156 COBBETT'S CORN. 



best way to do this is to put a little hot lime in a bag, 

 and go very early in the morning, and shake the bag 

 all round the edges of the ground and over the ground. 

 Doing this three or four times very early in a dewy 

 morning, or just after a shower, will destroy all the 

 slugs ; and this ought to be done for all other crops 

 as well as for that of corn. 



4. When the corn comes up, you must take care to 

 keep all birds off till it is two or three inches high ; 

 for the spear is so sweet, that the birds of all sorts are 

 very apt to peck it off, particularly the doves and 

 the larks and pigeons. As soon as it is fairly above 

 ground, give the whole of the ground (in dry weather) 

 a flat hoeing, and be sure to move all the ground close 

 round the plants. When the weeds begin to appear 

 again, give the ground another hoeing, but always in 

 dry weather. When the plants get to be about a foot 

 high or a little more, dig the ground between the 

 rows, and work the earth up a little against the stems 

 of the plants. 



5. About the middle of August you will see the. 

 tassel springing up out of the middle of the plant, and 

 the ears coming out of the sides. If \veeds appear in 

 the ground, hoe it again to kill the weeds, so that the 

 ground may be always kept clean. About the mid- 

 dle of September you will find the grains of the ears 

 to be full of milk, just in the state that the ears were 

 at Jerusalem when the disciples cropped them to eat. 

 From this milky state, they, like the grains of wheat, 

 grow hard ; and as soon as the grains begin to be 

 hard, you should cut off the tops of the corn and the 

 long flaggy leaves, and leave the ears to ripen upon 

 the stalk or stem. If it be a warm summer, they will 

 be fit to harvest by the last of October; but it does 

 not signify if they remain dut until the middle of No- 

 vember or even later. The longer they stay out, the 

 harder the grain will be. 



6. Each ear is covered in a very curious marrer 

 with a husk. The best way for you will be, w. -^i 

 you gather in your crop to strip off the husks, to tie 

 the ears in bunches of six or eight or ten, and to hang 



