PLYMOUTH SOCIETY. 495 



see the least beneficial effect from it, at any season of the year, 

 on the corn crop, or the vine or grass crop. As I tried it on 

 all these crops with a like result, it was a perfect failure. The 

 Michigan plough I think very well of, as my corn suffered least 

 from the drought where that was used. 



George W. Wood's Statement. 



The acre of land which produced the corn entered by me for 

 premium is a clayey loam. In 1851 I cut about a ton of 

 English hay from it. Ploughed it May 12th, last, and drew 

 on thirty loads of compost manure from hogyard and some 

 from barn; that I spread, then cultivated and harrowed till I 

 made the soil very fine. Planted the corn 20th and 21st of 

 May ; planted in rows three feet four-twelfths one way, and 

 fifteen to twenty inches the other way, putting three or four 

 corns in a hill, first dropping twenty loads of compost manure 

 in the hills. The manure put in the hills was made from barn- 

 yard composted soil and barn manure, composted in 1851, and 

 shovelled over till it was quite fine ; estimated forty cubic feet 

 to the load. 



Soon after the corn came up, ploughed two furrows in each 

 row, turning the furrow from the corn : ran the cultivator twice 

 between each row before hoeing first time. I hoed the corn 

 June 14th, and 26th : ran the cultivator once a week till the 

 corn was too large. July 31, went over and cut up the weeds 

 with the hoe ; it kept very clean the rest part of the season. 

 Cut the most of the stalks after they were very ripe. October 

 18, the supervisor came and selected two square rods in differ- 

 ent parts of the field ; they averaged 54| bushels to the rod ; 

 that would make 102|| bushels to the acre. Harvested the 

 corn from the 21st to 27th of October. I think I have got 100 

 bushels of corn from the acre beside what the birds destroyed. 



The expense of cultivating was as follows: — Ploughing 

 $2 50. Cultivating and harrowing, $2. Planting, $5 50. 

 Carting and spreading thirty loads of manure, $4. Ploughino- 

 and cultivating, at different times, ^2. Hoeing twice $5. 

 Cutting up weeds, 75 cts. Seed corn, 50 cts. The seed corn 

 I bought of Willard Wood, selected from the best ears at har- 

 vest time. Making the whole expense for cultivating, |22 25, 



