The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-05-04
PLANTING CORN.
BY o. M. Olson, Extension Dr.
vision, Minnesota University
Farm.


True ecopomy in the growing Of
corn can only be accomplished by
methods which shall make each acre
produce as great a yield as possible
and still be practical from the stand
point of the labor involved. Any in
crease in the yield per acre, unless at
tanned at the expense of an undue
amount of labor, reduces the cost OF
producing each individual bushel, al
though it may slightly add to the to-
tai cost OF production per acre.
Aside frcm the fertility of the soil
and the climatic conditions Of the sea-
son, the farmer is master of the fac
tors that enter into a good yield of
corn He can select an adaptable va
riety, and one known TO be a good
yieider: and, with little time devoted
to testing and grading the seed pre-
vious to planting, he will be able to
weed cut the seed that is weak IN
termination and irregular IL shape, all
of which viii tend toward giving an
uneven stand. Weak and sickly stalks,
and missing hills, cannot be cultivated
with profit in any cornfield, and the
time to avoid them is before they are
planted.
Likewise much of the cultivation of
the corn crop should lie in the prepare
ton of the seedbed before it is plant
ed Every stirring of the seed-bed
fr mo tar hot n
er it is with the harrow, disc or cult
vator, is a cultivation OF, the crop that
is to follow; and, when rightly per-
formed, it conseryes soil-moisture,
liberates plant food, destroys weeds,
warns the soil, and in general makes
a better preparation for the growth CT
seed when planted 1t is far better
to delay planting several days than to
put the seed in a pOorly-prepared
seed-bed In fact, one of the most
common errors in the growing of corn
is in being in too big a hurry to get
| the seed into the ground.
| The seed-bed for corn should not be
J too compact; and still the furrow slice
should be firmly united with the sub
| soil, in order that there may be free
| movement Of the soil-moisture when
| ever needed The surface should be
free from ridges and clods, and sufti-
GENTLY mellow, so that the soil-mc:s-
| ture will rise close to the surface
I Corn should seldom be planted deeper
| than two inches, and more often there
| should be such an amount of soil
moisture near the surface that shall
| lower depth will suffice.
In regard to the planting operation
itself, no universally applicable sta T.
ment can be made as to the number of
kernels per hill, the space between
the rows, nor the distance apart in
| the row 1t is safe to assume, how
ever, that three good stalks per hill
| is a good stand, that forty-four inches
between rows is space enough, and
| that planting in the check system
makes it easier to keep. the ground
| clean. -.
Before commencing to plant, the
cOrn-planter should be looked over TO
see that all parts are properly ad-
| justed and work readily The planter
| plates should be tried with the seed
| that is to be used, and those giving
| the desired drop selected. A steady.
moderate-walking team should be Sc.
1ected to use in the planting, and a
| man to drive who knows how to oper-
ate the machine and who takes pride
in his work. Crooked rows, like miss
| ing hills, cast disbursement upon
all subsequent care of the crop.