The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-05-24

DO not plant TOO deep; about two
inches is the proper depth but this
may be varied according TO the mois-
ture in the soil II must be put deep
enough to secure moisture sufficient
to germinate it. Plant in rows three
feet six inches or three feet nine
inches apart and drop the seed in
the rows from eighteen inches to two
feet apart. Land which viii not
make corn planted in this way is too
poor to be profitably planted. and
ought to grow crimson clover and
Cowpeas until 1t Will do so. Better
curtail the area 10 be planted to such
an acreage, as you can fertiliZe liber-
ally and produce a heavy yield than
to plant a large area of poor land
which will not pay the cost Of making
thee rop. The experiments made in
growing corn for the prize crops have
shown that one acre can be made
to produce, on average land and with
only such reasonable fertilization
can be profitably applied, a yield from
three to five times the average yield
per acre of the State When the
planting is finished run a weeder or
harrow over the field at once and re-
peat this just before the corn shows
above ground This will help greatly
| to insure an even stand. The suDse
| auent cultivation of the crop should
+ be shallow and frequent. Never let
] crust form on the land. but keep
! dust mulch all the time. This con
| serves moisture and admits the sun
and air into the soil The best Inn
plement to use In cuItivating the corn
| crop is a riding tooth cufnyator, which
will Just stir the top three inches OF
! soil This Will kill all weeds as they
sprout, if used frequently enough, and
never disturb the corn roots. Where
you have not a riding cultivator the
iron Age cultivafor is a good imple-
ment to use. Whatever else you use
to cultivate the corn crop, never use
| a plow. except it may be on river low
grounds where running vines between
the corn plants are troublesome, and
there it may be permissible to use q
little single horse plow, or a disc cul-
tivator to throw a light furrow onto
these vines to smother them. DO not
limit yourself to any particular num-
Der Of times to cultivate the crop The
more frequently the land can be
stirred the better until it is impossi-
bic to get through the crop without
breaking down the stalks. AT the Last
cultivation of the crop SOW cOWpeas
or crimson clover, or both, and cover
with the cultivator. Three pecks Of
cowpeas and ten or twelve pounds OF
crimson clover seed per acre should
make a good cover for the land and
the cost of the seed will be amply re-
paid by the improvement it will make
ia the land even though the crop
should not he grazed In the fall or
spring 1t is we'll when planting the
corn to mix a few Mammoth Virginia
pumpkin seeds with the corn in the
hopper every third or fourth row and
drop them with the corn. If the land
is in good condition, these will grow
and a few wagon loads of pump
can be raised to feed to the hogs and
cattle These do not interfere with
the corn crop; indeed. some farmers
maintain that they help it, as the
idii So ioeA' % oia~1os eIl' oiCuIid fliAN
keep it moist.
The earlinesS Of the season, and
the open weather in the early spring.
in the cotton sections have resulted
in very much of the crop being al
ready planted. and by the time this
issue is in the hands Of our readers
there will be little to plant. The last
crop having been much less one
(about 100000 baies) than that Of
Continued on Page Two)