[129] 



On the culture of Indian Corn as a fodder. 

 By J, G, Thomson. 



The Bills, Dec. 8th, 1820. 



Dear sir, 



It would afford me great pleasure to give you any 

 satisfactory information on the subject of your note of 

 November 22d. The trial which I made of Indian corn 

 as a green food for cows, was so far successful, as to in- 

 duce me to beheve that it may be thus used with advan- 

 tage, especially in dry seasons. My experiment was 

 made in the summer of 1819, and without any particu- 

 larity, being left to the management of two men, who 

 were directed to give the animals a sufficiency, avoiding 

 waste as much as possible. The impression on my mind 

 was, that in that uncommonly dry summer, twelve cows 

 were kept in better condition by the produce of one acre, 

 that any one of them would have been if grazed upon 

 the same ground. The soil on which the experiment 

 was made is a dry gravel, from which the clover was 

 completely burnt off that season. The quantity directed 

 to be sown was three bushels per acre, and the mode of 

 doing it as follows. The grain was sown late in the af- 

 ternoon on the sod, and lay all night uncovered — a light 

 furrow was turned over it very early next morning ; 

 and it was a part of the plan never to sow more in the 

 evening than could be covered with the plough before 

 the dew had evaporated. We made several sowings at 

 intervals of ten or twelve days, in order to'have a suc- 

 cession ; and we usually passed a roller over after the 

 plough. We began to cut when it was about three fep^ 



