INDIAN CORN. 



STATEMENT OF GEORGE GEDDES OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, TO WHOM WAS 

 AWARDED THE FIRST PREMIUM OF THE STATE SOCIETY. 



To the Committee on the Cultivation of Indian Corn: 



I submit to your consideration a statement of my experiments 

 made upon two acres of ground, in the culture of Indian Corn. 



The soil is a deposit of gravel mixed with sand and clay, resting 

 upon a gypseous shale. 



The previous course of cultivation has been as follows, viz : In 

 1837, a crop of corn was raised on a heavy sod turned under that 

 spring, and slightly manured with barn-yard manure. The yield was 

 estimated at 65 bushels to the acre. In 1838, corn was again raised 

 and without any manure ; estimated to yield 50 bushels to the acre. 

 In 1839, it was sown with oats, and yielded a very heavy crop. 

 Grass seed was sown with the oats, which succeeded well. The 

 next four years it was pastured^ Plaster was put onboth corn crops, 

 and on the oats and once or twice on the pasture. 



The ground was plowed about the first day of May, six inches 

 deep, and planted on the third and fourth days of that month. 



The variety of corn, was the improved Button, that is, Button that 

 had been selected from the earliest ears for a series of years. 



Experiment No. I. 



One acre was planted in hills three feet apart each way, six ker- 

 nels in the hill. Fifty loads of half rotted manure, was put on this 

 acre, after it was plowed, and harrowed in as well as it could be 

 done ; it being so coarse, that it piled up a great deal before the 

 harrow. The hills had a hoe full of the best of the manure drawn 

 in by the planter, and the corn dropped into it. It was hoed twice, 

 and a cultivator was run once along each row both ways at each hoeing. 

 The account of the cost of cultivation is as follows, viz; 



To plowing and harrowing one acre, $1 .50 



50 loads of manure, drawing and spreading, 2s. . . 12.50 



two days work of one man planting, 6s., 1 .50 



cultivating for both hoeings, 4s,, .50 



hoeing twice, 3 days work, 6s., 2 .25 



harvesting, 3i days work, 6., 2.63 



$20.88 



