496 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



California. — Humboldt, Mendocino, and Santa Cruz Counties : " Many 

 of the* lieadsL wcigli from. 10 to 25 x^ounds eacli." "Mce flavor; heads 

 Very hard." 



Florida. — ^Wilkinson County: "Never had a better or more reliable 

 variety of cabbage than this." 



Louisiana. — Bienville and Caldwell Counties : " The linest I ever saw." 

 " I raised heads that would fill a half bushel." 



Micliigan. — Gratiot County : " Sweet and tender, No. 1. Heads burst 

 open, the only difficulty." 



Minnesota. — Mower County : " Heads one and a half times larger than 

 other varieties under the same conditions." 



Mississippi. — Attala, Winston, and Yalabusha Counties : " Superior 

 to any cabbage I ever saw grown in Mississippi." " Yery large and fine." 

 " Would rather pay two prices for this seed than be without it." 



NehrasJca. — Hall County ; " Well headed, large, solid, crisp, and sweet. 

 Excellent." 



South Carolina. — Granville County : " Hard heads ; very fine. The 

 best cabbage I ever raised." 



North CaroUnia. — Adams County : " Every plant produced a fine large 

 head." 



Texas. — Bell and El Paso Counties : " Promises well. The best I have 

 tried." 



This variety originated in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Many 

 reports received from the Southern States indicate that it is the best 

 late-keeping or winter variety known for a warm climate. It meets a 

 well-defineil. want in our Southern States, and is therefore of great value. 



EXPERBIENTS WITH CORN. 



We are indebted to Mr. A. W. Eoss, of Northfield, Mass.. or the fol- 

 lowing statement of the results of five years' successive experiments on 

 a field of 30 acres planted with corn : 



In different sections of the field the soil is light saud, sandy loam, clay loam, and a 

 wet, heavy, cold, black soil, thus giving quite a variety to work on. My method of 

 preiiaration was, the first year, to plow in the fall and cultivate in the spring before 

 planting. The second year I plowed late in the fall and cultivated before j)Lanting. 

 The third year I plowed in the spring. The fourth year I plowed in the fall ; and the 

 fifth and sixth years in the spring, in all cases prejiariug the ground well before plant- 

 lug. Mauui'e from the barn is always spread broadcast; if old stubble land, and there 

 is time, it is plowed in; if not, it is spread after plowing and cultivated in. Always 

 spread the manure quite liberally as far as it goes, and generally use wood ashes for the 

 remainder of the piece. I never have used much of fertilizers which are manufactured 

 for sale, excepting in the drill, with the seed when planting, from 100 to 200 pounds per 

 acre, as might happen. The ashes and other fertilizers used, outside of the drill are 

 spread broadcast and cultivated in the same as barn manure, but never plowed under. 

 The manures from the barn are used on the wet, heavy soils ; the ashes on the lighter 

 soils. The manufactured fertilizers do best on the moist land, unless there is plenty 

 of rain. After the land is prepared it is planted with the Ross horse planter, which 

 moves all rubbish out of the way, prepares the seed-bed, makes the furrow, drops the 

 seed, fertilizes, covers, and rolls the land over the seed. It also marks for the next 

 row. If the land is weedy and requires early cultivation I use the Ross hand wheel 

 lioe, by which a man can hoe from four to six acres a day; if not, when tlio corn ia 

 large enough I use the Ross horse cultivator first and. afterward the hilling machines. 

 The work is done better with these mayhiiK^s than men can do it with hand hoes. 



The above is my method of raising corn. It never fails. For fifteen years no drought 

 has troubled my crops. 



The first year I used no manure, and the yield was not over 30 bushels shelled corn 

 per acre. Since thac time there has been l)aru manure, ashes, and some superphos- 

 phate applied every year, and the result has been a yearly increase of the crop. 



As we raise corn it does not cost over $1.25 per acre' to plant and hoe it through the 

 season. Do you ask how it was done ? I pay my hired man ^15 per month and board 



