4 



FARMERS' REGISTKR. 



[No. 1 



of the lateral and surface roots — whose spongioles 

 contribute to leed the eiaiUs and grain, must, ine- 

 vitably, be cut by any implement ever yet used in 

 ils cultivation. True it is, that some cut more roots 

 than others J but to claim ibr any, that they cut 

 no roots at all, is a pretension whicli none can be 

 expected to believe who ever had any experience 

 in the culture oC corn. Now, if the heulih and 

 vigor of the corn plants depended solely, or even 

 chiefly, on the spongioles at the extremities of the 

 surface-roots, each working, after these roots have 

 spread nearly or quite across the beds — which 

 they do before any one ceases to work them — every 

 working then given, would do much injury instead 

 of good! Unless, indeed, (_as 1 iormerly suggest- 

 ed,) the cuttmg process tended to multiply spongi- 

 oles at the ends of the cut roots next the stalks, 

 more than sufficient to compensate for the loss ol' 

 the extreme feeders. II' this conjecture be insuf- 

 ficient to explain the undeniable fact, that growing- 

 corn is much benefited by every working, when 

 the land is neither too wet nor too dry, may we 

 not consider the ailficully solved by the discovery 

 that the largest roots, which probably produce the 

 most spongioles, grow in a direction which saves 

 them fiom ever !)eing cut, iniless by accident? 

 But the dew roois (as some call them,) which 

 grow around the first joints of the stalks, and are 

 very rarely cut, likewise act as feeders ; although 

 this, I believe, is not the common opinion. Those 

 persons, however, who doubt, may easily satisfy 

 themselves by tracing the longest of these roots 

 to their extremilies below the surfiice ; for they 

 will there find small fibres wi'.ii their spongioles ; 

 precisely similar to those surface roots which are 

 generally supposed to be the only sources of food 

 to their parent plan's. 



I cannot dismiss this highly important subject 

 without earnestly endeavoring to impress upon 

 the minds of all our brethren, the absolute neces- 

 sity of continuing to make experiments, and many 

 more than any of us have yet made, if we would 

 become thoroughly acquainted with the nature 

 and best management of tlie corn plant. That 

 we are yet ignorant of many essentials to its most 

 perfect culture and greatest production, is mani- 

 fest to all but those obstinate, self conceited block- 

 heads who have persuaded themselves that they 

 have reached the highest point olattainahk^ Icnow- 

 ledge on both points; and who are ready tn re|-.ly 

 to all attempts at instructing them — especially it' 

 in print — "Oh! tve know all about corn; don't tell 

 its any thing, ice never read books! no, 710/ i^e.'" 

 But, to prove their ignorance, as well as our 

 own, I need onlj' ask the following questions. 



Who has ever made any experiments sufficient- 

 ly numerous and accurate to asceriain t!ie best 

 depth and distance Ibr planlini; corn in the differ- 

 ent soils most common iimnnor us, with a view to 

 obtain the greatest product that each soil can be 

 made to yield? Yet, upon these two circum- 

 stances, depth and distance, we are all certain, 

 that the quantity of grain produced, must most 

 materially depend? Again, who lias asceriained, 

 or even attempted it, by any trials approaching to 

 certainly of results, whether it is best to cullivaie 

 high and dry corn land on ridges, or on a level 

 surlace? Again, who among us can say, from ac- 

 tual and accurate comparison, whether it is liest to 

 cross-plough, or to plough but one way? All, 

 probably, would give some answer to these inqui- 



ries — showing that each had formed some opinion 

 — satisfactory perhaps to himself; but I may ven- 

 ture 10 affirm, without fear of" conlradiciiun, that 

 not a solitary man of the whole would be able to 

 state any fiicis whatever upon which a corn- 

 planter, conscious of liis own liinorance and anx- 

 ious to remove it, could confidently and safely 

 rely. lieie then are no less than three or four 

 highly important matters relative to corn culture, 

 of which all tlie corn-makers with whom I have 

 ever conversed, are still so far ignorant, that no 

 uniform and certain practice fur similar soils and 

 situations, can be ado|)ted on their authority. As 

 to depth, it is guess-work with all, and it will be 

 found to vary several inches; while the distances 

 in planting vary so much, even among the most 

 experienced corn-planters, that 'tis manifest they 

 act more from mere conjectural belief than any 

 thing else. Much difference of practice yet ex- 

 ists in regard to all the points I have stated, which 

 could not possibly be the case, if a sulhcient num- 

 ber of experiments had been fully and f;\irly made 

 to settle which method was best in each case. 

 This surely is well worth attempting — at least by 

 all who cannot rest self-satisfied, that our present 

 stock of knowledge is full and complete, which I 

 sincerely hope is not the case with a single mem- 

 ber ofour society — since the very basis — the great 

 object of its formation — was mutual instruction. 

 The scripture injunction ^^ seek and ye shall 

 find,'^ is eminently true, not only of' spiritual 

 knowledge, but of every species which human 

 beiuffs are capable of attaining, and to no class of 

 mankind is the fre(]uent repetition of this most 

 momentous truth more necessarj^ than to ours ; 

 fbr the worst ofour besetting sins is an overween- 

 ing confidence in our knowledge of husbandry, 

 and the consequent neglect of all the means es- 

 sential to its improvement. Our secluded country 

 lives, if long continued without interruption, serve 

 only to cherish and confirm this self conceit, al- 

 most beyond all hopes of cure. The s\'mptom 

 which usually indicates this disease in its most in- 

 veterate state is, when the infected person is 

 found, whenever an opportunity offers, constant- 

 ly and most complacently, talking about '■'■his me- 

 thods, /ii's system." When the disorder appears 

 in this aggravated form, a recovery very rarely 

 occurs, f)r there are only two modes of cure, and 

 both oi' douhiful efficacy. The first is, to persuade 

 the sufferer, if practicable, to go a little from home 

 and examine other men''s methods and systerns ; 

 for he will then surely find either that his, upon 

 which he has prided himself so much, as sole dis- 

 covererand practitioner, have really nothing new in 

 them, or that they are much inferior to the methods 

 and systems of many other persons of his own 

 prolijssion. 'J'he second remedy is, to tempt him 

 to read (provided he can.) a few scraps or whole 

 arlicles in print, about husbandry. If well se- 

 lected, they may possibly coax him on to peruse a 

 pamphlet or book or two on the same subject, 

 when he will discover that the great bug-t>ear 

 which he has always despised so much under the 

 name o-' hook-liirminix, is, in reality, neither more 

 nor less than a well authenticated record of the 

 best practices in every branch of husbandry, from 

 the earliest aires to the present day. It is true 

 that he would find some mere speculations, — some 

 useless trash ; but what books, except the bible, 

 were everyet exempt fiom these defects? Yet even 



