382 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



JUNE 2, 1841. 



ann horticultural register. 



Boston, Wednesdav, Junb 2, 1841. 



TILLING OF INDIAN CORN. 



The seed is now mostly in the ground, and the aiten 

 tion of rarmers must be turned at once to the hoeing of 

 their growing crops. It was tiie custom of this viciniiy 

 only a few years since, to plow deep between the rows 

 of corn, and malte a very higli hill. This process was 

 deemed essentinl in good iiusbaiidry. The fanner who 

 made but little hill, and left his corn to bo *;upportcd and 

 kept In an upright position by the lielps .which nature's 

 Author furnishes, was ridiculed for his oddities, or abused 

 for his sli>venlin«88. We weru educated in the belief 

 that the high hill would give the largest cirn. This 

 opinion held its place in our inind until within seven 

 years. We recollect distinctly defc-nding that course 

 seven years ago the present summer. And we did it 

 ia good faitii. But a! that time we were more fimiliui* 

 with theology, limn with the processes of nature in the 

 fields. Recently our studies have been more in the 

 field than in the closet ; and no plant has interested us 

 more than Indian corn. In the summer of '34 we parted 

 the tii'S, aud left tiie cares of professional pursuits, and 

 sought for health in the fields where our ancestors had 

 long Iftiled. There the iashion which prevailed in our 

 boyhood of hilling high, had lost much of its hold ; in 

 the corn field we found what seemed to us slovenly and 

 insecure hoeing. Soon (in the latter part of July) there 

 swept over our neighborhood a violent wind, accompa- 

 nied by a most copious fall of rain. The corn yielded 

 to the storm, and lay prostrate, or nearly so. We 

 thought that the folly of omitting to hill was proved. 

 But in four or five days trum that time the corn was 

 erect as ever, and we believe that scarcely a stalk was 

 broken on the (our acres; while some of our neighbors, 

 whose corn was surrounded by more hill, and which 

 was not laid so flat, were obliged to go through their 

 fields and cut out broken stalks in large quantities. 

 Our corn that year was the largest we ever had, giving 

 95 bushels to the acre. (The excess that year, is, per- 

 haps, to be ascribed to tire fact that the laml on which it 

 grew had been pastured for several preceding years.) 

 But the rising of the corn, after it had been blown 

 down, led us to inquire whether it could be satisfactorily 

 accounted for. There is little doubt that it can. 



Firrmers all know that about the tinre when the ears 

 bagin 10 sc(, brace roots shoi.t out from the stalk just 

 above the surface of the ground. These gro.v and 

 strengthen as the ear increases in size. They fit them- 

 selves to sustain the burden they are to bear. Now il 

 you earth up five or six inches around the biiltom of the 

 stalk, than the brace roots put out as many inches fioin 

 the bottom, and the part of the stalk between the brace 

 roots and the other roots, (those that form when the 

 corn begins to grow, and which are the mouths through 

 which it takes in its food) that part of the stalk beiirg 

 buried in the earth becomes brittle, so that if the braeH 

 lootsloose their hold when the winds are high, the stalk 

 will snaj) just at the surface of the ground. When this 

 has happened, no process of nature or art will repair the 

 harm. Now the brare roots are more liable to lose 

 their hold when they fix and grow in the comp:iratively 

 dry and loose earth im the top of a high eorn-hil!, than 

 when they t:ike hold of the morster and firmer earth on 

 a level surface, where no hill has been inaile Thi^ 

 roots themselves will do more towards supporting the 

 corn in the latter ca.vo than in the former. And thoii"h 

 it may be true that the part of the stalk below these, 



does, when surrounded by earth, help to prop the corn ; 

 yet though this help is afforded, the ability of the roots 

 is lessened ; and if the roots fail, the corn breaks and is 

 ruined, or nearly so. But when there is no hill, if the 

 corn bo lipped over, it yields at the very bottom; there 

 is no breaking ; the effect is an iiproutiiig on one side ; 

 the toots on the other side retain their placu and con- 

 tinue to throw their nourishment into the stalk, which 

 though " cast down is not destroyeiT' — not broken — 

 and in this situation the loosened brace roots, nourished 

 through those feeding roots that are unmoVed, find a 

 way to get back into their former position, and put the 

 stalk erect, to an extent that has often excited our won- 

 der, and which no evidence but that of actual observa- 

 tion, could have proved to us. Led by curiosity on this 

 point, we strolled through the corn-fields, on as many 

 as teir difVerenl farms, in the autumn of '39, subsequent to 

 the blow wliich bore down all the corn, and we, notic- 

 ing the elTeclsin connection with every grade of hoeing, 

 from the high hill to the flat surface, were satisfied that 

 there was no advantage in any raising of the earth 

 around the corn. Though where the suiface was flat, 

 the mass of the corn on the field was in a more horizon- 

 tal position, yet none of it was broken, and much fewer 

 of th» wars and stalks rested on the ground. Though all 

 the stalks went far towards the ground, and an observer 

 at a distance would tlirnk them in a bad position ; yet 

 upon passing through the field he would find them held 

 by the roots from going quite down, and that in their 

 oblique position they were doing quite well. Our crop 

 that year was more than 8U bushels to the acre. (See 

 transactions of Essex Agricultural Society, 1^39. Daniel 

 Putnam's statement.) The rt suit of all our observations 

 is, that; excepting where you wish to hasten the matu- 

 rity of the crop at the expense of its size, which is often 

 desirable in cold lands, there is no ydvanlage whatever 

 in making any hill, if the manure, (as it should be) has 

 all been spread. Where manure has been put in the 

 lull, of course, earth enough must be hoed on to keep it 

 from drying op. The foregoing remarks are in part the 

 reasons for our advice to farmers that they avoid hilling 

 their corn. Stir the surface of the ground with the hoe 

 as many times as you please — the more the bctt'.T — but 

 do not make hills. 



row. Suppose that one intends to work his land on 

 which this crop grows, thrive limes in the course of six 

 weeks. Is it better to do aH, both plowing and hoeing, 

 on the first and third weeks of June and the first ojie in 

 July ? or would you plow the first week, hoe the stcond, 

 plow the third, hoe the fourth, plow the fifih and boa 

 the sixth .'' We recommend the latter; and for the rea- 

 son thit this course would keep nearly all the iime a 

 part of the surface crust so broken as to give free ad- 

 mission to air and light. Where ground is so furrowed 

 or marked out as to admit of the horse's passing bob 

 ways, we prefer harrowing one way June 1st ; the oth- 

 er way 5th; hoeing lOlh ;*harrowing the same way as 

 at first, 15th; the other way 20th; hoeing 25th; har- 

 rowing July 1st; harrowing 5lh ; hoeing lUih. This 

 process which requires but Utile more labor than 

 the common one, we have believed to be much nioro 

 advantageous. 



Our conjecture is that another routine, carrying us 15 

 days later, would be as serviceable as either of the pre- 

 ceding ; but as we have no experience on this point, we 

 call ilonly conjecture- 



It lias been the custom to plow between the rows and 

 hoe ifmncdiauly after ploughing. This custom facili- 

 tates the lioeing, where a hill is to bo made ; but vvfiere 

 the surlai'^e is kepi level, it matters not in regard tc the 

 hoeing when the plowing is done. Our opinion is in 

 favarofihe cultivator in preference to the plow; and 

 wo prefer the simple straight harrow teeth set in the 

 cultivator frame, to the cultivulor. Perhaps no evil re- 

 sults fiom stirring the eaith deep between the rows at 

 the first and second time of hoeing. We think it mio-ht 

 be !««M to run the plow in the centre between the rows 

 as deep a.i may be without disturbing the sod ; but the 

 earlh thus turned up should not be pui around the corn, 

 but should be harrowed back into the place from which 

 it was turned up. (This was done when our large crop 

 was obtained in '34.) This would be stirrinu- the earth 

 well for ihd aduiif^sioii of light and air to the roots — an 

 objrct very desirable. But neither the plow nor the 

 cultivator sliould bo brought near the corn after it is 

 well started in its growth. These implements rend too 

 many of the roots. A simple liarrow, running lightly, 

 and just breaking up the slight suiface crust f'ormed by 

 lire rams and dews, answers the one great purpose of 

 leiling ill air and light, while it spares most of the roots. 

 Our theory being, that one gieat object in the tillage of 

 this crop is to keep passages always open for the admis- 

 sii n of light and air, we have some objection lo ihe use 

 of t'le hoe immediately alter the plow, cultivator or har- 



L'ETANG LIME. 



We have copied today parts of a statement of facts 

 and opinions, which has been made public in relation 

 to this lime. Its excellencies have repeatedly been men- 

 tioned to us within the last few months, by persons ac- 

 quainted H ilh its properties, and who had no interest in 

 its sale. There can be no doubt that it i.< a better arti- 

 cle for most purposes, than any other lime in our market. 



We allude lo it as an article deserving the attention 

 of those persons who are accustomed lo obtain lime in 

 this city for agricultural purposes. In many instances 

 where lime is applied to the land, we believe that the 

 magnesia contained in it is sufficient to prevent or coun- 

 teract all the desired influences of the lime itself, so that 

 the application is rendered useless. Ileie is a lime en- 

 tirely free fiom magnesia and every substance unfavora- 

 ble to vegetation ; and we ask those who are accustom- 

 ed to apply lime to their soils, whether it may not be 

 advisable for them to ascertain by experiment whether 

 this would not be to them more profitable than the kinds 

 they have been accustomed lo use. 



'• UTILIS ET FRAGRANS." 



Such are the epithets which out good fellow who sticks 

 the types for us, applies to the "puppy" which Pat 

 thooghl must have " come from Welhersfield — lor ba- 

 sides baing after baing all over black and all over white, 

 he stunk so he could 'nt smell him.'" — " Fragrans'' ! ! I 

 Fragrant is he .' Yes. But the rose, the pink, and all 

 the swei^t flowers appear before us in blushing modesty, 

 beseeching us not to permit a fiul odor to become asso- 

 ciated with the word which has long described their pe- 

 culiar charm. We cannot withstand the eloquence of 

 ihese daughters of Flora, and WG say — (ct;*um-fragrans — 

 foul smelling — His claim lo be called utilis, vie will 

 let pass — trusting that that gentleman who last winter 

 longed to give us a communication' upon a certain sub- 

 ject, but was deterred by fear that il would "smell too 

 loud," will now come lo the support of our P. D., and 

 prove that he has good reasons for his choice of the epi- 

 thet Utilis. — Be it known that we, the » ditor, have not 

 before vi nturi'd to touch this subject, but hare referred 

 il lo our P. D., (i. e Philologiie Doctor— or Doctor of 

 Language ;) it is there in proper" and competent hands, 

 and with him we leave it. 



*We, the ^'P. D." aforesaid, would like to know 

 how OUR distingiiisherl friend, the Editor, means for OB 

 to lake that word " proper." — "P. D. ' 



