. Textbook of pastoral and agricultural botany, for the study of the injurious and useful plants of country and farm. lieved that the time to plantcorn had arrived when the young leaves of the white oak in the springhad reached the size of squirrel ears. This period is reached in Pennsyl- THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS l6l vania about the first week of May, and in the Gulf states about themiddle of February to the beginning of March. The Indian method ofplanting maize was to put four grains in a hill four feet each way and theytaught this method to the white settlers. The usual method in the North
. Textbook of pastoral and agricultural botany, for the study of the injurious and useful plants of country and farm. lieved that the time to plantcorn had arrived when the young leaves of the white oak in the springhad reached the size of squirrel ears. This period is reached in Pennsyl- THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS l6l vania about the first week of May, and in the Gulf states about themiddle of February to the beginning of March. The Indian method ofplanting maize was to put four grains in a hill four feet each way and theytaught this method to the white settlers. The usual method in the NorthAtlantic states is to plant in drills; in the North Central states the practiceis divided, but the larger part is planted in hills, while in the South, itis usually planted in hills in the lowlands while in hill country maize isdrilled, so that all cultivation may be at right angles to the slope of the hillwhich method prevents washing. The cultivation of maize during itsearly development prevents the growth of weeds and stirs the soil. Thedestruction of weeds is a most important matter as they compete seriously. Fig. 70.—Three-horse corn-stalk cutter which cuts two rows. (After Hartley, C. P.:Harvesting and Storing Corn. Farmers Bulletin 313, 1907, p. 27.) with the corn plants. Deep cultivation should be practiced early in theseason in order to conserve the soil moisture. Shallow cultivation shouldbe pursued late in the season, as it saves the feeding corn roots. Thefrequency of cultivation will depend chiefly on the surface condition ofthe soil and the presence of weeds. Improved machinery is used for thecutting of the corn crop (Fig. 70). Rotation.—Most farmers in Indiana maintain a general rotation ofcorn one year, wheat or oats one year, and hay or pasture one or two timothy is grown, but most of the hay is clover. In Mercer County,New Jersey, south of Trenton, the rotation is corn one year, potatoes oneyear, rye or wheat one year and hay one or two years. A
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