CORN, INDIAN 



stacks so small that the whole of the I 

 butts are exposed upon the outer sur- 

 face ; and, when thoroughly dry, they 

 may be taken to the barn, or left to 

 be removed as they are wanted to be 

 fed out, merely regarding the propri- 

 ety of removing a whole stack at the 

 same time. 



" (o) Estimated Expcnte of Culiiraiing an Acre of In- 

 ^ dian Com. 



One ploughing (suppose a clover lay) . $2 00 



Harrowing and planting . . . 2 00 



Two hoeings, 4 days and horse team . 3 75 



Harvesting, two days . . . , 1 50 



Cutting and harvesting stalks . . 1 50 



Rent • . . 5 00 



$15 75 



"(J) The following table exhibits 

 the difference in product of various 

 methods of planting, and serves also 

 to explain the manner in which large 

 crops of this grain have been obtained 

 I have assumed in the estimate that 

 each stock produces one ear of corn, 

 and that the ears average one gill of 

 shelled grain. This is estimating the 

 product low ; for while I am penning 

 this (October), I find that my largest 

 ears give two gills, and 100 fair ears 

 half a bushel of shelled corn. The 

 calculation is also predicated upon the 

 supposition that there is no deficien- 

 cy in the number of stocks, a contin- 

 gency pretty sure on my method of 

 planting. 



Hills, bush. qts. 



1. An acre in hills, 4 feet apart 



each way, will produce . 2,722 



2. The same, 3 by 3 feet . 4,840 



3. The same, 3 by 2J feet . 5,808 



4. The same, in drills at 3 feet, 



plants 6 stalks, one inch 



apart in the drills . . 29,040 113 14 



5. The same in do., 2 rows in 



a drill, 6 inches apart, and 

 the plants 9 inches, and 3 

 feet 9 inches from centre 

 of drills, thus . . . 30,970 120 31 



42 

 75 

 93 



6. The same in do., 3 rows in 

 a drill, as above, 3 feet 

 from centre of drills . 43,560 170 5 



" The fifth mode I have tried. The 

 ground was highly manured, the crop 

 twice cleaned, and the entire acre 

 gathered and weighed accurately the 

 same day. The product in ears was 

 103 baskets, each 34 lbs. nett, and 65 



lbs. over. The last basket was shell- 

 ed and measured, which showed a 

 product on the acre of 1 18 bushels 10 

 quarts. I gathered at the rate of 

 more than 100 bushels the acre from 

 four rods planted in the third method 

 last summer, the result ascertained 

 in the most accurate manner. Corn 

 shrinks about 20 per cent, after it is 

 cribbed. The sixth mode is the one 

 by which the Messrs. Pratt, of Madi- 

 son county, obtained the prodigious 

 crop of 170 bushels per acre. These 

 gentlemen, I am told, arc of opinion 

 that the product of an acre may be 

 increased to 200 bushels. 

 " Cutting the Stalks. — For a few years 

 past I have not cut my corn-stalks un- 

 til the corn was harvested, guessing 

 that it was a course preferable to the 

 one commonly pursued in this part of 

 the country, of topping the stalks 

 while in a green state. But for the 

 purpose of settling this point more 

 clearly, and with as little trouble as 

 the case would admit, I selected, 

 about the 5th of September, a row of 

 corn in a field of about five acres, in- 

 tending to take one that would aver- 

 age in quality equal to the field 

 throughout, that I might, at the same 

 time, be able to ascertain, with tol- 

 erable certainty, the product of the 

 whole field. The manure having been 

 spread on the surface of the ground, 

 and harrowed in lengthwise of the 

 furrows, and the corn planted across 

 the furrows, made it apparently less 

 difficult to select an average row. 

 On this row I cut the stalks from half 

 the hills ; beginning at one end, and 

 cutting the first hill, then leaving the 

 next uncut, and so proceeding alter- 

 nately, cutting one, and leaving the 

 next uncut, through the row. I had 

 intended to confine the experiment to 

 this row, but finally was led to extend 

 it so far as to include four rows ; and, 

 numbering them agreeably to the or- 

 der in which they were standing in 

 the field, this row may be called No. 

 2. There were ninety-two hills in 

 the row, and the stalks were cut from 

 forty-six hills, all of them in the man- 

 ner that is here termed jointing, i. e., 

 I cut off between the ear and the first 



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