and luxuriant, you will know the plant is not vigorous. You can see, also, whether the stalk grew under favorable, unfavor- able, or usual field conditions. You can also note the shank and the height of the ear and whether any disease has fastened itself on either stalk or blades. Fig. 69. First Field Selection of Seed Ears At this time, then, make ready for your first exami- nation in the field. Before you go to the field, how- ever, you will have to decide how many ears you will need. You no doubt know that it takes from fifteen to twenty ears to plant an acre. Shall you, then, just multiply the number of acres you wish to plant by twenty ? Not at all. You should gather at least three times as many fine ears as you will need for planting. Why? In order that you may compare lOO CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK a large number of unusually promising ears and then select the very best of these. Hence you will multiply your number of acres by twenty and then multiply your result by three or perhaps, even better, by four. To secure this number of ears it will, of course, be necessary to continue examining stalks until you find enough strong stalks bearing desirable ears to give you that number. Having, then, determined when to start your selec- tion, you will next have to decide where or from what part of your crop you will draw your seed. Of course, you cannot examine all the stalks and ears in your fields. This would take too long. You do not wish to start just at random. What shall guide you in deciding where to begin ? Think over these points : First, you do not desire any stray pollen to get mixed with yours. Would it not, then, be best to draw your seed from stalks as far away as possible from neighboring farms ? Your neighbor may not be careful about his seed. Second, you are trying to improve your seed. Would it not help if you selected stalks and ears from a part of your crop that is somewhat better than the other parts? Third, you are in search of seed that will suit all your land. Will you not come near finding such seed if you select from a portion of your crop that is growing on soil similar to most of your land ? PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED loi After deciding on the field, or portion of field, from which to cull your seed ears, you are ready to make your first examination. With your general rules in mind, pass down the rows and scan each stalk and ear. As you will see at a glance, many are not fit for seed. As often as you come to a promis- ing stalk and ear, like that shown in Fig. 70, stop and examine the plant closely. If it is shown by a closer examination : First, that the plant is weak, not thrifty and well- shaped, reject it. Second, that the plant may have benefited by any advantage in distance from other plants, in manure, moisture, or drainage, reject it. Third, that the plant is ripening too early or too late, reject it. Fourth, that the plant is not held firmly on its roots, reject it. Fig. 70. A Promising Stalk Fig. 71. Too Many Suckers Fig. 72. Ear too Straight PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 103 Fifth, that the plant has too many suckers, or tillers, as the one shown in Fig. 71 has, reject it. Sixth, that the shank is too long or weak, reject it. Seventh, that the plant bears its ear too straight up, as the one shown in Fig. 72 does, reject it. Eighth, that the plant is, like those in Fig. 73, bearing ears too high or too low for the climate, reject it. Ninth, that the size of the ear is too small for the plant or the ear is too large for the size of the plant, reject it. Such plants as are not rejected by this careful examination are likely on a second and later examination to prove fit stalks from which to gather seed. As you select the stalks mark about six times as many as you need to furnish your calculated number of seed ears. This is done by tying a string or some other label around the chosen stalks. Fig. 73. One Ear too High ; One TOO Low I04 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Just before the proper time for gathering corn, make a second examination of your marked plants. This time you will center attention on the ears. As you come to your tagged stalks, pull back the husks Fig. 74. Boys making theik Second Selection from one side of the ear as the boys are doing in Fig. 74. You want to find from this examination whether the ears have all the desired qualities already described. In addition, you wish to see whether the ears are dry and well ripened, and have the tips cov- ered with husks. It will be prudent, too, to select only such ears as droop somewhat from the shank, PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 105 for this drooping will keep out moisture that might lead to rotting or freezing or other injury to the ear. This second examination will probably lead you to reject about half the ears from marked stalks. This will leave you about three times as many ears as you will need for planting. Gather these ears in a bag similar to the one shown in Fig. 75. As often as your bag is filled, carry the culled ears to the end of the row. Then, if you are not going to make your final selec- tion at the end of the row, the ears should be hung up in a pro- tected place, in order to dry rapidly. It will be a good day's work to gather from three to five bushels of choice seed in a day. When you have plucked the finest ears from your tagged stalks, you will still have, as already noted, about three times as many ears as you will need for planting. This large number was drawn from the Fig. 75. Bag for Seed Ears io6 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK field in order to allow you a final selection of the very highest type of ears for your next year's seed. There are two places in which to make your last selection. One is at the end of the rows where you have piled your ears. If you use this method, you Fig. ^^. Selection at End of Rows will go from pile to pile, and from each pile, after careful comparison, you will, as shown in Fig. 76, pick out what you deem ideal ears. These you will haul to the storeroom and keep in a way to be described later. Think whether you see any objec- tions to this method. Consider these : First, would you be sure that the ears are dry .? PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 107 Second, would not this examination have to be a hasty one? Why not take time for so interesting a task? Third, might further drying not bring out defects or diseases not then easily seen ? The second and better method is to haul all your gathered ears to a protected storeroom. Such a room should have a fair amount of warmth and a free current of air. Be sure to place the ears so that they will not touch one another. Avoid all storing in boxes, barrels, or sacks. After the ears are com- pletely dry, you are ready for your last selection. The time taken for drying will, of course, vary in accordance with the amount of moisture which the corn contained at gathering. Even at harvest-time ears plucked from stalks growing in rich bottom lands frequently contain much moisture. To save damage from freezing, it is often necessary, in sec- tions which have early frosts, to gather corn when it is still full of moisture. In both of these cases much time will be needed for complete drying. As soon as the ears are dry, you are ready for your last selection. A simple plan is to spread a number of ears on a table, as the pupils have done in Fig. ^'], Then study each ear with care. Do not accept an ear unless it comes up to the high standards already described. As soon as you have chosen the best ears on the table, remove your selected ones for storage and send the others to the crib. Proceed in Io8 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK this way until you have an abundant supply for seed. This work can be -done on rainy days, and should be done without haste and without slackness. A few hours spent in this interesting labor will go far towards filling your cribs in the following fall. Fig. "ji. Selecting from Stored Seed Ears In this study of field selection, only the one-eared varieties have so far been considered. However, if you live in a section in which experience has shown that the prolific varieties outyield the one-eared varieties and if your land is fertile enough to yield from twenty-five to thirty bushels an acre, you will do best to plant a prolific corn. In your field selec- tion of prolific varieties, you will follow exactly the PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 109 same methods as you did with the one-eared varie- ties, except that you will mark and gather your seed from stalks, like the one in Fig. jd>, which bore two excellent ears. If you wish to improve your seed more rapidly than you can by simple field selection, you will be greatly interested in try- ing the " Ear-to- the-row" breeding patch. This form of breeding is called " Ear-to-the- row," because you must plant each row from a sepa- rate ear. For your breed- ing patch select one acre as far as possible from any other cornfield. The land for your patch should be like most of your other cornland. It should be level and no part of it should be richer than the other Fig. 78. Selecting from a Two- Eared Stalk no CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK part. It should be fertilized and cultivated in the same way in which you fertilize and cultivate your regular crop ; for, as stated before, you do not want seed from plants which have been favored. Lay the acre off in rows four feet apart. This will give you fifty-two rows, each two hundred and ten feet long. Keep the two outside rows for what are known as " guard rows." These rows are saved to catch stray pollen from other fields and to guard against the unusual hardships that outside rows often have. This will leave you fifty rows for your breeding patch. Number the rows from one to fifty. Now, select fifty of your finest ears, and remove as unfit for seed the kernels at the butts and tips. Be- ginning with row No. 2 plant by hand fifty rows. Be sure to use a separate ear for each row. Never put in any of your fifty rows any seed left from any other ear. With what seed is left, plant your two guard rows. In all the rows let the stalks stand eighteen inches apart, and, after the plants are from eight to ten inches high, thin to one stalk in each hill. If, however, you prefer the check-row plan of planting, drop four kernels to the check and then thin to three plants in the hill. In the fall, examine the rows, and mark the best stalks of the best rows. Gather the ears from each row separately, and preserve carefully apart the ears marked from the best stalks. Now weigh the ears from each row. The total weight of corn from each PLACE AND MANNER OF SELECTING SEED 1 1 1 row will show which are the high yielding rows and which are the light bearers. From the rows which gave the highest weight, save the ears marked as com- ing from the best stalks. Then tag these ears with Fig. 79. Yields from Ear-to-Row Patch the number of the row from which they came, and save them for your next year's breeding patch. The other best ears from high yielding rows will be used to plant your crop for the coming season. The ears from the low yielding rows will be thrown into the crib. In the second year the ears chosen as the best will, in the same way as before, be planted in the 112 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK breeding patch. In this way both the high yielding ears and the light yielding ears can be found. By throwing out the light yielders each year, and plant- ing only from those rows that prove themselves most fruitful yielders, you can produce and keep up a strain of corn which will give you a high return for your labor. You will be surprised at the different yields of the rows. From ears that looked equally good, yields that vary as much as 50 or 100 per cent are often produced. POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. How far should looks count in an ear of corn ? 2. How many stalks should you tag in order to provide seed for forty ears ? 3. A fine stalk in your field grew from the spot on which a stack of clover hay remained for some time. Would you select seed from the ear on this stalk ? 4. Give two reasons for not selecting seed from stalks growing at the very end of your rows. 5. To secure a proper rotation of crops it is often necessary to plant some of your corn rather late. As a rule, would you not avoid selecting seed from such late corn ? 6. One of your neighbors who does not select his seed in the field advertises that he has for sale ears that will produce a heavy yield of shelled corn to the ear. Give three reasons why you would not buy such seed. 7. In looking over your cornfields you find some excellent stalks growing on the only hillside on your farm of two hundred acres. State why you would not mark these stalks for seed. CHAPTER IX STORING THE SEED After you have thus painstakingly and thought- fully selected your next year's seed, must you not make sure that these valuable ears are properly preserved until planting time? Many a fine ear is injured or ruined by careless storage. We must always keep in mind that stored in each kernel there is a tender, living plant — the germ. This may be injured easily and its life or vigor ended. It is the grower's task to keep all harm from this tiny germ on which his hopes of an abundant harvest depend. What are some of the foes of the germ ? First, an ill-suited storage room. The life and the vigor of the germ depend largely on protection from too much moisture. Ears that are meant for seed should be as dry, when they are gathered, as field conditions will permit. Then they should be kept dry. If the ears are stored in a damp, very warm room, mold is likely to form and injure the germ. Therefore, for the first two months after gathering, the ears should be put in a dry room through which enough air to carry away moisture is constantly passing. The temperature of the room should never be allowed to fall below the freezing "3 114 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK point. If the weather should happen to be wet at storage time, put the ears in a room sufficiently warmed to drive out the- moisture. It is, however, safer for corn to be air-dried rather than fire-dried. Second, freezing. As long as there is much moisture in the ears, they should never be stored where there is clanger of freezing. The freezing of the moisture around the germ will kill it. After corn is thoroughly dried, there is little danger from storage in a freezing temperature, but it is safer never to run this risk; for the corn, after its first drying out, may again take up moisture. Third, late gathering. The longer corn stays in the field the longer, of course, the seed ears are beaten by rain. No ears set apart for seed should stay in the field long enough to be caught by a hard freeze. Experience proves that early gathering keeps vigor in the germ. Fourth, direct sunlight. While a well-lighted room is desirable for the ears, they should be so placed in the room that the direct rays of the sun cannot fall on them. Fifth, contact. Seed ears ought never to be stored so that they can touch one another. Such touching helps to keep moisture in the kernels and increases the danger of killing the germ by mold and rot. Sixth, rats and mice. Of course, seed must always be stored so that it cannot be injured by rats and mice. STORING THE SEED 115 APPLYING THE LESSON 1. In his anxiety to prevent his seed from freezing a young grower closed all the doors and windows of the storage room into which he had put his freshly gathered ears. If he kept these closed, what injury would be done his seed ? 2. Corn when first gathered contains about 25 per cent of moisture. After some weeks of drying it contains only 10 per cent. What per cent of the original moisture did it lose ? 3. Explain the possible danger of storing corn in a cellar. Would the kitchen be a good storage room ? Animals breathe out a good deal of moisture. Would it be well to store corn in a loft over a stable .? Experiments show that corn stored in attics usually has healthy germs. Can you give reasons for this ? 4. On a damp day would you open or close the windows of a seed storage-room ? 5. If your seed corn is in the field and a cold wave is predicted, what would you do ? Some seedsmen or other large growers who must save large quantities of seed build storage houses for it. These houses are provided with wire racks, slatted shelves, or other arrangements for holding the ears so that air may pass freely around them. Most of these houses are furnished with stoves or fur- naces to dry the corn when it is first stored and to keep the rooms fairly warm in very severe weather. However, unless a grower has unusually large quan- tities of seed to store, the cheaper methods given below will keep the seed as safely as though a house were built and warmed for them. TI' CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK I There are sev- eral simple ways of keeping safe the seed ears. One of the most conven- ient is shown in Fig. 80. You no- tice that the ears are fastened by strong strings to a hanging pole ; that each ear is hung so as not to touch any other ear; that air reaches all the ears. A second method is known as the " two-string " or " seesaw " plan. Fig. 8 1 show^s clearh' how one ear follows the other with a string at each end. The two pieces of string keep the ears from touching and permit air to sweep around the ears. This plan has an advantage over the first plan in providing for more ears in a small space. After ten or twelve ears are " see- sawed " in, the tops of the string are fastened to a nail. Fig. 80. Ears hung from a Pole 4 Fig. 81. The "Seesaw" Method STORING THE SEED 117 In order that one man may string the ears, a shuttle device (see Fig. 82) was invented to push the strings backward and forward as the ears are pushed in. A third plan is known as the wooden-slat method. As 3^ou see from Fig. 83, wooden slats are nailed on each side of two posts. This makes an airy shelf and takes up very little room. m ii 1 1 I f I t: TTTTrrrr^rrrr' fe.M i' i !■! 1 1 M ' ! ! i ! ; ! ? ' . !■! '! ! ? r *. ' , ' ?? ! f ? ' ifUfi I ' ? i ' ! n ?; i f ?? ??' !?! ! ' mn i" 1 ? ; ! ? ' ! ' TfTTT I fe 'f t/ r f-i ^ r r f TTTT t rr ri rr . r ? " " f t ? " ■" '' Fig. 82. Stringing Device Fig. 83. Wooden-Slat Method According to a fourth plan nails without heads hold the ears. The nails may be driven into a pole supported as shown in Fig. 84, or into a plank to which a string is fastened to hang the plank out of the way. This plan is illustrated in Fig. 85. Be sure that the nails are sufHciently far apart to hold the ears without their touching. A large "corn tree," as this sort of frame is called, will hold conveniently ii8 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK from two to three bushels of seed ears, which will be enough to plant from fifteen to twenty acres. Still a fifth plan is a wire rack cut from welded wire fencing. This method is shown in Fig. 86. In the United States over a hundred million acres are planted in corn each year. Every one of these acres NvVVV '-k,.VV\- *fvVVV ^vvv K. 1 ■ .^^ i i ^;;;3ii^^ ^^^Bv ( ^ Fig. 84. A Corn Tree Fig. 85. A Hanging Corn Tree would yield several bushels more if it were seeded with selected, early-gathered, well-dried, and care- fully stored ears. The planting of weak, damaged, or dead seeds causes an annual loss of millions of dollars. This loss can easily be prevented. Surely STORING THE SEED 119 every grower wishes to know how, by simple devices, to save his country from so enormous a loss. To sum up, there are two ways to insure good seed and thus save so many lost bushels. Each of these ways requires a little extra work in the fall and in the spring. The added work in the fall will be to select your seed in the field and to gather it early be- fore it is damaged by rain, cold, or disease, and then to store it wisely. There will usually be little fail- ure to sprout or to yield when fields are planted with selected seed ears which have been, first, produced by excellent home-grown par- ents ; second, gathered soon after they ripened ; third, dried carefully and thoroughly ; fourth, stored securely until planting-time. What is the spring task that will call for some painstaking but delightful labor? It is to test each of these treasured seed ears in order to remove all doubt whether it has power to germinate and to make Fig. 86. A Wire Seed Rack I20 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK a healthful growth. In no other way than by testing can you be sure that your seed will germinate. POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Why should you never store your seed corn in the husks? 2. A farmer who stored his seed ears in boxes found in the spring that with a fine season and good seed he had a very 'poor stand of young plants. Can you explain to him why this was so ? Fig. 87. Arranging the Ears 3. In what month is a freezing spell most likely to injure seed ears ? 4. Can you think of some reasons why air-drying is better for seed ears than fire-drying ? 5. Why should you protect seed ears from late-ripening varieties of corn more carefully than ears from early-ripening kinds ? CHAPTER X^ HOW TO TEST SEED CORN The sawdust plan of testing the power of seed to germinate is practiced on thousands of farms every season. Men are learning that they cannot afford to plant an ear of corn without knowing that it will grow. The test is simple and can be made by almost any intelligent child. The steps outlined below and the illustrations show how the selected ears are tested. 1. Arranging the ears (Fig. Minnesota . May 13 May 30 Sept. 9 Sept. 28 119 121 N.Dakota. . May 14 May 31 Sept. 8 Sept. 23 117 120 Michigan . . May 15 June 2 Sept. 10 Sept. 29 iiS 119 Maine . . . May 17 June 6 Sept. 12 Sept. 30 118 116 THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 185 The map given in Fig. 143 groups the states and their dates of planting in the largest corn-growing sections. As you see from the table the warm states have a much longer period in which to plant corn than do the colder states. In Alabama corn may be seeded for about two months, while in Wisconsin or North Dakota if you delay plant- ing for seven- teen days after the ground is warm enough to plant, your corn will most probably be killed by frost. In the Cotton Belt there are on an average about fifty-three days, after the date of be- ginning, in which you may plant without fear of losing your harvest. In the winter- wheat states, like Kansas and Nebraska, the time in which you may plant is limited to about thirty-three days. In the spring- wheat states, like the Dakotas and Minne- sota, the time is decreased to nineteen days. This length of planting-time gives, in the Southern states, an opportunity to plant corn after the winter legumes Fig. 143. Dates for Seeding i86 CORN 1500K FOR YOUNG FOLK and other crops, like rye and Irish potatoes, and consequently a farmer may plan a wider rotation of crops than he can in colder states. With the time of planting fixed by nature there comes the thought of the best method of planting. Fig. 144. D()ublp:-Ro\v Planter Will nature's laws guide you in deciding how to plant? If you are to plant in a section where there is too much moisture and no way to drain it off, should not your manner of planting be deter- mined by this fact ? On the other hand, if you are to use for your corn a well-drained soil lying in a region of average rainfall, should you not plan to plant in accord with these conditions ? Lastly, if you are to seed your corn either in coarse sandy or THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 187 gravelly soil in which water sinks rapidly, or in a region of small rainfall, would you not keep these conditions in mind? Let us think how we may work with nature in the three cases which we have just been considering. Fig. 145. Raised Seed Beds for Wet Lands First, take thought to the wet lands. In the South, especially, there are large bodies of low-lying wet lands. These lands are so level as to forbid natural drainage. How can you raise corn in such lands .f* Evidently, since you cannot drain off the water, you will have to raise your seed beds and let the extra water sink below the corn roots. Water in a corn row, as well as everywhere else, will seek the lowest level within its reach. If you raise rounded seed beds and plant your corn on the top of these 1 88 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK ridged beds, will you not leave a low furrow be- tween each of these long beds ? Will not the extra soil moisture in the bed drain down into these fur- rows and leave the roots a fairly dry seed bed? In case of heavy rains will not these water furrows, as they are called, carry off the rain before it can drown the young plants? Will not the rounded, raised bed furnish a larger surface to take in the sun's heat than a flat surface would? Hence, when nature supplies too much water, ridge the land, and thus get nature to help in draining it, and you can raise a good crop. Are there any reasons why this ridged method should not be used for other than wet lands ? There are several. In drained lands, which get just about sufficient moisture to raise a crop, would not this method waste water? If, in this case, water drained away from the roots into the water furrow, would not the plants be badly injured in dry weather? Can you run a harrow or cultivator over such bedded rows as conveniently as you can on smooth lands ? If you cannot, will you not be forced to use the hoe to remove weeds in the row? Would this not take more labor and add to the expense ? Second, in case you have well-drained, finely grained land and a sufficient yearly rainfall, what method of planting is best suited to your soil? With this sort of soil and with this amount of moisture will you have to make raised beds in order THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 189 to drain water away from your plant roots ? Will you, on the other hand, have to plant deep under the surface in order that the plant roots may find mois- ture? Since you are so fortunate as to farm on land with neither too much nor too little moisture, will not your natural plan be to seed the land just as it was left by the last harrowing? This method of planting is called surface planting, or flat plant- ing. Would not ridging such a soil lead to drawing moisture from the roots ? Would not planting such land very deeply perhaps lead to poor sprouting and certainly be needless trouble ? In surface planting two methods are common : one of these is the check-row method, the other the drill-row method. In the check-row system the land is laid off in straight rows crossing the field in opposite direc- tions. Such a field is shown in Fig. 146. The ker- nels are planted only at the points where the rows cross. Usually from two to three seed kernels are dropped at each of the crossing points, or hills. WHiat are the special merits of this widely used method of planting ? With this method of checks could you not run your tillage tools in the same direction in which your planter dropped the seed, and then run them across the field in an opposite direction? Would this not enable you to cultivate on all sides of your plants without hoeing? Would this not lessen the cost of production ? 190 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Could this method be used on all kinds of land ? Could you use it without too great cost on small, irregular fields ? Could you use it on terraced lands? Could you lay off hilly or sloping lands in checks? If you did, would there not be danger of washing? Fig. 146. A Check-Rowed Field Is it not probable that one plant standing alone in a furrow twelve inches from another plant can find food and moisture more easily than three plants standing in one hill three feet from other hills ? In the drill-row method the seed is planted in straight rows without checking. The planter usually drops one kernel to a hill, and the hills are much closer to one another than in the check-row method. THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 191 What are the advantages of this system? Can you not use this method on either flat or hilly land ? Can you not run your rows around the hills and thus save washing? Can you not, in like manner, run your rows wdth your terraces on broken land? Does not this drill- . row plan provide more space for each stalk and pre- vent root crowd- ing ? Will not a .MmMiMLi^ Fig. 147. Flat Preparation for Planting plant standing en- tirely alone find a greater pasturage of moisture and plant food than threeplants stand- ing in a hill ? On the other hand, will it not be harder to keep down weeds and grass with tillage tools by this method, since you can run them only one way? Hence, for flat lands will the check-row^ plan not be cheaper than the drill-row method ? Third, where land is so gravelly or so sandy that water sinks rapidly into the soil, or in dry regions, what is the best method of planting? In these cases do you not need to work with nature and plant your corn where it can most easily reach moisture ? 192 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK Will you not have to plant deeper than you do in surface planting ? The method by which this is done is known as listing. In those parts of the South and Southwest in which very light soils are found, and in all the limited-rainfall area west of the main Corn Belt, this method is in very general use. Where the Fig. 148. Simple Lister, or "Middle Buster" land is loose and friable and where there is not much vegetable matter in the soil, listing is the cheapest method of planting, for such land can be listed and planted without any other preparation. If, however, the land is at all stiff or if there are many weeds and much grass on the surface, the land should be disked or harrowed some days before it is listed. Listing is mainly done in three ways : First, by a simple lister, or " middle buster," as it is often called. The simple lister is shown in Fig. 148. As you see. THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 193 it is merely a plow with a double moldboard. One moldboard throws the earth to the right in a low ridge; the other throws the soil to the left in the same manner. A planter follows in the furrow made by the lister and drops and covers the kernels. The depth secured in this way enables the kernels to obtain the needed moisture. When corn is listed only about one third of the land is touched by the two tools. Fig. 149. Lister with Additions Second, by a lister with several additions to it. These additions are clearly pictured in Fig. 149. The first is a subsoil stirrer, which is fastened just behind the lister and runs in the same furrow. This loosens the bottom of the furrow and makes it the seed bed. The seed dropper is attached behind the subsoiler, and back of the dropper are the coverers. With this instrument one man with three heavy horses can plant seven acres a day. Third, by a combined planter and lister, as shown in Fig. 150. This is often called the furrow-opener method. The furrow opener is in front ; then follow X94 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK the teeth to loosen the soil and then the dropper and coverer. This method should be used only on well- prepared land. What are the merits of listing ? As this method, except in the last case, saves one or more workings Fig. 150. Combined Lister and Planter of the soil, will it not be the cheapest plan ? As the kernels are planted so deep that the corn roots can reach what moisture there is in the soil, should not corn so planted stand dry weather well ? Would not the plants mature on less water than they would in the other ways ? Would not the corn planted so deep in the soil grow slowly in the spring ? Would not the slow growth cause a less vig!"orous growth of vigorous THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 95 blades and stalks? As the blades and stalks con- sume much moisture, would not this slow growth save moisture ? As the lister throws earth away from the roots, would it not throw the weed seeds in the earth away from the hills? Could the weeds, after they have sprouted in the middle of the rows, be killed there more easily than around the new plants? There are, how- ever, several ob- jections to the listing methods. Would this deep planting in cold soil make germi- nation more diffi- cult? In case of very hard rains, would there not be danger of drowning the low-set plants and of washing the seed furrow very badly? In all of the methods of planting corn the actual dropping of the seed kernels may be done in several ways. If only a small field, say eight or ten acres, is to be planted, hand dropping, as shown in Fig. 151, or a hand machine similar to the one in Fig. 152, is the cheapest plan. For large areas a one-row or a double-row planter is, of course, much cheaper than hand dropping. As already seen, the listers have Fig. Planting bv Hanu 196 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK droppers attached. For planting in checks the check- row planter, shown in Fig. 153, is widely used. Before using any of these implements the kernels should be graded for uniform size and the planter carefully set. To secure kernels of about the same size would you not exclude the irregular kernels on the tips and butts of the ears? To keep from injuring the kernels by passing them through a sheller should you not shell your seed ears by hand, or use such a device as is illus- trated in Fig. 154? I snot thinning out the extra stalks a costly custom ? Will it not, therefore, save time and money to drop only as many kernels as you want stalks? Can you not count on the germination of good seed? Before you set your planter you will of course have to determine three things: first, how wide apart to lay off your rows; second, how far from one another to make your hills in the rows ; third, how many kernels to plant in each hill. The experience of thoughtful growers is that, as a rule, the rows should be from three and a half to four feet apart. The distance, as we shall presently learn, should be less for rich lands than for poor lands. Fig. 152. A Hand Planter Fig. 153. Check-Row Planter Fig. 154. A Device to remove Kernels from Butts and Tips 198 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK The distance of the stalks, or hills of stalks, from one another cannot be so readily fixed. Of course, well-tilled plants will thrive in proportion to the amount of plant food and moisture in the soil. If there is not much plant food or moisture for your plants, can you expect to grow a large number of heavily eared stalks? Would not the food and moisture have to be divided among all the stalks? If you lessened the number of stalks, would not each stalk get more nourishment ? Would not this smaller number of well-nourished stalks yield more well-filled ears than a larger number of badly nour- ished stalks? If you increased the number of stalks on poor land, would you not expect that the further division of food and moisture would force the stalks to bear a very abundant crop of nubbins ? If, on the other hand, the soil has a sufficiency of food and moisture to support a large number of stalks, should you not be sure to plant them ? Again, some varieties of corn have larger stalks than others. The large stalks require more food and moisture for proper fruitage than do the smaller stalks. Could you not, therefore, plant more stalks of a small variety on an acre than you could of a large variety ? Do you not then see that the thickness of your plant- ing must be governed by the fertility of the land, by the amount of moisture, and by the variety seeded ? In the check-row method, kernels are dropped only where the rows cross. At what distance shall THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 199 these check rows cross ? Must not the rows be wide enough apart for a horse and a cultivator to pass each way ? Could the rows, then, no matter how rich the land, be less than three feet apart? If the land be very poor, would even five feet be too wide ? The Fig. 155. Rich Land may be thickly planted general opinion of the users of this method is that a distance of from three and a half to four feet is most satisfactory. How many kernels should be dropped in each hill ? Do not forget the guiding rule, " The richer the land the thicker the seeding; the poorer the land the thinner the seeding." In the great Corn Belt three kernels to the hill seems best for fertile 200 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK land. If the land is unusually rich, four may be planted. In the South, since the corn grows con- siderably larger than in the main Corn Belt, only two kernels should be seeded to each check. In the North, where flint corns are grown, the small stalks and ears of that type enable you to plant four or five kernels to the hill. In the raised-bed method, in the drill-row method, or in the listing method of planting, a distance be- tween the rows of three feet for rich land and of three and a half to four feet for average land is the usual rule. In these methods, of course, the kernels are not dropped in checked hills. They are dropped singly in the row, or they are planted by twos, by threes, or by fours. In regions of sufficient moisture the highest yields on equally fertile lands seem to be obtained when the stalks stand singly and at a dis- tance from one another of from twelve to fourteen inches. In the dry regions the plants should stand singly, but the distance apart should be increased. The stalks should stand at least eighteen inches apart in comparatively dry land and about thirty-six inches in very dry and poor land. The problem of spacing having been settled, you have next to consider the depth of planting. Are not light and air generally present in the soil ? Will not warmth and the proper amount of moisture, therefore, be the two things to think of in planting ? What will happen to the seed if there is too much THE FOURTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 20 1 moisture ? What if there is too Httle ? What if there is no warmth? In the early spring is the earth warm to any great depth ? Would it not be foolish to plant deeper than the earth is warmed ? Hence, would you not avoid deep planting at that time ? As spring advances can you plant deeper? Since corn rA w^ -^-^0^-^ J raS ■^Pa> "^ W^N^. ^m H HP^WPT^^^r^ 7J ^m ^y ^m vv'ii* JMcV^^"^ ^^ ^ •"•^^-w^ ^.^1 Fig. 156. WiDF. Rows suit Poor Land roots are near the surface, will you ever need to plant very deep ? If the earth is warm and dry would you plant deeper than if the earth were warm and moist? In planting will you not also have to think how different soils hold water? You know how moisture sinks in sandy soils. To secure moisture for your seeds in such land would you plant deep or shallow? On stiff clay land what would be the danger in deep planting? As a rule, farmers plant their corn too deep. From one to two inches is generally deep enough. 202 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK APPLYING THE LESSON 1. A corn-grower from Louisiana moved to the drained lands of Illinois. According to his custom he raised his rows for corn. What difference in conditions did he forget ? 2. A boy who was reared in Eastern Kansas went to farming in Western Kansas. As the untidy looks of fields planted by the lister method displeased him, he planted with a check-rower. Would you expect his corn to bear heavily ? 3. " I always begin to plant corn on the 12th of March/' said a farmer. Is this a wise rule ? 4. A poor thinker had two fields to plant. One was very sandy, the other a heavy loam. The man did not want to change his planter, so he planted both fields one inch deep. On which would he be most likely to get the better stand .'' 5. A man, growing impatient over a late spring, plowed early, planted early, planted deep. What would you expect to find on visiting his farm in May ? POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Does every cornstalk require the same amount of water ? If not, state the conditions under which it will need more or less rain. Would a two-inch rain in Florida, in July, do a cornfield more good than a one-inch rainfall in central Illinois at the same time ? 2. Should silage corn ever be planted in checks ? 3. Why would the check-row method of planting corn not suit the Appalachian section ? Why would the lister method be unwise in most of Tennessee ? 4. In what way does a very heavy rain sometimes keep corn from germinating ? On what sort of soil would this be most likely to happen ? Can you think of many more important things in farming than the proper control of moisture? - - CHAPTER XVI THE FIFTH STEP IN CULTIVATION — TENDING THE CROP After corn seed is planted is there any need of cultivation before the tiny shoots push their way Fig. 157. A Weeder out of the soil? Often in a newly planted field weeds spring up ahead of the corn. If these weeds are allowed to grow, will they not be harder to kill 203 204 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK later on ? Will not these weeds also use much plant food ? Can the corn spare the moisture which the weeds are drawing from the soil ? Will they not decrease the yield of corn by whatever amount of plant food and moisture they steal? Should they not be killed at once? Can you kill these young weeds without injury to the sprouting corn ? On light and level lands this can easily be done by running a weeder, similar to the one illustrated in Fig. 157, across the rows. On un- even and heavy lands it will be bet- ter to use a spike- tooth harrow like the one in Fig. 158. The teeth of the harrow should be set to slant backwards so as not to drag the young corn sprouts out of the seed bed. If either of these is run across the rows, it will destroy the weeds without harming the corn. If it is preferred, a cultivator may be used to kill the weeds. This implement, if used, should be run with the rows and not across them. If the crop is full of weeds, the cultural implements may be used several times. However, just as the corn is shooting out of the ground and is very tender, cultivation with the weeder or harrow should stop for a while. It can then be started again and kept up until the corn is Fig. 158. A Spike-Tooth Harrow THE FIFTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 205 three or four inches tall. These early cultivations will not only destroy weeds but they will keep the ground from packing and thus save moisture and will also give the plants a vigorous start. If corn- stalks or rubbish have been turned under and remain unrotted in the seed beds, neither a weeder nor a Fig. 159. A Lister Cultivator harrow can be used. From the time the corn appears above the ground its growth should never be checked. On listed land an implement known as the lister cultivator is coming into favor. It takes the place of the weeder or harrow in the earlier cultivations of corn planted by this method. Such a cultivator is shown in Fig. 159. On many farms this cultivator is not used until the lister ridges are somewhat leveled by one harrowing. At the first working of the corn by this tool the disks are set to throw the earth away from the corn. Fenders are provided to 206 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK keep the dirt from covering the plants. The earth, on striking these fenders, crumbles and sifts around the plants without bruising or burying them. At the second cultivation the disks are set wider apart and throw the earth toward the plants. Two culti- vations usually put the soil in good condition and leave it level for the regular cultivators. As soon as the plants are from three to five inches high you should start your cultiva- tors. There are many kinds of cul- tivators, varying in style from the one-row walking cultivator with two shovels, shown in Fig. i6o, to the large two-row riding cultivator, similar to the one in Fig. 1 6 1. The number of shovels attached to the cultivator varies from two to eight. The size of the shovels is usually smaller as the number grows larger. In some (see Fig. 162) disks take the place of shovels. In others, especially those made for later and shallow cultivation, long blades are used instead of shovels or disks. Still others have spring-tooth attachments. What shall govern you in a choice of cultivators ? In case your land is sloping or very uneven, can you Fig. 160, Cultivator with two Shovels Fig. i6i. Two-Row Cll nXAiuK Fig. 162. A Disk Cultivator 208 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK use a two-row cultivator conveniently? In case your land is rather hard and packs easily, could you readily use small shovels? If weeds are tall and coarse, will you not have to select a cultivator with large shovels? When your land is in poor condition Fig. 163. Cultivator with Small Shovels and needs fining, would not a disk cultivator be most successful? On stony land what would be gained by having a spring-tooth cultivator? In mellow lands, either sandy or full of humus, would not small shovels be most useful? On level lands would not a two-row cultivator save much time? Considering these changing conditions, shall you not select a cultivator to meet the needs of your farm ? THE FIFTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 209 Whatever kind of cultivator you select should be put to work when the corn is from three to five inches tall. Unless you allow weeds to grow too long, no other cultivating tool should be necessary. However, after your corn grows tall, will not a single-row cultivator, like the one in Fig. 164, have to take the place of the two-row cultivator.? Fig. 164. A Single-Row Cultivator How deep in the soil must your cultivator run ? Let us again turn to nature for an answer. Look at the roots of the corn plant shown in Fig. 165. This plant is only twenty-one days old. Then examine the root system of the ninety-day-old plant in Fig. 166. Will not the size and fullness of the ear depend on the amount of moisture and food the plant gets from these roots ? If your cultivator goes deep enough to bruise, tear, or break these roots, can they properly nourish the stalk ? Will shallow or deep cultivation 2IO CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK disturb these roots least ? Is it not clear that your cultivating tools should not go crashing through these tender feeders of the plant? As the roots spread more and more with age should not your cul- tivations be less and less deep ? Would it not be well to set the blades next to the corn more shallow than those working in the middle of the rows? Could the first cultivation be deeper than any of the others with- out injury to the plant? For the last one or two cul- tivations, after the corn is well grown, would it not be wise to take the shovels off the cultivator and put on scrapers? Could such scrapers be used for every cultivation except the first one? Many farmers cultivate too deeply. Is there any good reason for this practice? To answer this im- portant question we shall have to ask another; namely. What are the reasons for cultivating corn at all ? It now seems that the two main reasons for working the soil around corn plants are as follows : first, to kill the weeds that seek to divide moisture Fig. 165. Root System after Twenty- One Days' Growth THE FIFTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 211 and plant food with the corn; second, to save all possible moisture for the ever thirsty corn plants. Do either of these reasons demand deep cultiva- tion? Evidently, unless you allow the weeds too much start, you can kill them with a shallow-running tool. The only way to save moisture in the spring and summer is to keep a dry mulch on the top of the soil. You can always do this with a shallow tool. Therefore, is there any reason for injuring the corn roots by useless deep cultivation? After the first cultivation the depth should decrease regularly from two or three inches to about one and a half inches for the later cultivations. Many experiments have been made in different states to decide how often corn should be culti- vated. Fields of corn have been cultivated from one to fourteen times to find out what number of cultivations brings about the largest yield. Will a study of nature's ways help to decide this vexed question ? Fig. 1 66. Root System after Ninety Days' Growth 212 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK You have noticed how clay lands and other stiff lands pack after a hard rain and form a crust on top of the soil. As soon as land packs in this way, do not the soil tubes which carry moisture to the surface form roads through which moisture escapes into the air? Can you afford to allow this moisture to be lost to your corn ? What effect would running the cultivator have in preventing this loss ? Would the cultivator not break up the soil tubes? Would not the mulch formed by the cultivator keep the moisture where the roots need it? Shall we not, then, make it a rule to cultivate such lands after every hard rain? Would loose, mellow soils pack in the same way ? To save moisture will these loose soils need to be cultivated as often as the stiff soils? Again, if lands pack and form a hard crust, what will happen when sorely needed showers fall ? Will the water be able to sink down to the plant roots or will it run off almost as it would from a floor? If the land were loosened by a cultivator would the rain be thus lost? Then must we not cultivate often enough to keep the soil from so packing that the rain will be lost to the plant roots ? Of course no weeds or grass should be allowed to grow in the cornfield. We shall have, therefore, to cultivate as many times as is necessary to destroy weeds or grass; and in loose, mellow soils, which are not likely to pack, this is the main reason for cultivating. Such soils usually have sufficient warmth THE FIFTH STEP IN CULTIVATION 213 and air. They take in water well, and soil tubes are not readily formed. Hence such soils do not need as frequent cultivation as the stiff ones. Since these are the reasons for cultivation, will it not follow that cultivation is needed more frequently when the corn is young than it is after the corn is older? After the corn spreads its leaves over the rows, weeds do not grow so readily and there is not so great a loss of soil moisture. We must, however, bear in mind that the tasseling and silking time is always a trying time for corn. At that period light cultivation may save the moisture that is invaluable to a good harvest. In cultivating your corn three thoughts should be uppermost : first, to make a bounteous yield ; second, to do this at the smallest cost; third, to save all possible drudgery. Good practical machines will enable you to do these three things. Hence, if you have to start with few machines, save in every way until you can supply your farm with excellent cultivating tools and implements. APPLYING THE LESSON 1. A corn-grower sat on his fence and kept crying to his plow- men, who were cultivating waist-high corn, " Stick those plows in the ground." What do you think of his order? 2. In case a long wet spell stops your cultivation and gives weeds and grass such a growth that it is necessary to clear the crop with a plow, how would you set the plow ? 214 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK 3. A plowman who cultivated his surface-planted corn as deeply as his listed corn gathered more corn from his listed acres. He therefore decided that the listing method was the better. Did his experience prove that listing is the best method ? 4. A farmer who had rich, mellow land, full of humus, bought a disk cultivator. Did he make a wise selection ? POINTS FOR THOUGHT 1. Corn will germinate sooner and more regularly if the seed bed in which it is planted is harrowed. Can you tell why this is true ? 2. Why is a spike-tooth harrow better than a weeder for the first cultivation of stiff lands ? 3. Is it well to have any fixed date on which to stop cultivating corn? 4. Why is it generally important to cultivate upland corn in the South to a later period of growth than it is in the Northern states.'* 5. Why can the first tilling with the cultivator be deeper than the later ones ? CHAPTER XVII HARVESTING THE CROP With the last cultivation of corn your labor on that crop ceases until harvest. If, however, you live in a climate in which summer le- gumes thrive, you should plant peas or beans in your corn. The corn, of course, drew ni- trogen from the soil. Will not a leguminous crop restore the nitro- gen to the soil by drawing a supply from the air? Will not such a crop furnish food for man and beast in case you cut it ? Will it not add humus to the soil if you turn it under? A stirring farmer who knows that his success depends on keeping his land busy and fertile will plant as many legumes as possible. 215 Fig. 167. Sov Beans sown at Last Cultivation 2l6 CORN BOOK FOR YOUNG FOLK At what time shall you begin to harvest corn? The first illustration in this book shows in how many different states corn is grown. As many of these states differ in climate, and hence in the length of the growing-season, would you not expect corn to ripen at different times in these states? __^^^ M ust we not note, first, that the time of harvesting va- ries with the cli- mate ? As you know, there are early and late kinds of corn, and therefore the time of harvest- ing varies, second, with the variety planted. Note in Fig. 169 how marked is this difference. The center rows are ripe; the outer ones are still growing. If a field of corn has been well cultivated and freely fed, would it be likely to ripen earlier or later than a neighboring field which had been neglected and starved? Hence, does not the time of harvest- ing vary, third, with the care which has been given the crop ? Again, would you think that moist bot- tom lands would ripen their crops as soon as dry uplands? Therefore, fourth, the time of harvesting Fig. 168. Crimson Clover after Corn HARVESTING THE CROP 217 varies with the moisture in the land. Moreover, will not the date of beginning vary, fifth, with your plans for harvesting and with the purpose for which you harvest your crop ? If you are going to use the stalks for silage, will you not harvest earlier than if you are to save only the ears? • • >*. M-. tK^flb^