No. 6. Answers to the Queries of the State Ag. Society of S. C. 189 



This experiment answered a double purpose. 

 1st. It afforded him an opportunity to fur- 

 nish the agent of a German Agricultural 

 Society with a great variety for transmis- 

 sion to that country, as samples; and 2ndly, 

 induced him to settle upon the old Pennsyl- 

 vania Yellow eight-rowed Flint corn, which 

 has been cultivated in Montgomery county. 

 Pa., for a period of a century, and was very 

 probably the corn of the Aborigines, as it is 

 found that every description of yellow corn 

 has a tendency to identify itself with this 

 variety, after a few years cultivation. Many 

 3o not consider it so productive as the Gourd 

 Seed corn, but I have raised 65 bushels per 

 icre on large fields, and it will command 10 

 per cent, more in price than the Gourd 

 Seed. The Philadelphia Agricultural So 

 :iety awarded a premium for a sample of 

 this corn at their late exhibition. It is par 

 ticularly adapted to feeding cattle, after haV' 

 ing been ground with the cob, which, from 

 :ts small size and texture, and extreme hard- 

 less, amalgamates perfectly with the corn, 

 md makes handsome meal, almost as much 

 prized as meal from corn and oats mixed. 

 ^Ve usually plant four grains to the hill, and 

 t has a tendency to produce two, and even 

 hree or four ears to the stalk, and in very 

 jroductive seasons, sprouts only twelve or 

 jighteen inches high, are frequently crown- 

 jd with a small ear. I always plant from 

 (talks that produce two to four ears each. 

 Dn the whole, therefore, I prefer this corn, 

 Mewing it in every economical light. Its 

 )roductiveness, its adaptation to every va- 

 'iety of soil, its acknowledged superiority 

 or meal and bread, and in fact for every 

 bing but hominy, in which capacity I have 

 lot seen it tried. It is admitted that Indian 

 ;orn, in such varieties as were adapted to 

 he great diversity of climate, existed in 

 ilmost every part of the American conti- 

 lent on its first discovery. But much inge- 

 lious speculation has been resorted to, to 

 )rove that it was not known in the Old 

 tVorld previous to the discovery of Ameri- 

 ;a. Recent travels in Central Asia, how- 

 !ver, with the facts previously known, seem 

 incline the more mature opinion of en- 

 iuirers to admit the existence of " Zea 

 Mays'^ in some parts of Asia, from a re- 

 note epoch. 



Oats. — The oat crop, which succeeds In- 

 lian corn, possesses many and important 

 ;laims upon the good opinion of the farmer, 

 hough not used in this country as in the 

 ^ortli of Britain, as the food of man; and 

 n the Southern part of Pennsylvania, de- 

 generating in weight and value from the 

 ligh temperature of the climate, yet as 

 bod for horses, it is unsurpassed. Not pos- 



sessing the nutritive properties of corn, it 

 has not its heating and feverish tendencies, 

 and is especially valuable as food for horses 

 on a journey. It succeeds well on land 

 rather cold and wet, and perhaps the best 

 oats produced in Pennsylvania, grow upon 

 the table lands of the Alleghany mountains. 

 It is indeed from these more inclement and 

 cold regions, that we are forced to. procure 

 a renewal of our seed. It is sown ronghly, 

 — three bushels to the acre — after a single 

 ploughing, in the month of April, and ia 

 harrowed in ; it is rolled occasionally, after 

 being up two or three inches. This crop has 

 the valuable property by its rapid growth of 

 overshadowing and discouraging the growth 

 of weeds, and consequently leaves the ground 

 in an admirably clean condition for the wheat 

 and grass crops which follow it. The straw 

 of oats is much esteemed as winter fodder, 

 and used with the blades of corn and a small 

 proportion of hay, will carry cattle in good 

 condition through the winter. 



As high as 60 bushels of oats have been 

 obtained per acre, though 25 to 30 bushels 

 may be considered a fair crop. The writer 

 this season had about 40 bushels per acre of 

 very heavy oats, say 36 lbs. to the bushel. 

 There are several varieties of oats culti- 

 vated, called by various local names, as Bar- 

 ley oats, the seed of which I have bought at 

 •$2 per bushel, but found it to degenerate. 

 The Black oats, a heavy good grain, and the 

 one-sided or Tartarian oats. 



WJieat. — There can be no doubt that we 

 owe the various descriptions of wheat to the 

 varieties of soil and climate in which it is 

 cultivated ; and it is in vain for the agricul- 

 turist to attempt to force nature. The wisest 

 course for him to pursue, is to adapt the crop 

 skilfully to the soil, climate, and geological 

 formation in which it may be his lot to so- 

 journ. After experimenting with the beau- 

 tiful white Genesee and beardless wheats 

 of several" kinds, and especially with some 

 magnificent grains of wheat, brought from 

 the vicinity of the ancient Jerusalem, all 

 either were destroyed by the ordinary ene- 

 mies of the wheat, viz. : fly or mildew, or 

 exhibited a decided tendency to be resolved, 

 or at least approximate to the old Pennsyl- 

 vania Red Chaff bearded wheat, a sound 

 good grain, producing rich flour, but not 

 commanding the highest price in the mar- 

 ket. This change is especially observable, 

 in respect to the Mediterranean wheat, 

 which about ten years ago, when introduced 

 among us, was a coarse, flinty grain, more 

 nearly resembling rye than wheat. Its value 

 consisted in an exemption from the ravages 

 of the Hessian fly and mildew, so that it 

 almost entirely superseded every other de- 



