THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



195 



ers, who -.have an opportunity of procurino; suit- 

 able implements. 



A properly constructed pioujjh with a cutter at- 

 tached to it, should merely skim off (he yreen 

 Bward to the depth of an incli or two, which 

 should he (bllowed hy another plough, runnin<r in 

 the same furrows, to throw up ihe mould to the 

 depth of five or six iriclies. Tlius, alter tlie first 

 round, a deep lurrow would be formed, into the 

 bottom of which the sUimininif plouirh would 

 throw the green sward skimmed off in the second 

 round, which would he covered to the depth of 

 five or six inches by the second plougii, and so on 

 in succession, till the whole field is ploughed. In 

 this way the green sward is detached, and buried 

 so deep that it need not be disturbed in the pro- 

 cess of cultivating the crop. Being entirely co- 

 vered, it will serve the double purpose of keeping 

 the ground light and furnishing a dressing of ma- 

 nure. 



If the same ground upon which corn has been 

 cultivated the preceding year, is intended to be 

 again cultivated in corn, it is very important that 

 it should be trodden as little as possible by stock, 

 especially when the ground is rendered soft by 

 rains, or by freezing and thawing. Instead ol' 

 feeding upon the ground the small remains of 

 fodder which are lelt, after the corn is pulled, it 

 is much better to cut up the corn, and put it in 

 shocks, after it is fully ripe. The fodder may be 

 led off, either with corn, or after the corn has 

 been shucked, according to circumstances. If the 

 corn has been detached Irom the fodder, the latter 

 ought to be fed in suitable feeding pens, with a 

 view to the saving of manure. And it would al- 

 ways 1)6 advisable to haul it off, in large slides, 

 having suitable shelving, when the ground is 

 either frozen, covered with snow, or not too much 

 softened by rains. That there may not be a ne- 

 cessity of hauling fodder when the ground is so 

 soft as to injure it by treading, a suitable time 



taking care that this operation be performed 

 when the ground is sufficiently dry to pulverize 

 well. The harrowing will destroy any young 

 weeds which may have sprung up, and will level 

 the ground preparatory to checkering it off lor 

 planting. It should now be laid off one way at 

 the proper distance for planting, with a large 

 plough, cutting the furrow as deep as can be con- 

 veniently done. A second plough, suitable lijr 

 the purpose (a well constructed siiovel or coulter 

 |)lough will answer) should follow in the same 

 lurrow, to loosen the ground as deep as possible. 

 When a field is thus laid off one way, it should, as 

 soon as convenient be crossed in the other direc- 

 tion lor planting, leaving the rows equally distant 

 each way. The lading off for planting should 

 be done with a small, steady running one horse 

 plough, which should not cut a furrow more than 

 two or three inches deep. This method would 

 leave a deep loose soil at the intersection of the 

 two furrows, and would remove the clods ffom the 

 furrow so as not to be in the way in covering corn. 

 Careful droppers sliould Ibllow the plough, or 

 ploughs, laying off the second way, who should 

 be particular to drop the corn precisely at the in- 

 tersection of liie two furrows, and the hands fol- 

 lowing With the hoes should be careful to cover 

 the corn with fine mould, (cutting the clods from 

 the hill, if any) precisely at the place where it 

 was dropped, except when they discover an error 

 in dropping. Attention to the foregoing direc- 

 tions is important lor two purposes. 1. That the 

 corn may be planted where it will have immedi- 

 ately beneath its roots a deep loose soil, which 

 they can penetrate with ease; and, 2. That the 

 rows of corn may be straight, both ways, and thus 

 enable the ploughs with very little aid from the 

 hoes to keep the corn clear of weeds and grass. 

 A shallow furrow in laying off the second way 

 is attended with several advantages. 1. The 

 ground is not so apt to wash during heavy raine, 

 should be selected fir hauling and putting in rick, I as when the furrow is broad and deep. 2. The 

 a quantity of Ibdder, to be kept as a reserve, and I clods will not so readily liill back into the furrow, 

 to be led from only when the wea'her is not suita- ! 3. The corn will not be so liable to be covered by 

 hie for hauling from the field. The rick should ! clods rolling on it at the first ploughing, in conse- 



be made by setting the Ibdder against poles, and 

 should, of course, be as convenient to the feeding 

 pen as possible. 



The cutting up of corn, and removing the fod- 

 der to feeding pens would not only occasion the 

 saving of much manure, but would leave the field 

 in good condition for early ploughing, thus afford- 

 itig the ground the benefit ol' the spring frosts 

 which will greatly assist in pulverizing the soil. 

 But a still greater benefit would result from pre- 

 venting the corn ground being trodden by stock, 

 when in a soft state, during the winter and spring 

 months. 



If ground has been sufficiently renovated and 

 properly prepared for a crop of corn, the process 

 of cultivation is very simple. The ploughing 

 should be deep and thorough, and if practicable, 

 early enough to afford the ground the benefit of 

 the spring freezes. If ploughed early in the win- 

 ter, or late in the preceding lall it would be still 

 better, as the soil would be thereby more com- 

 pletely pulverized, a matter of great importance 

 in the culture of the corn crop. Except where 

 sod is turned over, the ground should be suffered 

 to lie in a rough state till about the time of laying 

 off for planting, and should be then well harrowed, 



quence of there being a greater width between 

 the furrows. 



There are various opinions as to the proper dia- 

 tance at which corn should be planted. Thia 

 must depend upon the nature of the soils, its de- 

 gree of fert'lity, and the number of stalks left 

 in ahill. My own experieiice inclines me to the 

 opinion that four leet apart, each way, and three 

 stalks in a hill, is the proper medium for the ri'cU 

 calcareous soil of Kentucky, having a deep vege- 

 table mould. This would give 2722 5-10 hilla, 

 8167 stalks per acre, supposing each hill to have 

 Its fiill complement. It would be prudent to drop 

 lour or five grains in each hill, and thin the corn 

 at the proper period, to three stalks in each hill. 

 If large corn be planted, each hundred good ears, 

 in ordinary seasons, will be equivalent to a bush- 

 el ; and, consequently, if each hill will average 

 three ears (the double ears will usually make up 

 lor the missing stalks) the product will be 81f 

 bushels per acre. If tlie season be favorable, the 

 yield may be still greater.* 



* I have gathered a part of my crop for the present 

 year, planted and cultivated as above directed, and th« 

 product is from 95 to 100 bushels per acre. The earlf 



