216 



I N D 



1 N D 



or boiled, are delicate food : espe- 

 cially some of the more tender 

 sorts, which are cultivated for this 

 purpose. Ripe corn, the hulls be- 

 ing taken off with a weak lie, and 

 boiled till it is soft, is an excellent 

 food ; and not inferior to it is 

 pounded corn, known by the name 

 of samp. In either way, many ac- 

 count it equal to rice. But the most 

 common use of it is in meal sifted 

 from the bran, made into bread or 

 puddings. For the latter, it is al- 

 lowed to excel all other sorls of 

 flour: For the former it does not 

 answer well by itself; but is excel- 

 lent when mixed with an equal 

 quantity of rye meal. 



The cheapness of seed, being 

 next to nothing, greatly recom- 

 mends, to the poorer sort of peo- 

 ple, the culture of this corn. For 

 it is often the case, that they are 

 scarcely able to procure other 

 seed for their ground. But this 

 they can often have gratis. 



In our new settlements, border- 

 ing on the wilderness, it seems to 

 be of more importance than in oth- 

 er places ; because the stalks, 

 leaves and husks, being good fod- 

 der, supply the new beginners with 

 winter food for their cattle, before 

 hay can be raised. 



Of all soils a clayey one may 

 justly be accounted the worst kind 

 for this crop. A loamy soil is 

 best ; or even sand, if it be not 

 destitute of vegetable food, and 

 manure sufficient is added. In the 

 northern parts of New-England, it 

 is not worth while to plant this 

 corn on clay. On any soil it re- 

 quires much tillage and manure in 



this country ; if either be scanty, 

 a good crop is not to be expect- 

 ed. 



I think it is not the best method 

 to plant it on what we call green 

 sward ground, at least in the north- 

 ern parts. It is apt to be too back- 

 ward m its growth, and not to ripen 

 so well. But if we do it on such 

 land, the holes should be made 

 quite through the furrows, and 

 dung put into the holes. If this 

 caution be not observed, the crop 

 will be uneven, as the roots in 

 some places where the furrows are 

 thickest, will have but little bene- 

 fit from the rotting of the sward. — 

 But if the holes be made through, 

 the roots will be fed with both fix- 

 ed and putrid air, supplied by the 

 fermentation in the grass roots of 

 the turf. In this way, I have 

 known great crops raise^d on green 

 sward ground, where the soil was 

 a sandy loum, but mostly sand. 



But in the course of my expe- 

 rience, I have found pease and 

 potatoes the most suitable crops 

 for the first year. In the second, 

 it will be in good order for Indian 

 corn. This case, however, may 

 be peculiar to the northern parts 

 of New-England. 



For this crop, it is certainly 

 best to plough in the fall preced- 

 ing; and again in the spring, just 

 before planting. If the land be 

 flat, and inclining to cold, it should 

 lie in narrow ridges during the 

 winter; and if it is naturally moist, 

 the corn should be planted on 

 ridges ; otherwise it should be 

 ploughed plain in the spring. 



Some recommend gathering 



