CtJLTURE OF INDIAN CORN. 77' 



Iteep their cattle fat upon the leaves of it, is a treasure for' 

 which they are indebted to their climate." Planted in squares 

 or rows, so far asunder that all imaginable tillage may be giv- 

 en between them, and the ground thus cleared and prepared 

 at-the will of the farmer, is an invaluable circumstance ; and 

 finally it is succeeded by wheat. A country, whose soil and 

 climate admit the course of, 1st, maize, (corn,) 2d, wheat, is un- 

 der a cultivation that perhaps yields the most food for man and 

 beast, that is possible to be drawn from the land." 



The proper soils for this grain, are thought to be the sandy, 

 sandy loam, gravelly loam, and rich red and dark colored earths, 

 which have not much clay in them. Stiff clays are very unfit 

 for this crop; and cold and wet loams are not much better, un- 

 less well managed. 



There has been much diversity of opinion among farmers re- 

 specting the best manner of distributing the seed, so as to draw 

 from the soil the greatest portion of food; and to equalize the 

 apportionment of the soil, so as to produce the greatest crop. 



A Mr. Stephens, near New- York, who raised on three acres 

 at the rate of 118 bushels to the acre, planted his seed in double 

 rows, about eight inches apart, and the seeds were set diago- 

 nally, the same distance from each other. Between these dou- 

 ble rows, he left a space of five and half feet. A Mr. Ludlow,, 

 in the same vicinity, who produced at the rate of 98 bushels to^ 

 the acre, on three acres, planted his seed in single rows, which 

 were four feet apart, with the grains set eight inches asunder. 

 A very extraordinary crop was raised in Massachusetts, by 

 planting the rows two feet apart, in which the grain was plant- 

 ed in hills the same distance from each other, and two grains 

 in each hill. This latter mode produced 112 bushels to the a- 

 ere. In all these experiments an abundance of good manure 

 was applied. As all these mode^ of distributing the seed were 

 somewhat different from that heretofore most generally prac- 

 ticed throughout New-England, their successful result should 

 remind the farmer, that it may often be expedient to examine 

 the correctness of practices which may owe their origin to im- 

 memorial usage. 



It should be remarked, that as this crop requires that the 

 plants should be separated so that they can be kept clear of 

 weeds by the plough and hoe, and hilled too, for the purpose of 

 advancing its growth as well as to prevent its breaking down 

 by the wind, the seed should be so distributed as to answer 

 these purposes ; and at the same time, the grains should be so 

 far separated from each other, as to admit the salutary influen- 

 ces from the eun and atmospheric air. It will be noticed that 



