Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-05-03
Seed Corn-How and What to Plant.

Much fear has been entertained about
the corn crop for 1888, on account of
the lack of good seed, and of the proper
variety to suit our short season. But
dealers and shippers have taken hold
of the matter in good earnest and plen-
W of seed is offered to planters such as
i. is. The usual question is asked: Will
it grow? but the important question is
or should be, 'Is it of the early kind, or
90-day corn ?" 1t is of 90 use to plant
anything else unless for fodder or ensi-
lage, and for that II is better to plant
such as viii mature.
DON'T PLANT TOO DEEP.
Mr.. Sturtevsnt of the New York Agri-
cultural College says.
"The power in the corn kernel to re-
terminate, alter drying, enables us to
plant it shallower than is sometimes re-
qaired for the securing of permanent
moisture to tie seed in the spring.
While some corn seed have the power
to push up through eight inches of
heavy clay soil, yet our resulta last sea-
son showed q quicker vegetation, and,
as we imagined, better stand from
seed planted onefourth inch deep than
deeper. Hence it seems quite reson-
able, to infer that the compacting of
fine soil about the seed is OF more i'm
portance than merely the depth of
planting"
We believe that the doctor is correct
in the main, but a neighbor of ours;
Charles Gillpatrick, who is good farm
or, few years since, planted 40 acres
of corn on his farm near Minneapolis.
He had two hands who planted the seed
with hoe. He worked during the
time in the same field and used corn
planter. Every corn kernel of the seed
which he planted came up, while that
which was planted with hoe By his
two employees totally failed, not any APP
pearing. What was the cause? Simp-
ly this the seeder lodged, the seed three
or four inches down into the soil, that
planted by his hired hands was only
covered the usual depth and failed.
Farmers Union.
PLANTING.
T. E. Foss, of Ohio, says: "Shall
corn be in hills, or drills, check sowed
or not, and how many kerRels in
hill? If in drills what the distance of
each seed apart? II the lsnd is fairly
clean, there is no doubt about the SUI
periority of drilling it, if for no other
than the simple reason that in that
way the crop is more evenly distributed
over the ground. If the land is very
foul, then cultivation both ways is alb
sclutely necessary to keep down the
weeds, hills with rows is thought by
many to be essential, since the land
cannot be cleared otherwise, except by
hand hoeing, which is expensive. II
the land is clean and strong the rows
should be fully four feet apart, and,
when possible, running north and
south, and the plants II to 10 inches
apart for tho common local varieties;
and from 16 to 20 for the large. To be
sure the common planters With are
now made cannot be set wider than
f. inches. In that case another inn pie
ment should be obtained, which will
place its rows four or more feet apart,
because the great mistake of nearly all
corn growers lies in over seeding and in
100 close planting, In hill planting the
common distance is three feet eight
inches between the main rows, and
three feet two inches the opposite way,
which does very well where no more
than three stalks to the hill are grown,
although my experience is that four
feet by three and one-half feet would
be much better. Fifty or even thirty
years ago, tho corn crop of the west
was fed from the stalk to a much
greater extent than at present, and
hence the practice of close planting,
because for feeding purposes, corn that
has large proportion of big ears, is
not so valuable as other corn with small
er ears which has more fodder or
"roughness, Hence the origin of too
close planting and too heavy seeding
which 1t will take long time to cor
rect"