No. 4. 



Green Corn. — Tlie Crops in Great Britain. 



123 



Green Corn. 



Our friend Chandler of the U. S. Gazette has long 

 insisted that there is not, and never was, any place 

 comparable to Philadelphia for all kinds of comfort. 

 A residence here of thirty or forty years, has confirmed 

 him in thie opinion; and to show its sincerity, he de- 

 clares he is willing to take another term of equal 

 length, though we know he was no child when he 

 came. Well may he profess satisfaction with his 

 home lot, if he can be fed with fresh green corn in 

 mid autumn. We take the following from his paper of 

 the 17th ult.— Ed. 



Will Mr. Chandler accept a few ears of 

 Suo'ar corn, grown from seed planted on a 

 lot1n North Ward, on the 1st day of August, 

 It was sown at that advanced period of the 

 season with no expectation it would produce 

 corn fit for the table. The result is worthy 

 of note, as showing on a small scale what 

 can be accomplished under a climate like 

 ours, and demonstrates the correctness of the 

 principle laid down by the late lamented 

 Mr. Patch, " that some things can be done 

 as well as others." 



The size of the lot is about 36 by 120 feet, 

 covered some five or six inches with coal 

 ashes. During the dry weather it was free- 

 ly irrigated, although the care thus bestowed 

 was the source of much amusement to my 

 neighbours — as I was assured by them of a 

 "large yield" with the latest premium at 

 the Agricultural fair — besides congratula- 

 tions on the passage of Sir Robert's Corn 

 Bill — advance in price of bread stuffs, &c. 

 Since they have seen me engaged in plucking 

 the ears, their facetiousncss is all gone, and 

 with longing looks and bland voice, they re- 

 mark ♦' that Green Corn freshly gathered is 

 a luxury not often found on a city table, and 

 60 late in the season, it mu.'^t be rare even in 

 the country. Enquiries too have been made 

 with apparent solicitude as to the amiable- 

 ness of my dog's disposition, and whether 

 there are any man traps or spring guns 

 about. — Schuylkill Sixth St., Oct. 8th. 



The Crops in Great Britain. 



The editor of the " Circular to Bankers," 

 a very careful observer, has just published 

 the result of his recent investigations into 

 the state of the crops. He observes: — 



"The spread of the disease has been sig- 

 nally arrested, and a much larger proportion 

 of the crop of potatoes in Great Britain, and 

 also in Ireland, will, we trust, be preserved 

 than any man dared to hope a few weeks 

 ago. This is so far extremely satisfactory, 

 and has afforded us great relief. No doubt 

 this disease will prove a severe and trying 



calamity under the most favourable circum- 

 stances, but we may now rationally indulge 

 a hope that it will not prove utterly destruc- 

 tive of that important resource for the an- 

 nual supply of human food, the crop of 

 potatoes. There is no important substance, 

 no material proportion of any thing raised 

 annually in great bulk for the sustenance of 

 civilized man, which is so liable to waste 

 and destruction as the potatoe ; and we have 

 no doubt in ordinary seasons one half of the 

 usual crop is, in Great Britain, either used 

 for cattle or wasted, and that not more than 

 one half is converted into food for man. 

 This suggests a very interesting reflection 

 at this juncture, for if only one half of an 

 ordinary crop be applied directly to human 

 food, a much smaller than a usual supply- 

 would prove adequate to that purpose, exclu- 

 sively, provided there be an abundance of 

 other food fit for cattle, to be substituted for 

 the potatoes and preserved roots usually 

 given to them. Then how stands tiie case 

 as to that point, of a much larger proportion 

 of the potatoe crop being under the exigen- 

 cy applicable to the use of human food, be- 

 cause the abundance of other kinds of the 

 food of animals will cause a much smaller 

 demand for potatoes to feed them V 



With regard to the other crops required 

 for feeding of cattle, he says he feels justified 

 in stating, "that there is a large produce 

 of turnips this season — provided they can 

 be preserved so as to be available. — Then 

 there is the largest supply of grass, clover, 

 lattermath, and hay, collectively, ever known 

 in England." Hence, as food for animals, 

 potatoes will not be used to any considerable 

 extent, if at all required. 



With regard to the stock of old wheat, he 

 asserts his conviction, founded on careful 

 observation, "that with the single exception 

 of 1845, the stock of old wheat is larger 

 than it has ever been at harvest time since 

 the autumn of 1837, though it is very much 

 less than it was at the present date of 184.5." 

 The points of the case, which investigation 

 has established to the satisfaction of his 

 mind, he states to be : — 



" 1. That the potatoe disease is not so bad 

 as public feeling and the public press have 

 represented it ; that it has been signally 

 checked in its ravages, and has probably, in 

 great measure, spent its force for the season; 

 that the abundance of food for cattle will 

 liberate an unusual portion of a diminished 

 annual supply of potatoes for human food; 

 consequently, that the store of potatoes may, 

 with economy in the use, enforced by a 

 higher price, be sufficient to serve the peo- 

 ple for food in reduced rations for three 

 fourths of the time that potatoes annually 



