212 



NE^V ENGLAND FARMER, 



JAN. 13, 1836. 



("or the New Enirlrinii Farmer.) 

 INDIAN CORN. 

 T. G. Fessenden, Esq. — Dear Sir: In Decem- 

 ber, 1834, yoii piihlished in the N. E. Farmer a 

 communiciUion from me, concerning a species of 

 Indian corn, vvliich I liad planted the preceding 

 season, the seed of which I had procured of Judge 

 Buel. Its chief recommendation, in my estima- 

 tion, resulted from the fact, that it came to matu- 

 rity about a fortnight earlier tlian any kind of 

 field corn wliieh the farmers in my neighborhood 

 were accustomed to plant ; thus anticipating the 

 early autumnal frosts, and enabling inc to sow iriy 

 corn land with wheat in tolerable season. I ex- 

 pressed tlie opinion also, that it had been as pro- 

 ductive as any other corn which f had ever i)lant- 

 ed ; but as I had tried it but once, I did not feel 

 so confident of its [woductiveness, as to commend 

 it on that account. 1 have planted the same kind 

 of corn the past season, and no other ; and the 

 result has fully equalled my expectations. I was 

 able to gather my corn leisurely and finished sow- 

 ing my corn and potato ground by the 3d of Oc- 

 tober. In former seasons, with a different siiecies 

 of corn, I was always hurried, and was seldom 

 able to finish sowing wheat till about the luiddle 

 of October, and in some seasons, not until after the 

 20th. Wheat sown so late, is more liable to blast, 

 and is more exposed to be winter-killed, than that 

 which is sown earlier, and has opportmiity to n-ct 

 well roofed before the ground freezes up. Late 

 sown wheat will sometimes produce a fair crop, 

 but success is so uncertain, that it should be avoid- 

 ed when practicable. 



have long been of the opinion, that cutting or dis- 

 turbing the fibrous roots just before the corn is 

 about to set for ears, is injurious to the crop, as it 

 impairs its capacity of imbibing nourishment at a 

 time when it is most essential. 



The cultivator was used at each hoeing, and the I '"^'''' ^''^ ''^ growth 

 old practice of hilling up the corn at the last hoe- 

 ing wa.s dispensed with. The stalks were cut 

 early in Seiitember, but not until they had gener- 

 ally began to change their color, nor until many 

 of the ears were fully ripe. The corn was not 

 picked till the 30th Sept. and between that and 

 the 5th of October was husked out and cribbed. 

 From this acre and twelve rods of land, were 

 gathered 217 bushels of cars of good sound corn 

 and seven bushels of ears of poor corn, making 

 224 bushels in the whole. Had I anticipated so 

 large a product, I would have preserved and 

 threshed it by itself, in order to ascertain the 

 exact quantity of shelled corn. But a part of it 

 was husked and mixed with other corn before 

 my curiosity to know the quantity was excited. 

 F'rom the experiments which I have made, I am 

 satisfied that there were, at the time of husking, 

 about half as many bushels of corn as there were 

 of ears. 



with weeds, or with their seeds it will require ; 

 much care in their extirpation as a garden cro 

 In England it is often sown in drills, and cultiv 

 ted with the hoe, and not unfrequently broad ca.ii 

 without any other kind of seed to check or intd 



I have taken some pains the past season to 

 ascertain the productiveness of this corn, with 

 some degree of certainty. In order to try the 

 experiment, I selected a piece of ground, which, 

 by actual admeasurement, contains one acre and 

 twelve rods. This groimd was planted the pre- 

 ceding year, about one half of it with potatoes, the 

 other half with corn. This selection was made, 

 not from choice, because I do not approve of 

 planting the same ground for two successive 

 years, and more especially with the same kind of 

 crop. The result of this experiment shewed evi- 

 dently that it is barl husbandry to plant the same 



ground twice in succession with the samecroM 



for the corn on that part of the piece where corn 

 grew the preceding year, was not so well eared, 

 nor were the ears so large, as on that part vvliich 

 had been planted with potatoes. 



In th(; lieginning of May, twelve loads of coarse 

 manure from the barn yard, were spread upon the 

 land, and it was then well covered under a furrow 

 of five or six; inches deep. Eight loads of fine 

 manure, composed chiefly of earth that had been 

 deposited in a low spot in the yard the preceding 

 summer, were then spread upon the land, when it 

 was harrowed with a light seed harrow, till the 

 surface of the ground was well pulverized, and 

 the fine manure was mixed, and partly covered 

 with the earth. The ground was planted on tlie 

 13th of May, in rows of three and a half feet asun- 

 der, with a space of two feet between the hills. 

 The seed was soaked about 12 hours in warm wa- 

 ter, mixed with plaster, planted five kernels in a 

 hill, and at the first hoeing, thinned out, so as to 

 leave but three stalks standing in each hill. Tlie 

 corn was hoed three times, and the last hoeing was 

 performed early, about the 25th of June, "some 

 days before the corn began to show its tassels. I 



My crop suffered a considerable diminution 

 from two causes. A little before the tin)c for the 

 first hoeing, I found that rny neighbor's poultry 

 had been very busy in the field, and had actually 

 scratched and pulled up at least one fourth of the 

 piece. This had to be planted over the second 

 time, and was much less productive than the first 

 planting. 



While the corn was in the milk, a violent gust 

 of wind passed over the field, and laid the whole 

 of it almost prostrate. Many stalks were broken 

 off and never rose again. But for these two 

 causes, there would have been a considerable 

 increase in the product, and an almost total ab- 

 straction of the poor corn. The green and mouldy 

 ears were wholly attributal^le to these causes, and 

 without them the poor corn would scarcely have 

 exceeded one per cent. 



I am, very respectfully, yours, &c. 



Samuel Lathrop. 



ffesf Springjield, Jan. 1, 1836. 



P. S. — Can you inform me, whether the seed 

 of Lucerne, sown upon wheat ground in the 

 spring of the year, will take as well as clover. 



By the Editor. — Lucerne is generally, and we 

 believe most advantageously sown in the spring, 

 after the ground has acquired a degree of warmth 

 friendly to vegetation, or about the middle of May. 

 In England, the practice recommended by Arthur 

 Young, Loudon, and other writers, is to sow oats 

 or barley with the grass seed, and none of their 

 cultivators, so far as we have seen, mention wheat 

 as an accompanying crop with lucerne. But, per- 

 haps, wheat would answer well for that |;urpose. 

 We should be happy to have the opinion of prac- 

 tical farmers, who have succeeded in raising lu- 

 cerne, on this point. 



The most usual causes of failure in attempting 

 to cultivate lucerne have been the want of a suffi- 

 cient quantity of seed, and the smothering and 

 starving of the young plants by weeds. After the 

 lucerne has taken possession of the soil, it be- 

 comes a hardy |j|ant, and will maintain itself in 

 spue of intruders; but while young it is tender, 

 and if the soil in which it is growing is infested 



(For the New England Farmer.) 

 ON THE BREEDING OP CATTLE, &.c. 



T. G. Fessenden, Esq. — Dear Sir: The artic 

 on " Breeding Horses," in your paper of the 61 

 January inst. concludes with the following sei 

 teiicc. " I have good reason (says Mr T. J 

 Knight) to believe that more perfect animals ft 

 supplying mankind with food, may generally I 

 obtained by cross-breeding from females of sma 

 and male animals of large size, than from an 

 breed of fixed and permanent habits, relative t 

 size. — -E)!^. Far. Mag." I have not the volume 

 of the N. E. Farmer at hand, but if you will tur 

 to the index it will point to you an article by th 

 celebrated Dr Cline published some years agt 

 demonstrative of the incorrectness of Mr Knight' 

 opinion. This is a subject of such immense itn 

 portance to New England, that I think you wil 

 perceive the expediency of republishing Mr Cline' 

 short but comprehensive paper, wherein the re 

 suits of scientific observation are seen obviou 

 to accord with cotnmon sense. He recommend, 

 distinctly that the size of the female for breedin) 

 should be rather large than small, in proportion ti 

 the male. He gives his reasons with simplititv 

 plainness and fullness, that leaves nothing to dc 

 sire. An old Friend. 



By the Editor. — We believe the theory of 31i 

 Knight on the subject above-mentioned is errone 

 ous. At least, it is opposed to that of Surgeoi 

 Cline, which has met the approbation of the mos' 

 practical and intelligent cattle breeders in Grea 

 Britain. Mr Cline says : , 



"It has been generally understood that tl.i 

 breed of animals is improved by crossing with tin 

 largest males. This ojiinion has done much mis- 

 chief, and would have done more if it had not 

 been counteracted by the desire of selecting ani- 

 mals of the best forms and proportions, which 

 are rarely to be met with in those of the largest 

 size. Experience has proved that crossing hag ||| 

 only succeeded in an eminent degree, in those la 

 stances, in which the females were larger than in I, 

 the usual proportion of the females to the males; ;, 

 and that it has generally failed when the malel" j 

 were disproportioually large." 



Fire proof Building. — As an example of' 

 what ought to be done in building, we may refer 

 to a noble store standing " alone in its glory," 

 where Water street was. It was built by iMi 

 Carman for Herman Thorne. He was told that 

 the structiu-e must be built fire proof, and hi. 

 promptly declared that it should be so built that 

 fire could not burn it. The consequence was, 

 that though wrapped in sheets of flame, standing 

 as it were in the crater of a volcano — in a sea of 

 fire — it stands uninjured, and the goods safe 

 within it.—JV. Y. Com. Mv. 



When confined, or when simjily roosting, in an 

 enclosed house, hens are apt to become infested 

 with lice, in the warmer months. Dry wood 

 ashes, put on, the ground where they dust them- 

 selves, will very soon free them. 



