Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 April 1895 — MANURING CORN. [ARTICLE]

MANURING CORN.

Country Gentleman. I have to follow field corn with sweet corn this year. I have horse and barnyard manure. What can I add to get a good crop?—W. G. C., Montgomery county, Pa. (Plow as early as the condition of the ground will admit, even though it is some considerable time before planting. Spread the manure evenly on the surface, and do not plow it under deeply. Drill or distribute with the seed 200 to 400 pounds of phosphates, having a comparatively high per cent, of nitrogen and potash, and a low per cent, of phosphoric acid. Plant the corn so that the rows can be easily distinguished before the corn comes up. Whenever the most forward of the corn is nearly ready to cpme through the ground, cultivate deeply and harrow thoroughly with smoothing harrow and await the appearance of the plants. The few plants that may be disturbed bv the tramping or the harrow will count but little, and since the rows can be followed in the first cultivation, none need be disturbed in this aperation. As soon as the corn is well up, the ground being well cleaned, there need be no hurry about the cultivation; cultivate deeplyand very closely to the hil Is. As Mten as every ten days thereafter, until the ears are well formed, cultivate the land, even although there may be no weeds present. Take care that each succeeding cultivation is a little shallower than the previous 3ne. Corn is a shallow-rooted plant, 'ind therefore should not be cultivated deeply in dry weather when its roots have extended across the rows. If the season is extremely dry, a litle experiment of detasseling might be interesting if not profitable. As Boon as the extreme end of the tassel Appears in sight it should be removed by pulling it out. The rows should be gone over two or three times, and pains should be taken to do the work promptly. If the tassels get out to iny extent, the stalk that bears them will be tough and they will have to be cut off, and it is probable that no pood results will follow. If there is plenty of moisture and the corn is doing well, detassseiing probably will not pay.}

SOME MISTAKES IN SPRING PLANTING. Practical Farmer. We all realise, late in the season, the mistakes we have made at planting time. It is possible now, however, to catalogue some cf these possible mistakes and thus avoid the Sanner of falling into them. Cultivating Too Much Land—One of the most common mistakes made bt planting time is that of trying to cultivate too much land, and. as a result, failing to take proper care of bny of the crops. Ambition is a food thingj but an ambition to do the best kind of farming rather than I the greatest amount of farming is vastly better for the farm, the per -1 tonal comfort of the farmer, and better for his pocket book. Lay out your spring work on such a scale that all through the season you can drive the work and never for a moment feel that it is driving you. In this way a long start is made toward certain success. Planting Top Thickly.—A very common mistake is made in planting crops too thickly. This is seen in the case of one setting out an orchard. The trees look very small

when set out. Don't mind the looks. Plant by the distances laid down by experienced orchardists. _ High flavor never comes with crowded trees. The same is true in setting out small fruits. Get the rows far enough apart to cultivate between with a horse, and set the plants well apart in the row. They must have the sunshine fallingall about them to develop fine flavor in the fruit. You will get more berries, and bigger berries, if you give the plants plenty of room. One of the greatest evils, of close planting is seen in the case of fodder corn, and fodder of other kinds.. It is the custom to sow fodder corn in drills, and to sow it thick It- —so thickly that it grows up a dense mass of green stull that is very largely water, and that furnishes the cows with but small matter to turn into milk and butter. Give the. sunlight, and the air a chance to get at your growing fodder. It will.develop in it nutrition that will be far better than the extra weightof water gained by cibse planting. Be sure to sow plenty of fodder for the drouth that may come in mid-summer. But don’t sow it ' too thickly. i Lack of a Succession in the Garden. —A very common mistake in planting is the neglect to provide, by successive sowings, for a succession of garden stuff. Most farm gardens, I find,produce a few messes of this and that vegetable, and then the luxury is a thing of the past until next season comes. Peas, beans, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, tomatoes, beets ana other things that miuht be mentioned,should be on tap in the garden, so to speak, all summer long. Peas can be had from June to October, and tomatoes from July to December (allowing green tomatoes to ripen in the cellar for I late use), and other vegetables cad be had in like abundance and like continuance by making successive sowing of seeds from a week to ten days apart. Don’t forget this this spring, and when you are enjoying your garden for five months instead of two yoii will be glad that I jogged your memory early. Deeper Planting.—Hill culture, the.hill being four or five inches

above the level of the surrounding ground, is responsible for many short crops. This is particularly true with such a crop as potatoes. • As ordinarily planted, by the time they have been “hoed” once, the plants have been hilled up to such an extent that the hills soon dry out and the plants suffer for moisture. If the crop gets a second hoeing, the loose soil has all been scraped from between the rows and piled up about , the plants; and then if hot and dry ] weather strikes the crop, the returns will be’ small indeed. The planting must be done deeper down in the ground, so that cultivation and hoeing can take place without risk of “hilling up” the plants. Some one says, “Oh, but if we have a wet season, deep planting would make the crop a failure.” Probably it would, if the soil is not properly drained. If one’s land is neither naturally nor artificially drained, planting is something of a lottery at best. 'He is at the mercy both of moisture and of drouth, and may, or may not, “catch” a crop. Get the land well drained, and one will not be so wholly at the mercy of the elements. I am going to get my potatoes down deeper this season than evdT'before, so as to avoid the “hilling up” evil, even with frequent hoeing.