2t)2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



FEBRUARY 20, 1<?34. 



N E n ENGLAND FARMER. 



V EVENING, FEB. 26, 1834. 



IADIAS CORIV. 



only our friend Gorham Parsons, Esq. 

 ii we gave P a &6 246 of our 

 curr eral other very respecta- 



ble cultivators ii sted information relative 



ihods of culture practised by those who 

 have y crops of Indian corn. 



Wc sliail, therefore, briefly state, so far as our 

 ination will permit, the difference 

 • ilture pursued, by those 

 who are accounted our >est fanners, and those, 

 ty he called the " .\'n- 

 i eded in obtaining the pro- 

 n to set our competition 

 si to destroy emulation by 

 ors of the hope of equal suc- 



" what besides good, deep, 



tianuring in the hole with 



od manure, or dividing 



re, spreading and ploughing 



, ashing the corn at the 



ill' hilling and hilling at 



selecting the best of seed 



• in number, placed care- 



eli kernel lour inches 



re, is required to obtain 



e acre ?" This is a very 



lie of cultivating corn. — 



of some of the requi- 



makingthe most of that 



-.' its Prepare : 

 ■im, made very rich by 

 aide nre, or both. Green 



nig manure, completely 

 larrowed and rolled, so 

 tl deep, are said to 

 is of corn. Ploii 

 •it i ; ty, iring i 



• lo not disturb the sod, 

 i - sui fa ■ at least till 

 ested. 



i Prepa 



I'll ascertained what 

 isl productive. I 

 Mr. E. F. Woodward, 



that of three sorts, 

 led, iln ii laviest grain 

 lined from a " yellow 

 Further inquiries 

 :ct are very desirable. 

 that great advantage 

 I corn from 

 or more ears. An 

 arii' : . ; :. Farmer, vol. x. p. 



/'■tie, mentions a far- 

 ced corn in this way 

 result has exceeded 

 that it is not uneoin- 

 talks with three, four, 

 and three of them 

 id, and that too in 

 stalks. lie says, 1 

 think my cio| ised several bushels 



this year, by : I would suggest a 



mode of selecting seed to those who do not nil 

 up corn by the roots. When they are picking 

 corn, and find a stalk with two or more ears, lei 

 them tie the husks together, and the ears will he 

 easily known at husking." This mode of select- 

 ing seed, roots, &c. to propagate from, was, we 

 believe, first, introduced by Mr. Benjamin Cooper, 

 of Camden, N. J.* 



With regard to preparing the seed corn for 

 planting, the recipes nre numerous, and too well 

 known to require recapitulation, when addressing 

 a scientific and experienced cultivator. .Some, 

 steeps are used for fertilizing, some to preserve 

 against worms, and some for both" purposes. Tilt 

 preparation used by Judge Bud may be found, N. 

 E. Farmer, vol. xi. p. 306. A writer for Good- 

 sell's Genesee Farmer, with the signature W. J. 

 \V. recommends wetting seed corn with soft simp, 

 and rolling it in plaster; and yives the details oi 

 an experiment, which proved the utility of this 

 preparation. The benefits derived from soaking 

 seed corn in a solution of copperas have been often 

 stated by writers for the N. E. Farmer. Mr. J. 

 Ellsworth ga\e us a very satisfactory article on 

 that subject, published iu the N. E. Farmer, vol. 

 x. p. 331. 



3d. planner of Planting. 



The principal improvement in raising this crop, 

 introduced by modern husbandry, consists, we 

 believe, iu substituting drills of one, two or three 

 rows for the usual mode of planting in hills, by 

 which a greater crop is obtained, though the ex- 

 pense of culture is undoubtedly increased. This 

 cannot he belter explained than by quoting from 

 an excellent article written by Judge Buel, id' Al- 

 bany, originally published in the Genesee Fanner, 

 and republished iu the N. E. 'Farmer, vol. xi. p. 

 305. 



"The following table exhibits the difference in 

 pruiluct of various methods of planting, anil serves 

 also to explain the mariner in which large crops of 

 this grain have I" . led. I have assumed 



in the estimate that, each stock produces one car 

 of corn, and that the ears average one gill of 

 I grain. Thus estimating the pruiluct low, 

 for while I am yenning this (October), I find that 

 my largest ears give two gills, and 100 fair ears 

 halt' a bushel of shelled corn. The calculation is 

 also predicated on the supposition that there is no 

 ncy in the number of stocks, a contingency 

 pretty sure on my method of planting.f 



hills, bush. qts. 



1. *;n acre of hills 4 feet apart, 



each way, will pro,,: 2722 42 1G 



2. The same. 3 l.et by 3 feet, 4S40 75 20 



Bame, 2 I:;, 2} feet, 580S 93 28 



4. The same iu drills at 3 feet, , „ 



, „ . . , sialics. 



plant.> inches apart in the 



drill, 29,040 113 li 



5. The same in do. 2 rows in 

 a drill, 6 inches apart, and 

 the plants 9 inches, and 3 

 feet, inches, from centre 

 of drills, thus : 



— : : : : : i_ 30,970 120 31 



m>1. 10, p. 331. 



(J. The same in do. 3 rows in 

 a drill, as above, 3 feet from 

 centres of drills, 



■•N. V., Farm i ■■■ '. ll,p,273. 



t Planting an cxui. number oi' plants, and thinning tliem at 

 tbe iirsl or second hoeing. 



slalks. bush. uts. 

 43,560 170 6 



" The fifth mode" Judge Buel states " I have 

 tried. The ground was highly manured, the'erop 

 twice cleaned, and the. entire acre gathered and 

 weighed accurately the same day. The product 

 iu ears was 103 bushels, each 84 lbs. net, and 65 

 lbs. over. The last bushel was shelled and meas- 

 ured, which showed a product on the acre of 118 

 bushels, 10 quarts. — I gathered at the rate of murw 

 than 100 bushels to the acre from four rods plant- 

 ed in the third method last summer — the resnlha 

 ascertained in the most accurate manner. Com 

 shrinks about 20 per cent, after it is cribbed. Tin 

 6tb mode is the one by which the Messrs. Pratt* 

 of Madison county, obtained the prodigious crop 

 of 170 bushels per acre. These gentlemen, I am 

 told, are of opinion that the product of an aer« 

 may !>'■ increased to 200 bushels. 



'•The writer also observed, I am told the Messrs. 

 PVatts, above alluded to, n^n\ seven bushels of 

 seed to i!e- acre, the plants being subsequently re- 

 duced to the requisite number." 



From the above and other authorities, it appears 

 that the requisites for obtaining more than 100 

 bushels of corn to an acre are a proper soil, a 

 grass sward, well manured, ploughed but once. 

 fairly inverted, harrowed and rolled, — seed from 

 stalks producing more than one ear, prepared by 

 steeping in some liquid which fertilizes and pre- 

 serves it from worms, planted in the right season, 

 in drills, as above described, and well hoed, with- 

 out much hilling. It is likewise advised to have 

 the rows or drills run north and south, thus giving 

 the plants a more advantageous exposure to the 

 ravs of the sun. 



3IYRTLE WAX. 



A gentleman, who writes to the editor from 

 nore wishes to know how the wax obtained 

 from the Myrtje-shrub Myrica Ceri/era can be 

 ..' lime no knowledge on this sub- 

 ject derived either from observation or experience, 

 hut find the following directions fur bleaching 

 Wax in a collection of Receipts, which we 

 have generally found to be correct. 



i your wax, and while hot throw-it into cold 



to reduce it into little bits, or spread it out 



into very thin leaves, and lay it out to the air, 



: and day, on linen cloths, then melt it over 



again, and expose it as before: repeat this till the 



sun and dew have bleached it ; then, fur the last 



lime, melt it in a kettle, and cast it with a ladle on 



a table covered over with little round hollows in 



• nil of the cakes sold by the apothecaries; 



'ait first wet}' ,n moulds with cold water, that tha 



wax be tbe easi t gut out ; lastly, lay them out in 



the air for two days and two nights, to make it 



more transparent and drier. 



Although these directions arc for bleaching bets- 

 ii... they may, perhaps, answer for myrtle-wax. 



A reply to the remarks of H. Con Mr. Shel- 

 den's communication relative to cutting bay for 

 cattle, will probably be published in our next. 



ITEMS OP IKTELMCEXCE. 

 : , ,!i.i.t. Pa. Feb. 14, 1834.— Melancholy. Oa 

 Monday evening Inst, the clothes of a little girl aged 5 

 years, daughter of Mr. Orwan, of Evansburg, in thi« 

 county, took tire in the absence of its parents. The 

 child ran out, but before it received assistauce,was burned 



