490 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



was examinetl by many respectable fiirmers, who 

 all pronounced it something new, and something 

 superior. 



The corn may be had of G. C. Tliorburn, 

 New Yorif, and at the store of Wni. Thorbiirn 

 of Albany, price 25 cents per ear; the net profits 

 10 be given to some of the chmitabie institutions 

 in New York and Albany. Now. it there is a 

 farmer between Maine and the Rocky Mountains 

 who would rather pay 25 cents for two oiUs of 

 brandy, than to buy oneear of tliiscorn, wliich will 

 plant 100 hills — I say, if there is a man, he ought 

 to be fed on nothing but supaun and buttermilk as 

 long as his little soul and big carcass will hang to- 

 gether. A stalk, having the ears on, to show the 

 manner ofgiowth, may be seen at the above 

 stores. 



(tc^ Every printer in Kings, Queens, Dutchess, 

 Oranije, and Albany counties, who is fond of 

 Jennie cake — (for if my informant speaks true, it 

 took its name trom a Southern lass by the name 

 of Jennie Dawson, who was famous for manufac- 

 turiuiT this delicious article ; but that at a meeting 

 of the Bachelor's Club, Jennie was voted out and 

 Johnny put in her place — I only hope that some 

 of those chaps who were concerned in an affair so 

 ungallant, may never taste one of those new made 

 cakes, when well anointed with fresh butter) — 

 will please insert as much of this long winded 

 story as they see fit ; and every printer who has 

 children, who ere long may be orphans, will please 

 insert the whole, and place it to the credit of the 

 widow and the fatherless — he who is their Jud2;e 

 will register the thing in Heaven, as Uncle Toby 

 says. Grant Thorburiv. 



HalleVs Cove, Sept. 24, 1838. 



We take the earliest opportur\ity which the time of 

 our publication offers, to give additional circulation to 

 the foregoing communication ; and to award to it our 

 praise of its being tbe most admirable, as well as the 

 newest specimen which we have met with, among the 

 annunciations and puffs of agricultural humbugs. 

 Readers, of almost every description, are like to be 

 induced to read the article, bv' some one of its attrac- 

 tive points. First, the general iieadina-, of "impor- 

 tant to farmers," though so often falsely and foohshly 

 used, is very sure to atlract, at least, a cursory glance 

 from every one of the profession ; and then the at- 

 tention will be held by the little matter of narra- 

 tive — by the slip-shod and familiar gossiping manner 

 of the writer — the novelty of the article described — and 

 confidence in the truth and disinterestedness of the 

 writer will be fixed, and the reader entirely captivated, 

 by the noble offer of giving the profits, (net profits, 

 mark you,) to some charitable institution. Now, on 

 this point, we will merely observe, en passant, that if 

 the charges of all expenses of agency, commis- 

 sions, &c., &LC., &c., such as are often made, and may 

 be made without question in this case, do not serve to 

 give the lion's share of the profits to the salesman, 

 and benevolent discoverer of the merits, of the Chinese 

 corn, then he understands less of his business than we 

 give him credit for. 



Bui with all the merit of Mr. Thorburn's laudatory 



his business. He has certainly lost the chance of in- 

 creasing his purchasers ten-fold in number, and hia 

 profits, (gross and perhaps "net" also,) by his charg- 

 ing so low a price as 25 cents per ear for his corn. 

 According to all the rules of humbug, he ought to- 

 have charged 25 cents ^er grain; and the eagerness 

 of purchasers would have been increased in the ratio 

 of the difference of price. On the contrary, if he 

 had asked only $1 the bushel, or offered to give away 

 single ears, very few persons would care to try the 

 planting. 



So much for the annunciation. Of the corn itself, 

 it may, or it may not, be a good kind. It would be ai? 

 presumptuous in us, upon this statement, to pronounce 

 it of no greater value than the ordinary kinds, as it is 

 in Mr. 'fhorburn to assume so much value for it, upon 

 his few facts, and very slight experience of its growth. 

 We merely believe that it is of no superior value to 

 other kinds, except, like spring wheat, as a humbug ; 

 but do not pretend to know it. But we deny that the 

 product of 2120 gcains from the several ears of a single 

 stalk, on garden culture, is any proof of its superiority, 

 or great value, as a field crop. Such a product of 

 particular stalks on rich land, is not very rare here, 

 and probably of grains larger than the " Chinese." 

 Of a particular kind, called tlie " Georgia gourd-seed 

 corn," we have heard of, (and believe we have count- 

 ed, some twenty years ago,) more than 2,000 grains 

 upon a single ear; and for aught that we know, the stalk 

 might have borne more than one ear. At least we 

 know that some ears had as many as thirty-six rows ; 

 and the largest, when just ripe, would yield very 

 nearly a quart of grains. This kind of corn united 

 several of the requisites considered so important by 

 fancy-varietj'-corn-culturists. The ears, when well, 

 made, were not only enormously large, and the num- 

 ber of rows and of grains very great, but the grains 

 were very deep (or long) and the cob very large, so^ 

 as to hold so great a number of grains. We remem- 

 ber well the delight with which we received a few 

 ears of this mammoth corn, and the care with which 

 it was planted, by single grains, and at wide distance, 

 on the richest spot of a good field. Yet the returns, 

 tried for two years, proved that it was very unproduc- 

 tive (for this climate) inmeasure ; and, in all respects, 

 it was the worst kind of southern corn we had ever 

 tried. Yet what a glorious subject would this very 

 corn furnish for a successful humbug, in such good 

 hands as those of Mr. Grant Thorburn ! 



We see that the editors of newspapers are already 

 helping Mr. Thorburn handsomely in his appeal for 

 the widow and orphan, by re-publishing his letter. 

 The editor of the ' Sun,' however, out-strips all his 

 brethren, and even Mr. Thorburn himself, in com- 

 mendation. He closes an account of the letter and 

 its subject, with the following sentence. "It is con- 

 sidered as much superior to our corn, asthemorus mul- 

 ticaulis, or Chinese mulberry, is to that of the .American 

 tree." Aha ! Mr. Thorburn ! " Chinese corn" was a 

 lucky name, and its application highly creditable to 



annunciation, we must say, that in one particular it is I your judgment. There is now a fascinahng power in 

 very deficient— astonishingly so, when it is considered the word " Chinese ;" and there is no knowing how 

 that Mr. Thorburn is so old and well experienced in ' large a " Chinese corn" bubble might be blown, be- 



