68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



an addition of seven pounds to the weight of each bushel, as 

 compared with the crop on the land which had been plowed 

 eight inches deep. This, I think — although the crop was not 

 indian corn — illustrates a principle which will guide us in our 

 judgments in regard to indian corn. 



Now, sir, permit me to make a few remarks by way of com- 

 mentary on the very able papers upon corn which we have 

 heard this evening. I concur almost entirely with the state- 

 ments that have been made here, but there are certain things 

 which I tliink ought to be stated with more care than has 

 been given to them. I regretted especially to hear one gen- 

 tleman state that corn should be planted invariably a certain 

 distance apart. The fact is, that that depends entirely upon 

 the kind of corn that is planted. One of the speakers has 

 referred to Jesse Buell's Dutton corn. I think there are two 

 essentially different kinds of corn which are known among 

 farmers as Button corn ; one is small and the other large. I 

 was well acquainted with Jesse Buell's farm, but I never saw 

 there any corn with fifteen or sixteen rows. If this gentle- 

 man had not stated that he received his seed from him, I 

 should have said that his corn measured not over eight inches 

 in length, and never exceeded eight or ten rows. Jesse Buell 

 originally obtained that corn from Canada ; it is small Canada 

 corn ; but he pursued one regular rule, to the value of which 

 I can bear testimony. I have myself derived great benefit 

 from it, and I would cordially commend it to the attention 

 of the farmers of Connecticut. Judge Buell commenced by 

 planting only the center of each of the ears. He invariably 

 broke off a portion at the heel of the cob and a portion at the 

 point, leaving none but the very best part of the ear. He 

 was accustomed to go through his field, when the corn ap- 

 proached ripeness, and observe those ears which were earliest 

 in coming to maturity, and observe also those which bore two 

 ears upon a stalk, and around those he put a bit of red yarn. 

 Those ears were selected for seed corn. He broke off the 

 small kernels at the end and the irregularly formed kernels 

 at the butt, and planted none but the middle. The result 

 was, that Judge Buell's corn almost invariably bore two or 



