2 84 N. n. STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



"winter or fall preceding, -vrere spread uniformly over each 

 acre, and immediately plowed in, harrowing down the sur- 

 face quite level and smooth. On the 30 tb of May I planted 

 my com in hills, four kernels in each, three feet apart one 

 way, and two feet the other. When the corn was up about 

 three inches high, it was neatly hoed, without the aid of cul- 

 tivator or plow, thinning out the plants three to each hill. 

 In the month of July, the corn was again dressed with the 

 hoe, lightly moving the surface of the soil, sufficient to keep 

 down the grass and weeds, without making any mold or 

 hill, leaving the ground even and smooth. I prefer working 

 with the hand-hoe to clear the weeds from the plants, in- 

 stead of the cultivator on plow ; for, when the latter are 

 used, they stir the ground too deep, cutting many of the 

 tender rootlets of the corn, which greatly injures the crop. 

 It has long been my practice to plow under a liberal coating 

 of green stable manure a few days previous to planting, 

 which, in my judgment, should lie undisturbed by any imple- 

 ment during the growth, in order that it may impart its 

 whole benefit to the crop. 



Early in September, when the ears were fully formed, 

 and their silks began to wither and dry, I "topped" my 

 corn, and preserved the stalks for winter fodder the usual 

 way. On about the 9th of October, I harvested the crop, 

 "husking" it immediately after gathering, and stored it in 

 the ear in my granary for future use. The result of the 

 experiment was, that I raised lOi bushels of shelled corn 

 to the acre, while the average yield in the vicinity of the 

 lake was estimated at thirty to forty bushels. 



We have a home market for all of our surplus produce 

 in the manufacturing villages of this region. The present 

 price of corn is $1 per bushel. Estimating the profit of 

 growing an acre, based on my last crop, the following would 



be near the truth : 



1U4 bushels of corn, at $1, $104 00 



4 tons of Jiu^ks and stalks, at $8, 32 00 



$136 00 



