278 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



No dinner table in New England, at least, can well afford 

 to be habitually without a supply of this succulent article of 

 food in its season, — sweet corn. It is so easily grown 

 and so universally relished, and withal so wholesome and 

 nutritious an article of food, that it is surprising that so 

 many good farmers, and in many respects good providers, 

 neglect to provide for an adequate supply of this substantial 

 luxury for both early and late use. There is no good rea- 

 son why sweet corn, tender and fresh, should not be upon 

 every farmer's table from July or early in August until the 

 frosts of autumn destroy it. 



How often do we hear some farmer say, in the season 

 when the luxuries of the early kitchen garden should load 

 his table, I meant to have planted some early peas and 

 beans and sweet corn, but I was so busy I couldn't find 

 time ; and when we hear this we always tldnk that is not 

 true. You can take time for these things, and you can 

 afford to, besides. Even if the important operations of the 

 farm have to be delayed one day, in order to have the gar- 

 den attended to at the right time, there need be no conse- 

 quent loss. And then think of the satisfaction you will 

 have given your wife, to say nothing of the direct results to 

 your own palate. 



But it is not alone for the table that sweet corn should be 

 raised. Every owner of a cow and a bit of land should 

 plant a suitable quantity of sweet corn to supply green 

 feed from the first of August until frost comes, at least. 

 The " evergreen " variety I regard as the best for this pur- 

 pose. The ground should bo liberally manured, deeply 

 plowed and thoroughly harrowed. Make the rows three and 

 a half feet apart, and plant in hills twelve or fifteen inches 

 apart, with eight or ten grains in each hill. If planted in 

 this way in a favorable season, the ears will develop abun- 

 dantly in the latter part of the season, affording an abundant 

 supply for the table and the cows, besides plenty of seed 

 for next year's planting. The first planting should be at 

 about the time of planting other corn, so that by the first 

 of August, when usually the feed in the pastures begins to 

 fail, the corn will be of good size, with tassels well devel- 

 oped, and ready to begin upon. 



