M ESSAY 



ON THE 



CULTIVATION OF INDIAN CORN. 



BY WILLIAM R. PUTNAM 



The cultivation of Indian Corn is one of the most important la- 

 bors of the farmer. Accustomed to it from our youth, it is not easy 

 to discriminate what is necessary to be done. It will be my pur- 

 pose to notice such incidents in the culture of this plant, as have 



li seemed to me most worthy of attention. My ideas have been gath- 

 ered in the field, and not in the closet. If they are found rude and 



! unpolished, my engagements, from " early morn to latest eve," must 

 be my apology. 



j Who does not remember, that almost as soon as he l:new that 

 three and three made six, he was required to put that knowledge in 

 practice, by dropping that number of kernels in each hill ? Who does 



I not remember the manly pride he felt, when he first performed that 

 extraordinary feat of horsemanship, in guiding the old horse straiglit 

 between the rows of corn, and turning him round without getting 



; his legs over the traces, or stepping on the corn ? Who has forgot- 

 ten the great responsibility he felt, the first time he was permitted 

 to go alone to mill with his bags of corn ? 



Before treating of the cultivation of Indian Corn, it may be pro- 

 per to inquire, if it is a crop of sufficient importance to demand in- 

 creased attention from the farmers of the county. 



Some are of the opinion, that with the present high price of lal)or 

 and manure, we cannot compete with Western farmers in raising 



\ corn ; that with the increased facilities for transportation, we shall 



soon be run off the track ; that we had better buy our corn than 



raise it. This may be good economy for those who are situated near 



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