Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-06-06
AGRICULTURAL NOTES.
DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF
AMERICAN AGRICULTURlSTS.
Corn and its Cultivation The Respective
Merits of Hill and Drill Planting, as
Compared by Waldo +. Brown in
The Farmers Review.

The question is continually being
asked "Why do some farmers drill il
their corn while their neighbors are
against the plan and in favor of CHECK
rowingY' There is also an inti1natior
that it will be difficult to keep the crot
clean if drilled, and more difficult to thin
it properly than if hilled. have prac
ticed both hill and drill planting, ant
under certain conditions prefer one ani
under other conditions the other. The
advocates of drilling claim that this plan
giving, as it does, q more even distri
button Of the stalks in the row, will pro
duce larger ears and better yield, anG
l think this is true.
1t does not pay the farmer with small
or rolling, or irregular fields to try tc
use the check rover, and il he does not
but checks by means of the hand lever
the field must first be marked the Other
way, and then two hands are required &c
operate the planter, SO there is quite
saving in time in planting by the drill
method. The corn is easier to thin
when planted with the drill than Vher
in check rows for if stalk is TO he
taken out it stands by itself and can be
chopped out with the hoe, while if there
Rre too many stalks in hill the surplus
must be pulled and often the remaining
stalks are disturbed.
AS a matter of fact drilled corn can
usually be planted so as to require nc
thinning. think the farmer with good
land, in good condition, can keep drilled
corn as clean as that in hills. You can
get closer to the corn at the first plow.
ing if there is but one stalk in a place,
and planted in a perfectly straight row,
than if there are several stalks in a hill
and somewhat scattered. We do not
drill the corn in the bottom Of a furTow,
but it is very near the surface, and we
can set the cultivator or bar shears, with
a fender between them and the corn SC
as to run very close to the row, and Writ
ually hoe every stalk at the first work
ing. Then by changing the tools each
successive working can be made satisfac-
tory, so that they can be kept perfectly
clean,
In drilling one must see that the rows
Hlt lIc 1ISLu N1uJl W StAit lIlt CttlNlN ttlbI
with which the crop is to be tended, or,
as I have seen, there will be strip of
weeds in the middle of the row. Hemust
also be sure and master the weeds in the
row at the very start, ar he will have a
Weedy row and a stunted crop. To en-
able him to do this the land must be in
good condition at planting time and
either roller or a plank drag must be
used to smooth and level off the field
The man who drills in a crop Of corn OF
rough, badly prepared field, or on one
full Of foul seed, or who fails to get into
his corn at the earliest day he can dc
good work, and push the cultivation al
the start, is likely to have poor crop
and while the same is TO a certain extent
true of corn in check rows, yet there is ;
better chance to clean out the crop i
weeds get a start in it when you cal
pillow both ways.
l believe the time is near at hand whel
most of the corn crop will be handled b,
machinery. We shall see the corn Gu
up in the field by machine which vii
cut row as fast as twOhOrses can walk
and this will be put in smaN shock
which will soon cure out, and then i
will be run through machine which
will husk the corn and chaff the fodder