108 INDIAN CORN. 



be multiplied in a ratio equally surprising and profit- 

 able. 



If, for example, he plants a portion of his corn- 

 field without any manure whatever, and then adds 

 separately to other successive portions of the same 

 field the various fertilizers in general use, that are 

 known to contain one or more of the elements of 

 maize, he performs a very usual and doubtless an in- 

 structive experiment, and the greater the number and 

 variety of fertilizers employed, the larger will be the 

 stock of information acquired. 



But this, however useful, is still a limited and par- 

 tial investigation. The experiment may easily be ex- 

 tended, so as to render it much more comprehensive 

 and valuable. Let us suppose the fertilizers he has 

 selected to be ten in number. Then, by applying each 

 of these in three different and distinct quantities, the 

 number of effects will be materially augmented, and 

 the knowledge acquired will be greater in amount, as 

 well as more accurate and more valuable. He will 

 not only discover which are the best manures to ap- 

 ply, but will also obtain some useful hints as to the 

 proportion of each required. 



Again, he may still further extend and vary this in- 

 vestigation, by applying the several fertilizers in three 

 different modes, viz. : 1, by ploughing them into the 

 ground before planting ; 2, by placing them in the 

 hill or drill at the time of planting ; and 3, by com- 

 bining these two methods into one. This would again 

 multiply the whole number of results, and greatly in- 

 crease the total sum of acquired knowledge. If the 



