machines are used, the fertilizer would have to be broadcasted by hand or otherwise. Where the ordinary farm corn planter is available, this may be utilized. For large areas a two-row, twohorse planter is a very practical machine to use. It is sometimes greatly to the advantage of the grower to use the hand method, owing to the fact that the patch may be marked out in two ways, and the corn planted at the intersection of these marks. It is then possible to cultivate both ways, resulting in a decreased amount of hand hoeing, or none at all. CULTIVATION Clean culture should be given at all times. Corn roots are relatively surface feeders. Therefore, only shallow cultivation should be practiced. For horse tools the twelve-point cultivator is recommended. The fine teeth are made in such a way that if properly handled they need not dig deeply into the soil. For hand tools, the many wheel hoes, are useful. Coupled with these tools, of course, the hand hoe is recommended, especially for work close to the plant. During the summer it would be advisable to remove the sucker growths that come out from around the base of the stalk, as they have a tendency to decrease the productiveness of the plant. Corn is not able to withstand drouth as well as many other crops. Therefore, conservation of moisture by maintaining a dust mulch is essential. PESTS Diseases. The same smut that attacks field corn is found growing on sweet corn. To combat the disease, the following is recommended: soil free from the disease, which means rotation. of crops; eradication of portions of the plant found diseased; and care not to apply manure containing smutted fodder. Insects. The corn ear worm or bollworm is injurious to sweet corn in several sections of New York State. There is no satisfactory remedy. HARVESTING In harvesting the corn, the ears should be removed from the stalk with care. Do not break the stalk in severing the ears. not press so tightly against the ear that the kernels will be de stroyed. When the silk at the end of the corn has become dried and brown in color, the corn, as a rule, is ready for harvesting. However, this is not always a reliable indication of maturity on the part of the kernel. If the ear appears plump and mature, it is ready to harvest. If one is not experienced in this regard, it may be best to open the husk slightly and view the kernels. They should be in the milk stage, large, dull white, (not glossy), and soft. Then one is practically sure of the condition of the corn. MARKETING For canning, the ears may be gathered in baskets or boxes as picked, dumped into a wagon and, when a load is ready, carried immediately to the cannery. The grower is credited the weight of the corn, kernels, husks, and cob. The market gardener would take his corn to the packing shed, and should there carefully grade the corn and pack each grade in a separate receptacle. A bushel box should hold from forty-five to eighty ears, according to the size. Some growers pack the ears for shipment in bags, one hundred in each bag. This is not a good practice, because the corn is easily bruised, becomes heated, and is not in an attractive condition. Boxes or baskets should be used, and the corn should be packed to attract the eye. The home gardener can go out in the garden thirty minutes or less before dinner and harvest the corn direct from the plant, placing it immediately in the water for cooking, and enjoy it a little later with the guarantee that it is as fresh as one can get it. After the corn has been removed from the entire plot, or frost has destroyed it, the stalks should be severed from the roots and the garden made as attractive as possible. YIELDS One can obtain from eight thousand to nine thousand ears per acre or from two and one-half to five tons of corn ears. A small patch of corn will give the home gardener ample returns. POP CORN J. G. CURTIS, ROCHESTER, N. Y. Farmers' Institute Lecturer The growing of pop corn is attracting more attention than formerly as it has proved to be a very satisfactory money crop where the conditions are favorable. The pop corns are a special group of flint corns used for "popping" as the name suggests, for eating out of hand or in confections. They are characterized by the small size of the kernels and their excessive hardness, and by the large proportion of horny substance contained in the kernels, which consists of a large percentage of moisture and gives the kernels the property of popping, or turning almost completely inside, out on the application of heat. The stalks of pop corn are considerably smaller than those of field corn, but on good soil will average about eight feet in height. The actual popping of the kernels is due to the expansion of moisture in the starch cells, the application of heat converting the moisture into steam, making the cell walls give way and causing an explosion with sufficient force to change the kernel into a large, irregular, flaky mass that has an especial value as an edible product. While in popping it loses in weight about 10 per cent., due to the evaporation of moisture by the heat employed, it should increase in bulk in the ratio of about sixteen to one. There are several factors which control this result, such as the even application of the heat and the condition of the corn. It may be too damp or too dry for best results, and, since the moisture content is high when the corn is harvested, it is usually held over one season before marketing. |