The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-02-23
CORN CUMURE.

CORN CULTURE.
written by Horace Jones, OF Nit
chell township, School No. 16 and
awarded second prize in class A in
the composition contest at the recent
state corn show.) [.
Maize or Indian corn is the pro-
duct Of a species of cereal having
monoceius floewrs. The stem. grow
ing upright. is filled with a pithy,
fibrous structure, and coated with a
hard she'll. 1t is divided at irregu-
lar intervals by joint-like objects
called nodes" from the lowest two
or three of which, brace roots are
sent out to support the stem or
stalk" From the nodes also the
long and comparatively narrow
leaves, with veins running parallel
to the mid-rib, are sent out. From
a node about one half of the way up
the stalk, appears the ear, consisting
of a central axis, the "cob," with
kernels" arranged in rows attached
to it. There are from eight to six
ten rows of kernels on a cob, and
from thirty to sixty kernels in a
row. Frow the embryo of each kerr
mel a sort of a threat leads to the
tip of the ear. All taken together
are called the "silk," and constitute
the pistillate flower of the plant, on
which the pollen is to fall. The ear.
with the exception of the end of the
silk, is tightly wrapped by many
thicknesses of leaves called 'husks.'
On the tip of the stalk grows the
tassel. which furnishes an abundI
ance of light dry pollen.
Connected with corn growing.
there is no factor of more import
ance, than the character of the seed
selected. The first and best place for
such selection is in the field before
any likelihood of a killing frost. Let
the farmer take a bag on his shout
der, go through the field, and gather
the large mature ears, from the best
looking plants. The ears selected
should have we'll formed tips and
butts, a slender cob, large plump
deep kernels, arranged in az straight
rows as possible, and the a should
have a general good appearance. At
ter sorting and re-sorting the choice
ears, are put away in a warm dry
place for the winter.
The seed bed is next in import
ance after the selection of seed. The
soil best suited is a rich dep friable
loan, with a subsoil open enough to
admit proper drainage, but net so
open as to dry out rapidly. Plenty of
fertilizer should be used. Time and
farmyard MANURE add greatly to the
richnesso f the soil. Fall plowing,
eight or twelve inches dep is advocat-
ed by some. Discing two Or three
times in the spring. and. dragging to
smooth, puts the sed bed in good
shape. The soil should be put in
to excellent condition before plant
ing time, for lack of preparation of
the soil before planting, cannot pc
atoned for by extro work afterwards"
Having noticed briefly the princi-
plies relating to selection of seed and
preparation of the sed bed, we will
now give attention to the principles
relating to planting. The time OF
planting will depend upon the gen.,
eral temperature of the country, and
it will even vary in the same locality
from year to year. The extremes.
however, r usually the first week
in May and the second week in
June. 1t is best to wait until the soil
is moderately warm before planting,
as the seed will naturally terminate
better than in a cold sed bed. The
thickness of planting depends upo1
the soil, the variety of the corn, and
the use for which II is intended. A
fertile soil well supplied with mois-
ture can support a much heavier crop
than one not 30; a variety Of corn
that is short and has scant foliage,
can be planted closer than one that
grows tall and has abundant foliage;
and a crop intended for forage or
silage may be planted thicker than
one intended for ear production
only. The most common method is,
planting in rows, tire and one half