THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



237 



I have referred. If this shall come under his ob- 

 eervalion, he will see that, though the perlormance 

 has been delayed, the promise was not Ibrgoiien. 



Wm. Carmichael. 

 IVye, Queen jean's co., Md., ^pril 30, 1842. 



NEW AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



Two Agricultural Societies have recently been 

 organized, one in the county of Prince George, 

 and the other in King William, and both upon 

 the MJor/fing plan, recommended in the last Decem- 

 ber number of the Farmers' Register. The form 

 of constitution there published, with a few 

 changes of unimportant details, has been adopted 

 by bolli these socieiies, and therefore it is unneces- 

 sary to publish the forms of consiitulion actually 

 adopted. The plan requires that every member 

 shall do something in furtherance of the objects 

 of the institution, by accurately conducting and 

 carefully noting, and reporting some one or more 

 agricultural experiments each year. And if this 

 be but done, the most unpretending labors of a 

 society in any one year will serve to establish 

 some useful truths ; to indicate something of 

 new practice, and beneficial and profitable to be 

 performed ; or something of old, useless or in- 

 jurious, to be omitted and avoided ; and this will 

 be more than is generally done by other agricul- 

 tural societies. But even the best devised plan 

 of constitution and of operations for a society 

 alone, will not be sufficient to make a society 

 useful, unless the requirements of the plan be truly 

 and faithfully obeyed by the members. We ear 

 nestly hope that there may be no such deficiency 

 in these two societies ; and ihey have our hearty 

 and zealous wishes that their usefulnes and their 

 success may entirely fulfil their design and objects. 



REMARKS ON THE CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN, 

 IN REPLY TO THE EDITOR OF THE CULTI- 

 VATOR. 



From the Soutliern Agriculturist. 



Dear sir. — In looking over the first and second 

 volumes of the Cultivator, my attention was par- 

 ticularly attracted by the following editorial re- 

 marks on the subject of Indian corn and its cul- 

 ture, namely: "The roots grow to as great a 

 length as the stalks ;" and "In corn ground we 

 think six to nine inches a suitable depth"' in 

 ploughing, as "the roots will strike fully to this 

 depth if there is food for them." 



Now, as there could be nothing more absurd 

 than to maintain that a plant, five to ten feet 

 high, has roots as long as itself, and that these 

 roots go down perpendicularly, and yet reach no 



lower than eight or nine inches below the sur- 

 t'ace; the conclusion is obvious, that the editor 

 believed in the horizontal distribution ol' the roots 

 of corn as a general rule. Having had no oppor- 

 tunity of ascertaining, from personal observa- 

 tions, what the liict on this point is, in the soil 

 aiid climaie ol' ihul laiitude, I notice this opinion 

 olthe Cultivator, not fur the purpose ol denying 

 Its correctness in so lar as it may apply to that 

 section of the union; but to show, that how- 

 ever well (bunded there, it is not altogether in 

 accordance with facts here. And with this view, 

 1 shall state the general results of examinations 

 of this plant, repeatedly made, in order to satisfy 

 my own mind on this point. 



It is not intended here to deny the existence 

 of horizontal roots to the corn plant, (a fact with 

 which every planter is no doubt familiar) ; but to 

 call attention to the no less important lact, that 

 these roots, however indispensable may be their 

 lunctions, are not the principal in size, but are 

 given off from other and much larger roots, which 

 go down perpendicularly or nearly so, to a depth 

 under favorable circumstances of several feet. 



The plants first examined grew in a very light 

 sandy soil, incumbent on a loose subsoil of yel- 

 low and white sand many leet deep. Here, 

 upon carefully removing the earth to the depth 

 of two feet, all the large roots were found running 

 down perpendicularly ; or at least so nearly so, 

 as to be embraced in a circle of eighteen or twen- 

 ty inches diameter, at a depth of two feet below 

 the surface. More surprised at first, than satisfied 

 with this discovery, I examined a number of other 

 plants in the same manner, but with the same 

 resul" ; and was, of course, compelled to abandon 

 the opinion previously entertained, that the main 

 roots of the corn plant were all horizontal. 

 These plants averaged about twenty-five per- 

 pendicular roots, some of which were traced two 

 leet nine inches, when they were snapped off'; 

 and, upon comparing their diameter where broken 

 off' with that a loot above this point, it was evi- 

 dent they must have penetrated at least a foot 

 deeper, making their entire length not less than 

 three and a half to four leet. It should be remark- 

 ed, however, that occasionally one of these large 

 roots was found so bent in its course, as to run 

 parallel with the surface : and further, that in one 

 or two plants the majority of the roots diverged 

 at such an angle, that they could not be strictly 

 considered either perpendicular or horizontal. 

 But these were plainly mere exceptions to the 

 ireneral rule. With regard to the horizontal or 

 lateral roots, it was observed that the degree of 

 their developement seemed to depend mainly on 

 the condition of the soil, (properly so called,) and 

 the season; Where the former was poor and the 

 latter dry, but few of them, apparently, exceeded 

 two or three inches in length, while many were 

 much shorter. On the other hand, where the 

 soil had been made very rich by high manuring, 

 more especially if a wet season concurred, these 

 roots were very much increased, not only in 

 numbers but in all their dimensions, a large pro- 

 portion of them extending from one to two feet or 

 more from the stalk. All other things being the 

 same then, these roots (the lateral) would seem 

 to be developed on the one hand, in proportion to 

 the fertility of the soil ; and on the other, to the 

 degree of humidity ol the season ; attaining their 



