f circumference to length, which
should be as three is to four, measure the ear one-third the distance
from butt to tip. So if the ear is eight inches long the circumference
should be about six inches.

All the boys but Jack and Myron tested their seed corn to be sure of its
vitality. Peter went a little further than the other boys. He not only
tested for general vitality, but he tested for vitality among the ears
he had selected as good seed ears. This he did in the following manner:
He chose twenty-five ears, and used four kernels from each ear. First a
soup plate was filled with sand. This was moistened by dropping a little
water on the sand. Sand must not be too wet for this work. He
partitioned off the sand-bed into rows with cardboard between them. On
the cardboards was marked over each row of four kernels the number of
the ear from which they came. The sand was moistened each day. Peter
worked out from this the best ears for quick germination.

The next point to be considered in corn culture is that of the soil.
Soil for corn should be mellow and fine. If it has vegetable matter or
humus in it, then its value as a corn-growing soil is increased.
Fertilize well and plough, or if the plot is small, spade. You ought to
have surely eight inches of good, mellow soil. In planting corn place
five kernels in a hill. You will remember that a hill means a place. For
corn which grows high make the hills four feet apart; while for the low
growing varieties place three feet apart. Cover the early varieties with
one inch of soil; the later varieties with one-half inch.

As the corn shoots begin to appear every boy should appear with his hoe
or cultivator, for one secret of good gardening is constant cultivation
or stirring of the soil. Water, as you know, rises in the ground and
coming to the surface evaporates. Now the point is to keep the moisture
in the ground for the plant's food supply. So if one keeps stirring the
soil he makes a layer of earth which stops the water as it rises. We
call this a mulch.

When the shoots are six inches high choose the three finest little corn
seedlings in the group of five. Pull the others out. The reason for
putting in five kernels in the first place, instead of three, is that
some may not come up. And, too, some that do come up may be poor and
sickly.

Myron did a very stupid thing. At least he called it stupid. Some one
sent him a packet of seed popcorn. Myron thought it would be pre