AMERICA'S CHIEF CROP 327 



I recall a small success that at the time seemed 

 to me quite notable, gained through observation 

 in the cultivation of sweet corn, that is not with- 

 out interest. 



I had learned the value of a very early sweet 

 corn, and devised a method of forcing the growth 

 so that I was able to put my corn on the 

 market in advance of anyone else in the neigh- 

 borhood, and therefore to sell it at a fancy price. 

 Many a time I was able to take a buggy load 

 of corn from Lunenburg, where my place was 

 located, to Fitchburg, and return with $50 or 

 $60 as the selling price of what I could load on 

 a common one-horse spring wagon. 



I had a complete monopoly of the early sweet 

 corn market in the manufacturing city for three 

 or four years, and my early corn brought usu- 

 ally 50 cents per dozen ears, although a week or 

 two later any amount of corn could be bought 

 for a fraction of that sum. 



One of the secrets was in germinating the corn 

 before planting. Corn placed in leaf mold if 

 kept moist and warm would germinate rapidly. 



When the young roots were from two to six 

 or eight inches in length, and the tops had made 

 a growth of half an inch or so, I would plant 

 these sprouted grains in ordinary drills, drop- 

 ping them in just as corn would be dropped, no 



