ON THE CULTURE OF THE CEREALS. 277 



day for planting should be selected. Of late years mature seed has been abundant. In 1816 

 it was scarcely ripened in New- England. The greatest success follows from planting an early 

 variety ; it is of little benefit now to try to acclimate late varieties : the earlier kinds vnW adapt 

 themselves to the length of the season ; if very early, as the Canadian, it will soon begin to 

 ripen later, and with little loss of time it becomes acclimated to the spot. The season of 

 planting for 1850 began late through the whole country, in the south as well as north ; but it 

 has terminated every where with a fine crop of Indian corn. Yet there has been an apparent 

 fitfulness in the distribution of rain. The same locality has furnished instances in small sec- 

 tions of country, where rain has fallen quite seasonably, and yet a mile distant the fields have 

 suffered from a cold drought. Such has been the case for several years, and yet maize has 

 generally yielded a profitable return. 



Corn is impatient of weeds, and refuses to grow where the light is obstructed, and where its 

 roots are robbed of nutriment ; hence hoeing is one of the most essential of the operations re- 

 quired in its cultivation. As long as corn has been cultivated, still great improvements have 

 resulted from accurate observations, during the last twenty years. Formerly, it was hilled 

 most thoroughly, and to this day, after the lapse of fifty years, it would be possible to discover 

 where the hills of corn had grown. Now experience proves that hilling is rather injurious than 

 beneficial ; that it is not required to sustain il against the winds. Where it is hilled for this 

 purpose, it is forced to rely upon the strength of the stalk to support it, while if not hilled, it is 

 sustained in a more favorable manner by its firm fibrous roots. The great object in the use of 

 the hoc and cultivator is the destruction of weeds and plants of a foreign growth. Clean cul- 

 tivation is the rule, and to it there is no exception. Much labor may be saved, first by planting 

 after a well hoed crop of potatoes, and the use of those fertilizers which either contain no seeds, 

 or where their vitality has been destroyed. Much of the labor of farmers arises from this 

 neglect ; it is far easier to destroy seeds in the manure heap than in the field. 



The kind of manure which suits corn is that from the farm-yard. There are, or may be 

 mixtures of the excrements of the horse, ox and swine. Those of the horse, if not properly 

 secured, may be of little use ; if mixed with gypsum, it will be doubly valuable. The appli- 

 cation of manure to the hill is the best, especially if the land is loose and sandy ; if a consistent 

 loam, it may be spread broad cast. But one of the most useful applications is the wood ash, 

 after the first hoeing, and applied to the amount of a handful immediately before a rain. From 

 the ash both phosphates, potash and lime will be obtained, and as the application is about the 

 plants, the good eifects will be felt by the plants themselves. 



Of cow manure, to make up this amount of inorganic matter, about twenty tons of the 

 excrements of the cow will be required ; if those of the swine can be obtained, about one- 

 third less will supply the requisite amount. The manure of swine is richer in phosphates 

 than those of cows : observation proves this, as well as analysis. The lime, soda, potash, 

 magnesia and silica are about the same in each. The greenness and vigor of corn is very 

 striking, where the manure of the hog is used, when compared side by side with that of the 

 horse or cow. But these kinds of fertilizers may be made equivalent to each other, by the 



