30 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



allowed tliem to run up, while all the rest of the bed was 

 cut, until about the 15th or 20th of June. The result was, 

 that those plants had run uj) and blossomed, and set their 

 fruit, before the other plants in the bed had blossomed at all. 

 Now, I would like to know if I have not provided for the 

 male. They could not be crossed except by the best plants I 

 bad in the bed. There was no possibility of any thing else 

 crossing them: therefore that seed was all crossed from pollen 

 of large stalks of the same kind. You will see that at once. 

 Perhaps you will say that the plants will not be any better : 

 still I have faith that they will be. I had so much faith, that 

 I put off planting my asparagus-bed to get plants in that way. 

 Last spring I planted the seed on ordinary ground, manured 

 no better than any one else would manure it ; and two or 

 three of my neighbors, who have been growing asparagus 

 for their own use, wondered how I got such great plants 

 there. Mr. Hubbard's plants were up in rows, so that I could 

 see them, before my seed was sowed ; but mine grew two or 

 three feet higher than his, notwithstanding his had a longer 

 season of growth. Asparagus will grow as long as the 

 weather is warm. Many of my stalks are as big round as 

 a pipe-stem : that is pretty good growth for the first year. 

 I am going to plant two acres with that kind of stock. You 

 may think the asparagus will not be any better ; but I think 

 it will be. I think I have, by pursuing that course, pro- 

 vided for the male ; and that is what I want you to do with 

 corn. 



Mr. CoMiNS (of North Hadley). Have you practised that 

 method for growing seed-corn ? 



Capt. Moore. No, sir, I have not : I was talking of 

 principles. I will say, further, that I grow but very little 

 corn. There is nothing handsomer than a good field of corn 

 that a man can grow, and, if I were located where I could not 

 grow something else to better advantage, I would grow corn ; 

 but in my case I cannot see my way to grow corn. If I had 

 a great deal of stock on my farm, and wanted manure, and 

 had poor land that would not grow grass, it might be an 

 object to grow corn for the sake of the corn-fodder, although 

 I think the enthusiastic corn-men rate corn-fodder for all it 

 is worth, — more than my cattle do. They set it a great 

 deal higher than my cows do. But they are reasonable and 



