ESSAY ON INDIAN CORN. 1G7 



the manure ; but If the sub-soil is cold, it is not best to plough it 

 under. To illustrate my meaning, suppose two cooks preparing their 

 dough for a batch of bread and both by the same rule. When they 

 set it away to rise, one puts it upon the celler bottom, the other upon 

 the warm bricks of the hearth ; the latter has good bread, but the 

 former complains of the rule, as the bread will not rise. 



Is it good economy to spread green manure and harrow it in for a 

 crop of corn ? Some farmers are of the opinion that they can make 

 a good compost in this way, and thus save the labor of forking it over. 

 They say if mixing manure with soil in the compost, will make good 

 food for plants ; so it will if we mix it in the field. Are we sure of 

 this ? By mixing flower, water, and yeast together, we sometimes 

 get good food for the human stomach, but it is not always the case 

 when they are put together. 



Perhaps it may be offensive to the taste of some, to compare the 

 kneading dish in the farmer's kitchen, to his compost heap ; but they 

 are both labratories, where a chemical process is performed. In the 

 one, to prepare food for the stomach, in the other, for his plants. If 

 to save labor the dough is not properly kneaded, the bread will be 

 poor, and there will be a loss of material ; so in harrowing in green 

 manure. 



When we mix green manure and soil together, in the compost 

 heap, the temperature is soon raised. This is not the case when it 

 is mixed in the field by harrowing ; and it is a long time before it 

 can become proper food for plants. 



He who spreads his green manure on the surface, to be mixed with 

 the soil by the harrow, if he succeeds in covering the most of it, 

 generally leaves it in bunches, and in such a situation, that it will 

 not soon decompose. He ought not to complain of his cook if he 

 has a hasty pudding for dinner full of lumps. 



If we have Avarm dry land to plant, we may plough under half of 

 the manure, and spread the remainder, after it has been well com- 

 posted. If the land is cold, I would recommend to compost it, and 

 spread one half of it, and put the other half in the hill. 



Tlie proper time for Planting. 

 We should be governed more by the state of the land than day 

 of the month. If the land be warm and dry, we may plant the last 

 week in April. As a general rule, from the first of May to the 

 tenth, is the best time to plant. 



