408 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Indian corn, and few which are of greater importance to 

 man. There are many kinds of corn, but you are all so well 

 acquainted with them that I will not weary your patience by 

 enumerating them. But one kind called Chili maize, or 

 Valparaiso corn, is distinguished by its serrated leaves. It 

 is a smaller plant, a native of Chili, and has won a super- 

 stitious regard, because its grains when roasted split in the 

 form of a cross. 



Makner of Cultivation. 



It would be folly for me to attempt to tell the members of 

 this club how to raise corn, for each person has some special 

 reason for cultivating it in his own way. But there are 

 some general rules which all are obliged to follow. 



First. Apply plenty of fertilizers, for it is a grass feeder 

 and will well repay a liberal application of plant food. 



Second. If your land is stubble it will pay well to plow 

 twice ; if sod, plow not too deep and harrow thoroughly. 



Third. Be sure and have good seed, and to be sure of that 

 it is best to select the ears from the field and trace them up ; 

 for if we defer selecting seed until spring it is frequently 

 the case that the corn has been heated and will fail to germi- 

 nate, as was the case with many the past season. 



Fourth. Be sure and keep well cultivated and free from 

 weeds, for one crop is enough at a time, and it does not pay 

 to raise a crop of weeds. I was never so thoroughly con- 

 vinced of the value of cultivation as I have been the past 

 season. On one part of a field I had not time, during the 

 press of work, to finish hoeing for about ten days. It was 

 so grassy that you could hardly tell where it was hoed and 

 where not ; but the part hoed last was always smaller and the 

 difference could be seen from quite a distance, showing con- 

 clusively that although we may plow, fertilize, have good 

 feed, and yet if we fail to properly cultivate the land we 

 shall fail to receive the full compensation for our labor. 



Manner of Harvesting. 

 The old-fashioned way of harvesting was, when the corn 

 had become mostly glazed, to cut the stalks above the ear, 



