260 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 0, 182;. 



INDIAN CORN. ry fees winch iiave been (iistriliuteil liave, for tlie 



Mr EniToh In your last New England Farmer most part, prospered as well b8 those raised from 



a correspondent asks certain questions roppecting- seed, and a fresh supply of the former has just 

 ihccullure of Indian Corn sown brondcast for fod- been received from Italy. Already eighty per- 

 der, which in a measure I wi',1 endeavour to answer, sons are engaged in breeding silk worms. The 

 The threatening drought ef the last summer in- produce last year was several huudred weight of 

 duced me to make an experiment of twelve acres cocoons, for which there is already a competition 

 on mv estate at Ballston, and havinc,r no previous in the market ; the merchants purchase them at 

 know"ledge of a thing of the sort, I was induced to one florin six kreuzers per pound, whereas the 

 observe its details and results the more attentively, committee gives only one florin." 

 and am persuaded that, as a fallow crop and ready 

 mode of creating a good substitute for Imy, it has 

 been to rne a valuablr. expedient. ] 



I sowed an average of about two bushels to the | 

 ncre, rolled in plaster, and sowed plasisr when it! Mr Skinnkr,- 



From the American Farmer. 



BARLEY. 

 -As you seem desirous to intro- 



had got well up. More than this quantity of seed duce Barley, to tho Maryland farmer., as a new 

 I think woidd be wasted, and rrodcce a stinted i agricultural staple, with a view to aid you in tfae 

 o-rowth. I would pass the harrow onc» lengthwise I laudable design, I sen.1 you some brief remarks 



^f the furrow before sowing, the mnie certainly to 

 ''nsure as even an application of the seed over the 

 surface as practicable. After being thoroughly 

 cross harrowed, apply the roller where the face of 

 t.he land will admit of it, the more effectually to 

 t;over tTie seed, and pulverise any lumps and leave 

 the ground so even as to allow of cutting the crop 

 near tho roots. 



Harvest when in tassel and silk, — a sliort and 

 extra strong cradle, the preferable implements for 

 i^utting, although the sickle may bo used, — mere 

 mowing with a scythe leaves the crop too irregular 

 and confused to be conveniently gathered. After 

 wilting one day in the sun, (care being; taken to 

 avoid wet or cloudy weather in the process,) let 

 two men in concert each gather their arms fu'l, 

 and unite the same in a small stout, usiug two bauds 

 at and near the top. In this way rain will be ex- 

 cluded, the process of curing be more, rapid end 

 perfect than if bound in shsaves, aiul a chance af- 

 forded of housing tho fodder before the equinoctial 

 rains. 



The time of sowing, as soon aftar that of usual 

 planting as practicable, to escape the danger of 

 early frost, and also to be in season for a successive 

 winter crop, if desired, which in most cases can be 

 got in with one careful ploughing. 



Your ob't sprv't. II.'W. D. 



Albany, April 2, 1827. 



MULBERRY TREE. 



Ma Editor — Tho breeding of the Silk Worm 

 has been very commendably urged by you of late. 



This must be preceded by the cultivation of the 

 mulberry tree. In Europe an interest is excited 

 on this subject. I hand you an extract of a letter 

 from Munich dated Jan. 25 1627. By this you 

 will see the course there adopted, and tho zeal 

 with which it is pursued. 



I have been told (though I know not with what 

 authority,) that the mulberry seed may be sown 

 broad cast, in a finely pulverised soil and cut with 

 the scythe, to feed the worms. Whether this 

 mode would be (if practicable) preferable to the 

 more extended growth of the tree, I am not in- 

 formed. It miirht perhaps, as the seeds are in 

 abundance in the country, afford an earlier en- 

 gagement or come in aid of the project. 



Yours, W. 



poti the cultivation of that grain 

 The soil for barley should bo such as will grow 

 good turnip.^ or other green crops, including clo- 

 vers, and which embrace the varieties of loams 

 and sands that are not wet, or very dry and poor I tre, the crude kind of which costs me only 

 Indeed, I have taken my crops, and they have : cents per pound, by the quantity. 



uniformly cultivated here are the two, fouf il 

 six rowed spring, (horJeum vulgare, and h. di 

 chon.) Thin skinned, pale, plump seed, elioulf 

 selected. I sow as soon as the ground it: 

 flciently dry in spring. The young grain i| j 

 hurt by the ordinary frosts of tho latter pm 

 .4pril and May. I sow from six to sight pet 

 per acre, according to the richness of the soil 

 the forwardness of the season ; the poorest gnu „,,»! 

 and the latest sowinj requiring the most seed, „(nil 

 England the common quantity of seed is f^ 

 eight to sixteen pecks. Our climate being jjn ,,f 

 w'armer than that of Great Britain, barley t v foi! 

 other grains till better with us, and consequjal ,.m; 

 we require less seed. Wo uniformly sow bjcj juitt 

 cast, generally on the fresh furrow, and harnwi Jilt 

 both ways ; and those who have a roller, uattu .(,(« 

 the finishing operation. It gives a smooth suAi This 

 breaks down the lumps, brings the earth ii&( .jjei 

 tact Tiith the seed, and if grass seeds haveSi mi 

 sown, its use is doubly beneficial. I steqf jjir 

 seed twentv-four hours in a weak solution 



llief"'' 

 lie sit' 



ODfhtl 



mote 



been pretty good, from my lightest turnip soils 

 Barley cannot be cultivated to advantage upon 

 stifl", heavy and wet grounds, or on such as are of 

 a cold and tenacious quality. This crop occupies 

 the Tround but about three months ; and it is only 

 in a drv, light, mellow soil, that its roots can ex- 

 tend with sufiicient facility, and supply the food 

 necessary to bring tha grain to rapid and perfect 

 maturity. 



Previous crop. Crops that precede this grain, 

 should be such as leave the ground mellow, and 

 free from weeds ; and for this reason hoed crops 

 are to be preferred, such as turnips, potatoes, 

 peas, beans, &c. Small grains should not preeeiJe 

 it: they impoverish the soil, leave it foul, and be- 

 sides, it is contravening one of the most salutary 

 maxims of husbandry, to grow two dry crops in 

 succession. It may follow clover; but if the soil 

 is heavy, the ley should be ploughed in autumn. 

 Barley is successfully sown upon the fallows in 

 England, (not summer, but autumn fallows,) anil is 

 sown sometimes after wheat ; but in tbe latter 

 case turnips are pulled and previously fed upon 

 the stubble — a practice which I think is not likely 

 to obtain here. I have generally sown barley 

 after ruta baga or potatoes, these crops having re- 

 ceived a good dressing of long yard or stable ma- 

 nure 



Manure should not be applied to the barley, but 

 to the preceding crop. The short period that this 

 grain occupies the ground, does not afford time 

 for the manure to decompose and yield its food to 

 the plants ; and if applied in excess, it causes a 

 too rank vegetation, and the straw lodges before 

 the grain is matured. Where a fallow or clover 

 ley is employed, and ploughod in autumn, dung 

 may be previously applied and ploughed under. 



Preparation of the groxmd. Where barley fol- 

 lows a root or hoed crop, one ploujrhing '.vill gen- 

 erally sutfice : but in all cases a complete pulveri- 

 zation of the soil is necessary ; and to affect this 

 a roller is often of material benefit. If sown upon 

 grass lavs, ploughed in autumn, tho sprim/ plough- 



r. 1 t r ■ I 1 II I I 1 nT ■ t. r r I in? should be shallow, so as to kave the sod re 



fixlrnct of a private letter, dated Munich, Jan. b : '"^ """" . ,, , , 



j versed. But the preferable way may be to harrow 



the fallow, plough in the seed, with a light furrow 



9[t' 



From the report of a committee appointed to 

 encourage the cultivation of the mulberry tree, 

 and the breeding of silk-worms, it appears these 

 objects have made considerable progress in the 



and smooth off with the harrow. 



The seed and sowing. Loudon enumerates six 



•kingdom. The great numbers of Italian mulher- ' '=P^'-'«'' =""1 sub-species of the barley. The kinds 



From tl 

 alysis and observations of Giisenthwaite, tbi 

 reason to believe tliat this salt is peculiarly 

 ficial tc tho barley crop, the grain yieldin^ 

 analysis. I have made no comparative ei i ,i, 

 meiits, but I think this steep serviceable. I i 

 applied to this grain, as a top dressing, with^ l 

 lar success, the powder ed dung of pigeoi 

 dunghill fowls,at the rate of twenty to thirty; i 

 els the acre. ' 



■ I 

 The crop admits of no alter culture when if 

 hioadcaet. Yet the application of the roller, p^ 

 the plants are two or three inches high, ii ■ 

 doubt salutary, especially if there has been 

 considerable rains. Rolling gives a salutary co: 

 pression to the sell, which in the spring is att 

 be loose and porous, and full of cracks, by thf 

 ternatiun of freezing and thawing, or of we| 

 dry weather ; it destroys many insects ; j 

 above all, it partially buries the crowns ol 

 plants, and induces a multiplication of seedstBS 

 I can recommend the practice from experience.- 

 When gr.TBs seeds are sown with barley, tlie lo 

 uriance of the young grass sometimes chokes t' 

 grain, robs it of nutriment, and sensibly diminls 

 es the product. To obviate this evil, it has be 

 recommended to sow the grass seeds after 1' 

 barley h.ns come up, and to cover them wit-i alig 

 harrow and the roller ; and it is said, and I tiin 

 with truth, that this operation will not material 

 injure the grain. In dry seasons, the crop 

 sometimes attacked by worms, while youug. I 

 this case the roller should be applied, and su6 

 cient weight added, to require the draught of tt 

 or three cattle. 



Time and method of harvesting. When Ijie ic^ 

 is rich, and the season propitious, this grain i 

 very liable to lodge. If this happenu after it ha 

 blossomed, no material injiiry is sustained in tki 

 product. If before, the crop is greatly diininishei. 

 This shows the danger to be apprehended frot 

 makifig the soil too rich, and of applying ffesi 

 manure. Barley is known to be ripe by the ia 

 appearance of the reddish cast on the ear, or whs 

 the English farmers term red roan, by the e«r 

 beginning to droop and bend themselves roum 

 against the stems, and by the stalks becoming 

 brittle and of a yellowish colour. This is the par 

 ticuiar period for cutting, as if suffered to etVf 



