CORN FOR SUGAR. 



are necessary, except that it should 

 be rich — the richer the better ; if not 

 naturally t'crtile, manure must be ap- 

 plied, either ploughed in or spread 

 upon the surface, or used both ways, 

 according to the aiility of the owner. 

 Nothing can form ^letter preparation 

 for the crop than a clover sod well 

 turned under and harrowed fine im- 

 mediately before planting. 



" Select for seed the largest and best 

 ears of any variety of corn not dispo- 

 sed to throw up suckers or spread out 

 in branches ; that kind most produc- 

 tive in the neighbourhood will be gen- 

 erally the one best adapted to the pur- 

 pose. The planting should be done 

 with a drilling machine. One man, 

 with a pair of horses and an instru- 

 ment of this kind, will plant and cov- 

 er, in the most perfect manner, from 

 ten to twelve acres in a day; the 

 rows (if practicable, let them run 

 north and south) two and a half feet 

 apart, and the seed dropped sufficient- 

 ly thick in the row to ensure a plant 

 every two or three inches. A large 

 harrow, made with teeth arranged so 

 as not to injure the corn, may be used 

 to advantage soon after it is up. The 

 after culture is performed with a cul- 

 tivator, and here will be perceived 

 one of the great advantages of drill- 

 ing : the plants all growing in lines, 

 perfectly regular and straight with 

 each other, the horse-hoe stirs the 

 earth and cuts up the weeds close by 

 every one, so that no hand hoeing 

 will be required in any part of the cul- 

 tivation. ' It is part of the system 

 of cane-planting in Louisiana, to raise 

 as full a stand of cane upon the ground 

 as possible, experience having proved 

 that the most sugar is obtained from 

 the land in this way.' As far as my 

 experience has gone, the same thing 

 is true of corn. This point must 

 therefore be attended to, and the de- 

 ficiencies, if any occur, made up by 

 timely replanting. 



" The next operation is taking off the 

 ears. Many stalks will not produce 

 any ; but, whenever they appear, they 

 must be removed. It is not best to 

 undertake this work too early, as, 

 when the ears first appear, they are 

 186 



tender, and cannot be taken off with- 

 out breaking, which increases the 

 trouble. Any time before the forma- 

 tion of grain upon them will be soon 

 enough. 



" Nothing farther is necessary to be 

 done until the crop is ready to cut for 

 grinding. In our latitude, the cutting 

 may commence with the earlier va- 

 rieties about the middle of August. 

 The later kinds will be ripe in Sep- 

 tember, and continue in season until 

 cut off by the frost. The stalks should 

 be topped and bladed while standing 

 in the field. They are then cut, tied 

 in bundles, and taken to the mill. 

 The top and blades, when properly 

 cured, make an excellent fodder, rath- 

 er better, it is believed, than any hith- 

 erto used ; and the residuum, after 

 passing tlie rollers, may easily be dried 

 and used in the same way : another 

 advantage over the cane, which, af- 

 ter the juice is expressed, is usually 

 burned. 



" The mills should be made on the 

 same general principle employed in 

 constructing those intended for grind- 

 ing cane. An important difference, 

 however, will be found both in the 

 original cost and in the expense of 

 working them. Judging from the 

 comparative hardness of the cane and 

 corn-stalk, it is believed that one 

 fourth part of the strength necessary 

 in the construction of a cane mill will 

 be amply sufficient for corn, and less 

 than one fourth part of the power will 

 move it with the same velocity. It 

 maybe made with three upright wood- 

 en rollers, from twenty to forty inch- 

 es in length, turned so as to run true, 

 and fitted into a strong frame-work, 

 consisting of two horizontal pieces, 

 sustained by uprights. These pieces 

 are mortised to admit wedges on each 

 side the pivots of the two outside roll- 

 ers, by which their distances from the 

 middle one may be regulated. The 

 power is applied to the middle roller, 

 and the others are moved from it by 

 means of cogs. In grinding, the stalks 

 pass through on the right side of the 

 middle cylinder, and come in contact 

 with a piece of frame-work called the 

 dumb returner, which directs them 



