Grain Farming in the Corn Belt with Live Stock as a Side Line (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1916 Excerpt: ...a precise number of kernels and covering them with mellow soil when the planting is done by hand, but the labor saved by the use of planters is so great that for profitable corn growing their use is indispensable. Moreover, if the seed bed is in proper condition any good planter can be made to cover corn as satisfactorily as it can be done with a hoe; and, if seed ears having kernels of uniform size be selected and the small and misshaped kernels at the extremities of the ears be rejected, good modern corn-planting machines can be made to drop with sufficient accuracy for practical purposes. However, the yield depends to such an extent upon the proper number of stalks and their even distribution that too much stress can hardly be placed upon the necessity for selecting seed ears having kernels of uniform size and plates for the planter that will drop the right number at the required distance. Every spring the planter should be thoroughly tested and adjusted until it will drop accurately the seed to be used. The kernels of different kinds of corn vary so much in size and shape that it is necessary to adjust the planter to each kind of corn to be planted. These are some of the many essentials that can be attended to before the rush of planting time arrives. Depth of planting.--The proper depth to plant must be governed by the quality and moisture of the soil. If it is a stiff, heavy clay containing plenty of moisture at planting time, 1 inch is sufficiently deep; but if it is a light, open, dry soil, 3 or 4 inches is a satisfactory depth. If the corn is planted deeper than 4 inches much of the food supply stored in the seed will be consumed before the young plant can reach the surface and expand its leaves. Plants can not be made to send their roots deeplj in...