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Vol. 9. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y. — AUGUST, 1848. 



No. 8. 



THE GENESEE FARMER: 



issued on the first of each 7nonth, at Rochester, N. F., 6y 

 D, D. T. MOORB, PROPRIETOR. 



OANIEL LEE & D. D. T. MOORE, Editors. 



p. BARRY, Conductor of Herticultural Department. 



FIFTY CENTS A YEAR: 

 Five copies fbr $2. and any larger nnmber at tbo same rate. 

 Sf directed to individsals. Eight copies for $3, if »nly directed 

 to one person — and any larger number, addressed in like man- 

 ner, at the Bame rate. AU subscriptions payable in advance, 

 and to commence with the volume. QQ' Back nambers sup- 

 ?)lied to new subscribers. 



[Editorial Correspondence of the Genesee Farmer.] 



Corn Cnlture. — Lime, Deep Tillage, &c. 



Not long since it was stat-ed in the public 

 (prints that William Polk, a brother of the 

 President was the largf^st corn grower in the 

 United States, his usual crop being about 100,000 

 bushels. He plants in Arkansas. It now turns 

 out that a North Carolina planter raises about 

 twice as much j and for aught we know, some 

 ■man will be found who raises more corn than 

 both these princely farmei-s. While there is no 

 one producer of this great American staple on 

 the Savannah, that grows 100,000 bushels in a 

 season, there are many who do nothing but raise 

 corn ; and by concentrating all iheir attention 

 and capital on a single branch of agriculture, 

 they succeed in making improvements in thaf 

 department, which other farmers «iay study to 

 advantage. 



An implement called a "corn planter," and 

 manufactured we believe by Mr. Bachelder, 

 •of Baltimore, has been used here this season 

 with great success. With it, a hand and mule 

 can put in well 100 acres in ten days. It drops 

 and covers the seed, and rolls the ground. Great 

 care is taken to have each kernel in the e.xact 

 ■line of the row, and no seed nearer than three 

 inches to its fellow, in the same hill, where 

 more than one stock is permitted to grow. The 

 rows are worked only one way on the bottoms, 

 and stand from five to six feet apart. By having 

 every stem of corn in a straight line, the hills 

 can be plowed close to on either side, so as to 

 stir all the land and not use the hoe at all. To 

 hoe corn is an expensive operation, and by 

 doing as we have stated, no weeds or grass can 

 grow, and the crop is alike clean, beautiful and 

 abundant at the harvest. It is cheaply raised. 



As five good hands with Bachelder's planters 

 can plant 500 acres in ten days, the after culture 

 constitutes the principal labor of making this 

 grain. The corn is plowed out with three small 



plows set in gang and drawn by a single mule 

 twice in each row — turning the three shallow 

 furrows towards the hills or drills, as the case 

 may be. A baulk is left between the rows of 

 from 12 to 20 inches, which is cut up and 

 mostly left near its old position — turned a little 

 to the right and left — with a sharp cutting instru- 

 ment something like a " buzzard." Notwith- 

 standing the rows of corn are six feet apart, the 

 mule has to pass only three times between each 

 to till well the whole ground once over. In 

 this way a field is gone over three or four times 

 in the course of a season. As a general thing, 

 the coiTi crop on the Savannah is very good 

 this year, 



Ex-Gov. Hammond, who plants on (.he river 

 about 18 miles below Augusta, has made many 

 large and interesting experiments with marl, or 

 unburnt lime. He has written a good deal on 

 the subject in past years. The benefits of liming 

 are still very apparent, although in some in- 

 stances too much was u~ed. None of this shell 

 lime was burnt j but it was spread broadcast at 

 the rate of from 100 to 300 bushels per acre, as 

 it was dug from "Shell Bluff"." This Bluff:" is 

 a remarkable marine deposit of giant oyster 

 shells, and the debris of other molusca, many 

 feet in thickness. The rock extends through 

 the state of Georgia, and nearly, if not quite 

 through the adjoining ones of Alabama and 

 South Carolina. Others have tried liming in 

 this region, and all, so far as we have been able 

 to learn, with satisfactory results. 



There are many readers of the Genesee 

 Farmer whose meadows, pastures and cultivated 

 fields lack lime. It is not necessary to apply 

 100 bushels to an acre, nor .50, nor even 25, to 

 obtain a decided advantage from the use of this 

 well known fertilizer. The price of this article 

 varies so much in different localities that no 

 uniform directions as to quantity to be used can 

 safely be given. An ordinary crop of corn, 

 wheat or clover will not remove over 100 lbs. of 

 this mineral from an acre. If a farmer shall 

 apply 200 lbs. a year, although some of it will 

 wash away into ditches, creeks and rivers, still 

 on the whole, his soil will gradually gain in 

 lime. It becomes thoroughly incorporated with 

 the clay, sand and organic matter, corrects all 

 sourness, and promotes the decomposition of the 

 before insoluble silicates of potash, soda and 

 magnesia. All soils that abound in these alka-. 

 lies and alkaline earths are uniformly fertile, 

 unless too wet. An excess of moisture does. 

 immense injury to the agriculturists of lhii» 



