214 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



expense and income of their crops, each different 

 croj. by itself, then sum them all up, so as to know 

 whether their business will pay ; and let the farm- 

 er of limited means tell his story, and meet his 

 wealthy opponent for a fair discussion of the whole 

 matter of agriculture. Too many of our able writ- 

 ers keep themselves behind some assumed name, 

 so that we know not who we have to contend 

 with ; then again what they write is so void of 

 particulars, that we can hardly take ground to re- 

 ply to them. Would it not be well for you to 

 give out weekly, some particular point in farming, 

 to be discussed by your readers, their communica- 

 tions to be inserted in two weeks from the date of 

 the question, all writers to bo limted to a certain 

 space. This would have the advantage of a Ly- 

 ceum, by the writer being obliged to advance his 

 own opinions without being swayed by those of 

 others. 



I like short articles from practical men. I like, 

 when reading a statement of any branch of farm- 

 ing, made to show that it is profitable, to be direct- 

 ed to the exact amount in dollars and cents. 



West Needham. R. Mansfield. 



INDIAN CORN. 



ITiere will never be a time, probably, when In- 

 dian corn will not be contemplated in the light of 

 an important staple, by the American agriculturist. 

 For a great variety of uses, it is certainly unsur- 

 passed in the catalogue of grains, and in point of 

 productiveness it compai-es favorably with most 

 grains. Yet there are a great many who consider 

 its cultivation as a matter involving much uncer- 

 tainty and risk. They complain of the early frosts, 

 which cut off the young plants; of the drought, 

 which coerces or averts the development of the 

 grain, and of the later frosts, by which it is some- 

 times, though rarely, destroyed. All crops are lia- 

 ble to accidents, and corn can by no means claim 

 an exemption. Yet that it is more liable to suffer 

 and be destroyed by untoward events than other 

 crops of similar value, is what no OEe, perhaps, 

 who candidly contemplates the subject, will pre- 

 tend to assert. If the early frost withers the ten- 

 der blades, it never destroys tlie roots ; a few warm 

 days reclothes the field in its pristine verdure, and 

 the real injury is, at most, but nominal. The 

 drought, or its effects, none can prevent, though 

 the latter may be very essentially mitigated by 

 adopting a judicious course of cultivation. For- 

 merly the old Indian method of elevating a high 

 conical hill around the roots was in vogue ; but 

 this has been found to be an error. The more of 

 these bills there are on an acre, the greater, of 

 course will be the extent of surface exposed to the 

 8un and winds, and the greater the exposure, the 

 greater too must necessarily be the evaporation in 

 a dry time. It was also deemed essential, in or- 

 der to obviate the effect of drought, to allow the 

 weeds to grow and cover the soil to keep out the 

 sun, and thus preserve the soil perfectly moist and 

 cool. Now experience has demonstrated, and the 



most indifferent observation will convince any one 

 that the more vegetation there is on an acre 

 the greater will be the drought upon its moisture. " 

 If, in a severe drought, you pull up a handful of 

 weeds from a mass, the foliage of which complete- 

 ly shuts out the sun from the soils, you will find 

 the roots bring up no moist dirt ; while the soil on 

 which no weeds have grown, though in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of the former, and exposed to the 

 unmitigated heat of the sun, will be damp. In 

 working corn lands, we should endeavor to keep 

 the surface clean and light. Fine, well pulverized 

 earth is a non-conductor, and consequently the.of- 

 tener we pass through our fields with the harrow 

 or cultivator, in dry weather, the better will it be 

 for the crop. A brick, fresh from the mould, if 

 placed in the yard and covered with a stratum of 

 perfectly dry sand, will retain its moisture five 

 times as long as one struck from the same clay and 

 at the same time, if exposed openly by its side. 

 No hills should be made around Indian corn. 

 Plant so as to pass both ways through the fields 

 i. e., longitudinally and transversely, and do the 

 working with the cultivator and horse. The few 

 weeds that remain after the latter has passed, are 

 easily eradicated with the hoe or hand, and all the 

 rain that falls will be carried to the roots, instead 

 of being thrown from them into the centre of the 

 space between the rows. If you plant a kernel of 

 Indian corn in rich soil, and suffer it to grow with- 

 out hilling, it will take as strong a hold, and main- 

 tain itself as firmly against winds, as one that is 

 hilled, and more so. But if, after it has run up 

 to the height of three or four feet, you bring up 

 three inches of dirt around the foot stalk, the 

 lateral roots, which are its stays and braces, will 

 stop growing, and a new emission of laterals will 

 be induced from the section covered by the fresb 

 soil. The old stalk will also be blanched by the 

 privation of air, become crisp and brittle, like as- 

 paragus grown under leaves, and easily break. 

 The same will take place as often as fresh dirt is 

 drawn up ; and the energies of the system ex- 

 hausted by sending forth roots from which it in 

 return can derirve but comparatively slight sup- 

 port. 



For the New England Farmer. 



OYSTER SHELL LIME. 



Mr. Editor r — Dear Sir, — Will you inform me 

 through your valuable paper, of the comparative 

 value of oyster shell lime and stone lime, as a cor- 

 rective of the acid in peat mud, in conjunctiou 

 with salt, according to the receipt of Prof. Mapes. 

 Many of my neighbors, as well as myself, wish to 

 use the oyster shell lime, manufactured at Med- 

 ford, if it is really valuable. By giving its infor- 

 mation, you will confer a favor on Many. 



Remarks. — See advertisement for explanation 

 in another part of the paper. 



