The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-12-13
Agriculture
Corn Continued
(By ]. F. C'Brien)

"A soou SNAPPED ear must be almost
as large at the tip as at the butt.
Kernels must be well shaped and | IN
straight uniform rows. Test each ear
for termination. To test, number the
ears in the rack from one upwards.
Make a tray with holes or small
squares numbered to correspond with
the ears in the seed rack. Half fill
the holes with sand. Take three kerr
nels from each ear (top, middle and
bottom) place them in the holes in
the tray. Fill the holes with sand,
press firmly and sprinkle warm wa
ter over the trays until the sand is
moist. Keep in a temperature of 20
to ~ degrees fahrenheit for five days,
keeping them moist but not wet. Ex-
anime the corn then and if two or
more Kernels have not terminated in
a hole take that a out of the rack
as the chances are the whole ear is
dead. When you have a sufficient
number of ears tested (twice the &C.
tual number necessary per acre. cut
of the tips and the butts using only
the middle grains for seed. AS a
. final test just before planting drop
the grain slowly into a pail of wa
ter. All that float feed to the
ShiiShCho 1OI Ilty are USELESS IOT
seed. Smelling the seed ears should
always be done by hand as machines
more or less chip the kernels. Be-
sides misshappen kernels can be pick
ed out during the Smelling process.
Choose the keystone shape and dis
card the pointed, short and square,
broad and round and shoepeg kernels.
Planting
In unwnii From, Ion,or,y ta kD,;l
Corn should not be planted until the
ground is warm and the weather set
tied. Rows may be three and a half
to five feet apart and hills from one
to three feet. A good distance for
most localities is four feet between
rows and hills one foot apart with
n stalk to each hill. Some prefer
the hills three feet apart with three
stalks to each hill. Level planting
and level culture are becoming more
general, though some consider it good
practice to plant in the bottom of a
shallow furrow and throw the dirt to-
wards the rows when c%ultivating,
making the field level again.
Depth to Plant
This will depend upon conditions
of soil and moisture, but between two
IL CO IuCucS 10 dDOuI IlS1I LII
most soils. { Planting by hand like
Smelling by hand is best because the
planting machines are liable to chip
and injure the largest and best grains
OF course IN a large area of many
acres hand planting would be imprac-
tible, but On an acre or less and
where improvements are the chief OBJ
ject it should be done.
Cultivation
AS loon as the young corn rows
can be plainly seen, cultivate with
harrow, cultivator, or noe and until
the corn is three to foul inches high
deep cultivation is admissible, but af-
ter that deep cultivation will cut
many roots and seriously interfere
with the growth of the plant. If the
soil is in good kilth the r. roots
will run long distances for food and
moisture. In wet soil the roots run
lear the surface, but if dry and the
seed bed deep they will go deep for
moisture. Actual measurements have
shown that in 16 days after planting
the roots were sixteen inches long
and s inches down. In Is days they
were Is inches long, the surface lead
ers were 5 inches below the surface
duu tuc lctucIS IL uCutS uttp. III
"a days they were "a inches long, 4
inches from the surface and IS inches
deep In AZ days the plant was Is
inches high, the roots were three feet
five inches long and reached Is
inches deep and when the corn was
three feet high the entire seed bed
was completely filld with roots, the
leaders were 6 inches from the SUI
face. When the corn was in tassel
the upper 8 feet of soil was complete
ly filed with roots, the surface lead
ers were five inches deep and when
the corn was ripe the roots were
traced for 4 feet beneath the surface.
From this it will be seen that deep
cultivation after the first two weeks
will cut many feeders and greatly
lessen the yield. Cultivation is
only necessary to remove weeds, keep
the surface in condition to absorb
rain and admit air by breaking the
crust. The ideal surface should be
crumbly, not dusty.