NO. 1. 



THE FARMERS CABINET. 



trifles, or that which is of little consequence 

 to them in the way of their business. 



Now to cconclude. If thee can make any 

 thino[ out of this that thee may think will be 

 worth the trouble, thee can do it, if not, com- 

 mit it to the flames; but it really does hurt 

 my feelings to see the loose manner in which 

 farmers ofenerally manage their business. — 

 I could say much upon the subject of farm- 

 ing in general, but feel myself incapable of 

 doing any thing like justice to the subject, 

 and therefore 1 forbear at present, and sub- 

 scribe myself thy friend. E. WiLiiuii. 



IiKliau Corn. 



All, or nearly ail the accounts we have 

 published of great productions of Indian 

 corn, agree in two particulars, viz : In not 

 using the plough in the after culture, and in 

 not earthing, or but very slightly, the hills. 

 These results go to demonstrate, that the 

 entire roots are essential to the vigor of the 

 crop; and that roots, to enable them to per- 

 form their functions as nature designed, must 

 be near the surface. If the roots are severed 

 with the plough in dressing the crop, the 

 plants are deprived of a portion of their nour- 

 ishment; and if they are buried deep by 

 hilling, the plant is partially exhausted in 

 throwing out a new set near the surface, 

 where alone they can perform all their offices. 

 There is another material advantage in this 

 mode of cultivating the corn crop; it saves a 

 vast deal of manual labor. 



There is another question of interest to 

 farmers, which relates to the mode of har- 

 vesting the crop, that is, whether it is best to 

 top the stocks, cut the whole at the ground 

 when the grain is glazed, or cut the whole 

 when the grain has fully ripened. We have 

 staled that the experiments of Mr. Clark, of 

 Northampton, one of the best practical farm- 

 ers of our country, and of other gentlemen, 

 showing that the grain suffers a diminution 

 of six or eight bushels the acre, by topping 

 the stocks ; and there seems to be no coun- 

 terbalancing benefit in the fodder, unless at 

 the expense of carrying the stocks to the 

 borders of the field, that they may be secur- 

 ed before the crop is gathered, and before 

 they become blanched and half ruined. And 

 it is no protection against early autumnal 

 frosts, but rather exposes unripened grain to 

 be more injured. Hence, so far as regards 

 these two modes, all who have made a com- 

 parison, seem to concur in the opinion that 

 stripping the corn of its tops and leaves is a 

 bad practice. William Carmichael, of Vir- 

 ginia, has given us in the Farmers' Register, 

 his experiments in this matter, which go to 

 corroborate the conclusion we have drawn. 

 He took, promiscuously, 100 ears from corn 

 that had been topped, and 100 ears from that 



which had not been topped, growing sidr by 

 side. The first weighed on the cob 50 lbs., 

 shelled 41 lbs., and measured 21 qts., 1 pt. 

 The other, 54 lbs.; shelled 4() lbs., and mea- 

 sured 2r) qts.; showing a diflference of near- 

 ly one-fifth in favor of unstripped or untopped 

 corn, i he fact is, that topping not only pre- 

 vents the the further elaboration of the sap, 

 which can only take place in the leaves, and 

 which is necessary for the growth of the 

 corn, but it deprives the grain of much that 

 is already elaborated, and on its way to the 

 grain, if a fruit tree is deprived of its leaves, 

 before the fruit has attained its growth, or 

 mature flavor, the fruit will no longer grow, 

 nor will it attain high flavor, for its supply 

 of elaborated food, or vegetable blood, is cut 

 off by the loss of leaves. We have noticed 

 this particularly in the plum. 



Satisfactory experiments have not been 

 made to determine whether it is most ad- 

 vantageous to cut the crop when the grain is 

 merely glazed, or to wait till it is perfectly 

 ripe. This will depend upon the amount of 

 loss, if any, in the grain, by early harvest- 

 ing; the relative value of the grain in fodder, 

 and the prospect of both being injured by 

 early frosts; for neither are liable to suffer 

 from frost after the crop has been cut and put 

 into shocks. It is to be noticed, that in ear- 

 ly cutting, the stalks are succulent, and 

 abound in elaborated sap, on its descent from 

 the leaves to the grain, and that this supply 

 of food to the grain continues to flow pro- 

 bably for some days after the corn is in the 

 shock, and if so, the grain itself continues 

 to improve, though we think it likely that 

 the crop undergoes some trifling diminu- 

 tion. But if frost is likely to intervene be- 

 fore the complete maturity of the crop, there 

 is no doubt but the corn will suffer less in 

 shock than it will standing, while the fodder 

 will be materially injured by frosts. Ad- 

 mitting that there is a small loss in grain by 

 early cutting, though it is undoubtedly less 

 than when it is topped, the difference in the 

 value of the fodder, under the two modes of 

 management, is vastly in favor of early har- 

 vesting. We do not pretend to calculate to 

 a nicety the difference in nutritious proper- 

 ties, of corn stalks cut in a succulent state, 

 early in September, well cured and well hous- 

 ed, and those left standing till October or 

 November in the field, but we should think 

 it fifty per cent. Well cured corn stalks 

 aflford an excellent winter food for neat cat- 

 tle; and when fodder is likely to be in de- 

 mand, they may be made to contribute large- 

 ly to the profits of the farm. Several of our 

 acquaintance have kept their neat stock al- 

 most entirely upon this fodder during the 

 past winter, and we have done the like, hav- 

 ing first cut ours in a cutting machine; and 



