30 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER; 



face to my experiments, which I now proceed to 

 give you. 



The fir!=t nnade this year was — a second trial 

 with the Chinese tree-corn, which I should prefer 

 callinjf Tiiorburn's corn, as he introduced it, and 

 very lew plants that I have ever seen, are less 

 like a tree. The result of this experiment was so 

 similar to the one made in 1839, that I think my- 

 self warranted in forming the following conclu- 

 sions in regard to it : First, it ripens sooner in our 

 climate, than any of (3 or 8 early varieties that I 

 have ever tried, excerit the golden Sioux, which is 

 very unproductive. Secondly, it is fit to grind by 

 the last of August, if planted by the first of April; 

 and it will produce roasiing ears in 90 da3s. In 

 the next place, it is much more productive than 

 any other dwarf corn. And lasily, 1 inter from 

 the two trials already made, that in all land of 

 medium fertility, it will probably yif^Id more per 

 acre, allhougli not more by the hill, than any of 

 our common large varieties, since you may plant 

 it so close as to have raiher more than double the 

 number of stalk?. For instance, in land wherein 

 the usual disiance siven to our common kinds of 

 <^orn is five leet each way, wiih two stalks in a 

 hill, the Chinese corn may be planted four feet by 

 three, with the same number of stalks, which is 

 as 12 to 25. This distance 1 nave it in both trials, 

 and the produce last year was at the rate of six 

 barrels and two bushels — this year, on similar 

 land and with similar culture, it was at the rate of 

 eix barrels and one bushel. The ears, when per- 

 fect, will average about eieht inches in Ipnerth, 

 sometimes as nmch as ten, hrivirifj from eisht to 

 sixteen rows upon a cob, of middle sized whitish 

 errain, very flinty and weighs within a fraction of 

 64 lbs. per bushel. Last year I stated the weight 

 to be 58 lbs., but the corn was then weighed im- 

 mediately after gathering, bel(:)re it was thorough- 

 ly dry, which accounts for the difference here 

 slated. 



In the culture of this variety of corn, I have 

 noticed more particularly than heretofore a cir- 

 cumstance which has often excited my attention, 

 and for which I can in no way account, hut on 

 the supposition that the pollen or farina of the tas- 

 sel, which impregnates the grain, often changes 

 the constitution thereof, when diflerent varieties 

 are planted near each other, before the chanrres 

 become visible; although it generally shows itself 

 the first year. Thus the ear of corn, which 

 I bought of Mr. Thorburn last spring twelve 

 months, v/as covered with crain exactly alike in 

 color, size, shape and texture ; yet the produce of 

 that ear consisted of at least six dissimilar varie- 

 ties — if, indeed, what we call a variety is consti- 

 tuted (as we jrenerally believed by a difference in 

 all the foregoing particulars. No other corn prew 

 any where near this ('hinese corn, and conse- 

 quently each ear must have« been impregnated 

 from the tassels of some of the contiguous stalks. 

 Another sliil more remarkable circumstance hai3 

 occurred in gathering my twin corn, which consii- 

 lutes nearly my whole crop. For fnm' or five 

 years I have been selpcting the seed with the 

 greatest care, and I believed tliat it was nearly 

 pure. Yet a single and perfect ear has been 

 i'nund, in the midst of it, having 18 rows of small 

 grfiin upon the cob, every one of which is of a 

 rieep reddish purplf color, the like of which I have 

 very rarely ever seen in any part of our country, 



and certainly never planted. Whence then came 

 the pollen to impregnate this earl Is it conceiva- 

 ble, can we believe it possible, that it was walled 

 for many, many miles in a mass sufficient to satu- 

 rate each grain of this one ear, and that not a 

 particle should have fallen on the silks of any 

 other ear in the field? This seems past credibili- 

 ty, and must drive us to the conclusion that the 

 color, at least, of corn, if not all its other charac- 

 teristics, 7nay possibly be changed by something 

 else besides the pollen of the tassel. 



I will here mention another circumstance rela- 

 tive to the physiology of the corn plant. In my 

 last address, I slated as a fi^ct which I supposed 

 was known to every body, who had ever minute- 

 ly examined a ear of corn, that the silk of the 

 ear communicated immediately with the small 

 end of the grain by which it was attached to the 

 cob. This was represented by some writer in the 

 Albany Cultivator, as an error ; and he asserted, 

 as a matter not to be doubled, that the silk wa.g 

 attached to the outer end of the grain. Unwilling 

 to be positive, even when most confident that I 

 am right, I determined to ascertain thoroughly, 

 as soon as the season permitted, which was mis- 

 taken — my commentator or myself. For this 

 purpose I examined, as accurately as possible, 

 many ears of corn, and procured the aid of others, 

 in searchiniT most carefully, for silks connected 

 with the Older end of the grain. Not one could 

 we find ; but we traced thousands to those points 

 of the cob to which the small ends of the grain 

 were attached. Here the ends of the silks ad- 

 hered so firmly, as to require some little effort to 

 pull them o!}, after the grain had been separated. 

 I know not that the Itict is of much consequence 

 to corn growers in general. But it is of^ some 

 importance to myselfj as I deem it necessary to 

 convince you, that on such occasions as the pre- 

 sent, I never advance any opinion, or state any 

 thing as a fact, which I have not maturely consi- 

 dered. 



I attempted two otherexperimpnts with varieties 

 of corn, which ! had not tried before. One was a 

 yellow kind from Lancaster county, there intro- 

 duced from our Eastern Shore, under the name 

 of Russel-corn, where it bears a high character. 

 The other also was yellow, and from the great 

 Valley of the Wabash in Indiana. The grain of 

 the latter was very large, and more flinty than ita 

 produce, which somewhat resembles our yellow 

 gourd-seed corn. The cobs have 16 rows of 

 grain ; but the stalks had only single ears, al- 

 though in strong land, from which it is probable 

 that in our climate this variety would not be more 

 productive than some of our own yellow kinds. 

 The former varipty produced a better looking and 

 heavier grain, to judije merply by the appearance; 

 but it was not planted in a situation to enable me 

 to form any correct opinion as to its relative pro- 

 ductiveness. So far as this one trial will justify 

 an opinion, 1 think that the ilussel corn v.'ill pro- 

 bably prove prelerable to the yellow kinds hereto- 

 fbre trieii ih this part of the country; alhouch I 

 have never yet met with any of that color, which 

 would produce, (unless I greatly err,) within ten 

 or fifteen per cent, as much aslhp most productive 

 of our white kinds. This is a differfnce in quan- 

 tify (or which the higher price of the yellow,' in 

 our northern markets, will not compensate; to 

 say nothing of the fact, that not one southern 



