432 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



PREPARATION OF SEED-CORN. 

 Jjuportant Suggettior.s. — Ust of Copperas Water in 

 the Preparation of Seed- Corn ; By Lansing 

 Wetmoek, of Penv. 



I BELIEVE you are apprised of the fact of my 

 removal from the village on to my farm one 

 mile above, on Cone^van^o Greet. I am in the 

 " fall tide of successful experiment " on the 

 new and most approved method of farming-. I 

 ■wiU communicate for the Farmers' Library an I 

 experiment which I made last season in raising 

 Com. The first of March last I commenced 

 extracting pine stumps from a five-acre field. I 

 had attempted to crop the field twice within the 

 last five years. The stumps were so thick, 

 however, there heing about twenty-five on an 

 acre, that the attempt was nearly fruitless. The 

 first crop was oats ; the yield was less than 12 

 bushels per acre ; the next, spring wheat, and 

 the yield less than 6 bushels per acre. I seed- 

 ed it to clover and let it go to pasture — very 

 poor at that — for the last three or four j-ears. 

 With the aid of Norcross's stump machine, 

 which is one of the best and cheapest ever in- 

 vented, my son, a lad fifteen years old, one horse 

 and yoke of cattle to move the machine, we 

 cleared the field of stumps hy the first of May ; 

 made some 40 rods of first-rate fence with the 

 best of the stumps, and burned the rest ; drew 

 on 12 loads of long manure per acre, spread it. 

 and plowed it 7 inches deep ; dragged it ■with 

 the farrows ; marked it oif and planted 3 feet 

 asunder each way. The produce of the five 

 acres was 5.5-3 bushels of com in the ear, 3000 

 pumpkins, and 25 bushels of excellent potatoes. 

 My com crop was increa.sed about 33 per cent, 

 by a simple preparation of the seed as follows : 



At noon of the day before planting, 18th May, 

 I put my Seed-Com to soak in a strong decoc- 

 tion of copperas water, say 2 lbs. copperas to 

 w^arm soft water sufficient to cover a bushel of 

 com. The next morning took out a peck, added 

 a pint or more of soft soap, stirred it thoroughly, 

 then put on plaster enough to make il con- 

 venient to drop for planting, say one quart. 

 The whole field was planted with the seed tlius 

 prepared, except 4 rows, which were planted 

 with seed without any preparation. The after- 

 culture of the whole was alike — passing through 

 each way with the cultivator, and hoeing tw ice. 

 The four rows last mentioned were cut up, har- 

 vested, and the com weighed and measured by 

 itself; also four rows next adjoining, the seed 

 of which had been prepared as above. The 

 produce of the four rows of unprepared seed 

 was eleven bushels and a half. The produce of 

 the four rows from the prepared seed was sev- 

 enteen bushels — a difference of five and a half 

 bushels of ears in one hundred and twenty hilb?. 

 The yield of the remainder of the field averaged 

 felly equal to the four best rows measured. 

 f-92) 



The difference in the growth and appearance 

 of the com of the prepared and unprepared 

 seed was striking from the time of its appear- 

 ance above the ground until it tasseled — the 

 former looking gteen and vigorous, the latter 

 puny and yellow. It was all cut dow^n by tlie 

 frost when about three inches high, but came 

 on finely after the first of June. There was 

 scarcely a soft ear in the field, excepting on the 

 four rows of unprepared seed. These were 

 about a week later in ripening than that from 

 the prepared seed. The soil is a sand^' loam. 

 The whole expense of preparing the bushel and 

 three pecks of seed did not exceed 62| cents. 

 The increased produce of the field by preparing 

 the seed was over 200 bushels ears. 



Lansing Wetmore. 



TO HAVE EARLY POTATOEa 



The destruction of the Potato crop in Eng- 

 land had been so extensive as to make it proper 

 to look ahead for the best means of hastening 

 the crop forward in the Spring, it being impor- 

 tant to shorten as much as possible the period of 

 privation. 



With a view to bring forward the next 

 spring's crop at the earliest possible moment, 

 the follo\ving suggestions have been made in 

 tlie London Gardener's Chronicle. 



Though not pressed by the same urgent ne- 

 cessity in this countrj-, these suggestions may 

 yet furnish hints to those %\ ho feel an ambition, 

 both innocent and commendable, to have tlie 

 earliest Potatoes on their own table — an ambi- 

 tion that deserves to be fostered, so long as it 

 does not proceed from avaricious motives, or de- 

 generate into envy of those who are winners in 

 the race. 



The writer recommends that recourse be had 

 to the earliest known varieties, and then to keep 

 in mind the following important facts, and the 

 same general rules may be observed to get early 

 sweet Potatoes : 



1st The eyes at the top of the Potato are the 

 younsest and vegetate first ; from them the crop will 

 be about a fortnizht earlier than that obtained from 

 the lower part of the tuber. 



2d. When the Potato is not cut, and the top eye* 

 are allowed to proceed in their gi-owth, the othera 

 push slowly, if at all. 



.3d. If the top sprout be removed, the other eyes 

 will besrin growintr with srreater vi^or. 



4th. It is, therefore. ob\iou8 that the top sprouts 

 may be removed whe# they begin to show roots, 

 and planted out for the earliest ci-op ; whilst the rest 

 of the tuber may be allowed to push the other eyes 

 for a succession. 



5th. In case of a scarcity of sets, the stems may be 

 layered ; they will root, and form a second crop of 

 tubers ; but this must be done early in the seas<m, or 

 before the first set of tubers is fully npe. although 

 large enough to be fit for use. 



Men who are skillful propagators of plants (as 

 many gardeners are. and all onsht to be) will 

 readily imagine what important advantages may 

 be taken of these properties of the Potato. We 



