90 Farmers' Miscellany. [Jan., 



and put it into a pot or iron kettle. Take about one 2;ill of the 

 tar, put it into a small kettle with about a pint of water. Heat 

 this until near boiling; pour it into the corn in the first kettle, and 

 stir it smartly until the tar is uniformly mixed with the corn, 

 coating each grain with a kind of varnish. Now pour off the 

 water remaining in the tarred corn, draining it as completely as 

 possible. Throw into the corn a pint or more of plaster, and stir 

 it until the grains are separated, and each resembles a small ball 

 of plaster. Now it is ready for planting, and may be kept in a 

 cellar a week if necessary, and though it may slightly sprout, it 

 is not injured, if planted in ground freshly plowed or moist. I 

 have been thus particular, because some who have attempted it 

 have failed, from tarring without soaking, or perhaps from soak- 

 ing too long, or in too hot water. It has been tried by me for ten 

 years in succession, w^ithout a single failure, and under almost all 

 circumstances. When a little accustomed to it, the labor of pre- 

 paring the seed, in this way, is not as great as it seems to be. It 

 requires care, and what does not, that is worth having? Its ad- 

 vantages are, perfect exemption from destruction by crowds, squir- 

 rels, hens or any other animal that desires it for food ; as nothing 

 will eat it, not even hogs, when it is fed to them in this state. It 

 will withstand the cold rains of spring much better than corn un- 

 tarred, and comes up with a fine dark green color, and thrifty ap- 

 pearance. If it is not proof against the wire-worm, it will en- 

 tirely remove the necessity of those unsightly ornaments to the 

 corn field, the scare-crows. 



The number of seeds in a hill has been previously stated. 

 Usually about 3i- feet apart each way, is the distance. Great 

 crops have been produced by double rows, by planting in drills, 

 &c., but these were extraordinary cases, and for general culture 

 the drill method is too expensive; as the cultivator can only be 

 used one way, and consequently much remains to be done with 

 the hoe. This good economy will avoid, and it is now generally 

 considered best to plant in rows both ways, at about three or three 

 feet two inches apart. 



Not less than two, and often three hoeings are best. Certainly 



