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fit the grower of cotton is beyond the comprehension of any sane mind; it would be 
practically the making of cheap cotton to buy dear corn! Any reform, then, that shall 
contribute to increase the domestic supply of corn must resuit in incalculable benefit 
to the entire population of the South. The inauguration of such reform fame be found 
in a judicious ‘selection of seed.” 
To demonstrate the necessity for a reform in this particular it is énly necessary to 
advert to the manner in which the seed-corn is usually obtained. In the fall of the 
year the crop is indiscriminately gathered and hauled to the crib, and there all, good, 
bad, and indifierent, is thrown into one pile. It there lies until spring ; anda few days 
prior to the day designated for the commencement of planting, (and more frequently 
on the morning of that day,) the “ hands” are ordered to the crib to select “‘ seed-corn.” 
They commence the work, and the first dozen ears that are shucked are found to be 
“weevil-eaten,” and are rejected. The next dozen are found to have the “ black-eye,” 
and are also rejected; until at last some one of the “hands” comes across a little 
“nubbin” which is pronounced sound, and that is thrown aside for “ seed.” Thus the 
work proceeds until a sufficient quantity for planting the crop has been obtained. 
The seed has been selecied, but the only quality deemed essential was soundness; the 
long-grained “ gourd-seed,” the broad “Tuscarora,” the round “flint,” without any | 
discrimination, are brought into close juxtaposition. In due time, under the influence 
of a favorable season, the heart of the farmer is gladdened by the sight of a good stand. 
He goes to work zealously, and by unremitted toil gives his crop the advantage of 
good tillage until it is brought to full maturity. In ‘the ensuing fall he proceeds to 
_gather the fruit of his labor, ‘and is greatly disappointed to find that the yield has not come 
up to his anticipation, but, with philosophic composure, he consoles himself by attrib- 
uting the failure to the unsuitableness of the climate, and reiterates the oft-repeated 
but unfounded assertion that ‘this is no country for growing corn.” 
Let not our industrious but mistaken friend be discouraged that Providence has cast 
his lot in this southern clime, so favorable to the enjoyment of health and long life, 
and so prolific in the production of the kindly fruits of the earth. Let him for one 
moment pause and reflect. Let him scan the authentic statistics furnished by the 
Agricultural Department at Washington, and he will there discover that New En- 
gland, with her granite hills and three inches of cultivable soil, her cold and rigorous 
climate, and her short and uncertain seasons—in despite of all these disadvantages— 
reports a higher average in the production of corn than does the far-famed West, the 
recognized Egy pt of this continent, and indeed of the world. It is not any defect i in 
soil or climate that causes him from year to year to reap the bitter fruit of disappoint- 
ment; it is the absence of that patient painstaking which so eminently characterizes 
the agricultural operations of the New England farmer. Let our southern farmer and 
planter emulate this commendable characteristic of the eastern agriculturist. Let him 
now, this very season, resolve to turn over a new leaf, and, as a first step in the pro- 
posed reform, determine to carry into practical effect the recommendations heretofore 
urged for the improvement of the cotton-seed. This can be done with but little extra 
trouble by requiring of the hands, in breaking-in the crop, to be careful whenever they 
come across a stock bearing more ‘than a single ear to cut it off above and below the 
ears, and, with the ears attached thereto, throw it into the heaps, to be hauled with 
the same to the crib, where it can be readily separated and kept apart by itself until 
such time as it may be convenient for the farmer to make the proper selection. Having 
by this method secured the essential quality of “ prolificness,” he proceeds to select 
from this pile a sufficient number of such ears as are recommended by their superior 
size and excellence of grain, it being a matter of first importance to select a grain 
that will most effectually resist the attacks of the weevil. These should be put into 
barrels and the interstices between the ears well filled up with perfectly dry sand or 
wood-ashes. Thus treated it will be exempt from the inroads of insects and preserved 
in good condition until the season for planting. In making this selection wriformity in 
the character of the grain ought not to be neglected. 
But let not our farmer who has entered upon the path of reformation be content 
with the result of a single experiment. Let him remember that the purpose of selection 
is not for the benefit of a single crop, but to impart the quality of “ fixedness” to a 
particular ‘‘type,” and to resist the natural tendency to degeneration. To attain this 
desirable result he must, as in the case of cotton, make the “ seed-patch” a permanent 
institution, from which he may from year to year not only obtain an abundant supply 
of improved seed for the planting of the entire crop, but be enabled to improve his 
selections to the very highest point of excellence. When we reflect how small a quan- 
tity of corn is required to seed a large area of land, is it not passing strange that this 
vitally important subject should De so universally neglected? Let this opprobrium 
no longer rest upon the farmers and planters of Gadsden County, but let them rise to 
a full appreciation of the needed reform, and then we may hope that ere long dear 
“old Gadsden,” now struggling with the difficulties that environ and oppress her, 
shall rise like the phoenix from its ashes, and become as noted for the fullness and abun- 
dance of her corn-crops as she has her etofore been for the excellence of her Cuba tobacco. 
Henceforth let Lxcelsior be the agricultural motto of this association. 
