326 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1824. 



their manure and cover — 2 feet 9 inches off, 

 fhey make a similar trench, place their manure 

 and so on through the field— they then cover 

 (heir trench drill in their corn thus : 



FARMER'S CALENDER. 

 INDIAN CORN. It vviU soon be the right time to 

 plant your Indian Corn; and having heretofore 

 (vol. i. pages 334, 341.) given more directions 

 than we fear many of our readers will take the 

 trouble to comply with, we shall be pretty brief 

 on the present occasion. 



No rules of universal application can be giv- 

 en respecting the time of the year when corn 

 should be planted. This depends on the nature 

 of the ground and the state of the season. The 

 farmers of Kensellaer county. New York, pre- 

 fer the middle of May for planting. But if the 

 land is very dry and warm they plant the first 

 week in May to prevent suffering by drought. 

 They say that ashes or quick lime ought al- 

 ways to be applied to the top of corn-hills, im- 

 mediately after planting, if it follow sward, to 

 prevent grnb-larva from destroying it. The 

 same application vvill have a similar effect, if 

 applied to potatoes, but neither unleached ash- 

 es, or lime, in a quick or caustic state, should, 

 in any case, come in contact either with the 

 seed corn or the young plants.* 



As a farther precaution against insects and to 

 bring forward germination, it is recommended 

 to wet the seed corn in strong tar-water, or 

 water in which turpentine has been infused, 

 and then roll it in plaster. But care should be 

 taken not to coat the dry corn with tar, as that 

 process may prevent its sprouting. A gre.it 

 many other liqnids,stecps and inl'usions have been 

 recommended as preservatives against worms, 

 &c. but we believe tar water is as eifectual asa- 

 ny. There is danger in soaking the seed loo much, 

 especially if it be planted early in the season, 

 as it sometimes causes the corn to rot in the 

 ground. But if planting a second time should 

 become necessary, by means of the destruction 

 of the first seed, or if planting be delayed on 

 any account till the beginning of June, then it 

 will be proper that the seed should have warm 

 water poured on it. Let it not soak more than 

 a quarter of an hour, and be cooled speedily, 

 and be planted before it dries. The corn vvill 

 be forwarded in its growth by several days.-^ 

 The seed should be covered with about two 

 inches of earth. t 



The following article from the American 

 Farmer, vol. v. page 2G4. shews what wondars 

 in the culture of this crop, may be effected by 

 skill and industry : — 



GREAT YIELD OF CORN— and kovel mode op 



PLANTING IT. 



.1 friend on a visit to J^cw York, who is habitual- 

 ly attentive to the state of domestic industry, 

 and the progress of public improvements — 

 ^iirites asfoltou;s: — 



Dear Sir, — John and Matthew Pratt, of Ea- 

 ton, Madison county, New York, have raised 

 this year, 680 bushels of Indian corn, Irom 4 

 acres of land — last year they raised 517^ bush- 

 els from 3 acres; vviil bet ^200, that w'ilhin 3 

 years, they will raise 200 bushels from one acre 

 — they prepare their land well, then make by a 

 shovel plough, a trench 20 inches wide, put in 



* Memoirs of the New York Board of Agriculture, 

 Vol. ii. p. 25. 

 t Domestic Encyclopedia. 



six inches apart each way. 



^ space between the three rows. 



When corn is at a proper state, they with a 

 light plough, throw a small furrow up on each 

 hill and hoe it in ; as this exceeds all our south- 

 ern ideas of corn produce, 1 think you will do 

 well to write them on the subject. 



mw York, 30//1 October, 1823. 



If your corn is planted on sward which has 

 been turned over, without cross ploughing, and 

 the sod is not thoroughly rotted, it will be best 

 to make the poles for the hills quite through 

 the turf, otherwise the young plants will receive 

 little or no benefit from the fixed air under- 

 neath, and the roots will not penetrate through 

 the furrow-slice till it is too late for the plants 

 to obtain a good growth. When you plant in 

 hills be careful not to drop the kernels too near 

 each other, but see that they are four or five 

 inches apart. Some advise to plant a row or 

 two of potatoes or mangel wurtzel between 

 each row of corn. When dung is placed in 

 the holes an inch or two of earth should be 

 spread over the manure before any of the seeds 

 are dropped. There is nothing in any of the 

 processes of husbandry, which requires more 

 attention than ihc planting of Indian corn and 

 other seeds. We have known a single laborer 

 plant five acres in a day. But he had belter 

 been asleep, for he, generally, dropped six or 

 eight kernels in a clump or space of about the 

 compass of an eggshell. The plants would, of 

 course, be so twined and twisted together that 

 one could not be taken from the hill without 

 des.troying the economy of the vvhole. The 

 plants, of course, were suffered to grow in the 

 torm of a brush ; one robbed the other of its 

 nourishment, and small stalks and pig-corn com- 

 posed almost the only products. 



WHITE-WASHING FRDiT TREES. We published in a 

 former number (page 254 of the 2d volume of the New- 

 England Farmer) some remarks of " D. W. Jun." a 

 correspondent of the American Farmer in which that 

 writer observes in substance, that the too common 

 practice ofwhite-ioashwg (ruil-trecs vtiW not only de- 

 stroy insects which infest the trees, but the trees also, 

 by its caustic qualities ; and that the trees should not 

 be subjected to any application, which would encrust 

 them with a thick paste for "cleanliness is as impor- 

 tant totliera as it is to the human family." AVe have 

 likewise seen similar ideas respecting the application 

 of a white-wash composed of lime to the bark of fruit- 

 trees enforced in English publications. We have how- 

 ever learnt by inquiries of some respectable and suc- 

 cessful cullivators in the vicinity of Boston that they 

 have ^i^pVied white-wash, composed altogether of lime 

 diluted with water to the consistence of thick paint for 

 several years in succession, to the bark of thcii* fruit- 

 trees, not only without any visible injury, but with 

 great apparent benefit. We, therefore, as at present 

 advised, must conclude that the apprehensions of " D. 

 W. Juu." are not altogether well founded, at least as 



respects the trees growing in our climate, and the lim-. 

 commonly used in this part of the country. It is no! 

 improbable, howeverj that a white-wash made oi mag- 

 nesia7i lime stone, whith is peculiarly caustic, migbl 

 prove injurious* And we are assured that even mild 

 lime, such as the pulverized plaister of old buildings. 

 ap{)lied to the roots of apple-trees in considerable quan 

 titles, has been found to injure them. 



This view of the subject corroborates the statement' 

 and reasonings of O. Fiske Esq. whose remarks rela- 

 tive to the point in dispute were republished in page 

 306, vol. ii. of the New-England Farmer ; and we cer- 

 tainly know of no better authority than the testimonj 

 of that gentleman affords, whose reputation as a cor 

 rect and scientific cultivator is so well established, am 

 so extensively known, that any recommendation of ours 

 would be mere matter of supererogation . 



The following is a statement of the produce of some 



what less than one quarter of an acre of land raised tht 



last season. The land is situated in Brookline, Mass 



and is owned by a respectable mechanic of that place 



500 Winter Squashes, $52, 50 



12 Bushels of Potatoes, 4, 00 



1 da. Quinces, 2, 00 



9 Barrels of Apples, 15, 75 



Melons, 50 



$74, 75 



PRINT OF GENERAL WASHINGTON. Proposals b 

 John Chorley (Engraver) and Clark Rice, for publish 

 ing by subscription, an elegant full length Engravin, 

 of the illustrious Gen. George Washington; to b 

 copied from a print, done b.y Mr. James Heath, frot 

 an original Picture executed for the Marquis of Lans 

 downe, by the celebrated Painter, Gilbert Stewart, « 

 Boston, Jlass. 



This is the first attempt ever been made to lay bi 

 fore the American public the means of possessing 

 large, elegant, and correct likeness of Gen. WASH 

 INGTON. In V^.ngland, splendid Engravings are cott 

 mon of this distinguished individual, whilst in his D! 

 live land scarce any are to be found. — Now and the 

 a solitary one appears, meteor-like, of the Eondo 

 plate, bought, even at auction, at 5, 8, and 10 dollar 



Q:jF=The subscription is to be immediately close 

 when a sufficient number of patrons shall have bee 

 obtained for the prime run of the plate. Every sal 

 scriber's print shall be what good judges would pn 

 nounce sound — not in the least defective. 

 conditions. 



I. The print to be engraved in a masterly style,- 

 equal to the London copy. 



II. The paper to be of the best quality. 



III. The printing to be executed in every respet 

 equal to that done in London. 



1\'. The price is to be/eur (fo//flrs to subscribers, 01 

 delivery, which shall be within eighteen months alle 

 a sufficient number shall have been obtained to indent 

 nify the publishers. 



Notb. — /' may not be improper to repeat, IJwt Hi 

 intended to offer none of the prime impressions to (On 

 except subscribers. 



The hand bill from which the above is copiei 

 contains a well written article, intended as ant^ 

 ducement to Americans to patronise the propo^ 

 publication ; but which we think it unnecess)!; 

 to copy. The name of Washington alone conv^ 

 all that is splendid in panegyric, and the most lofty eH 

 logy of his character appears like an effort to illulii 

 nate su^i-beams with the rays of a taper. Ever 

 friend tabis country must feel a wish to possess theim" 

 age of Mm who was " First in War — First in Peace- ' 

 and First m the Hearts of liis Coitntn/men. We Ihiiii 

 this or some other Portrait of our Illustrious C'huflair- 

 tht Captain of our Political Salvation, and the Priii 

 cipal Author of American Independence, orght ti 

 adorn every Sitting Room, from the Collage of ihcLt 

 borer to the Mansion House of the Man of Wealth.- 



