On planting Indian Corn. 153 



derable shoulder behind, otherwise it would be bent 

 back, the resistance being so great as to produce a suf- 

 ficient draft for two horses : — with the shovel teeth 

 one horse can travel with ease. 



The farm, on which I have used this machine, I 

 purchased, in a very exhausted state, about 15 years 

 ago, and designing to improve it with lime, I deem- 

 ed it of importance to retain the lime (which I have 

 uniformly introduced with corn crop) as much on the 

 surface as possible for the first year. This would not 

 have been the case if the plough had been used ; and 

 perceiving that the raising of corn, in the usual way, 

 exposed the soil to wash, my object was to prevent 

 this injury by reducing the surface to a perfect plane, 

 having neither hill nor furrow. 



I have uniformly found that the coulter harrow pre- 

 pared the ground to imbibe and retain a greater quan- 

 tity of rain water, than in any other Avay ; in addition 

 to this advantage, that a much less surface is exposed 

 to evaporation, than if the land had been ploughed into 

 ridges, which in a season of drought affords a decided 

 advantage ; as in the year 1808 I had nearly 40^ bush- 

 els to the acre, when land of the same quality, in my 

 neighbourhood, farmed in the usual manner, had not 

 half that quantity. 



I have tried both fall and spring ploughing and am 

 inclined to prefer the latter, as I have generally found 

 that, by midsummer, the sod was as well rotted in the 



* Mjr son informs me that the crop of 1808 exceeded 40 bushels 

 to the acre. 



VOL. III. iJ 



