82 ON GRAIN AND MIXED CROPS. 



I hereby certify that I measured the foregoing lot of 

 land, and the measure as above described is correct. 



JACOB DASCOMB. 



JOSHUA TOPPAN'S STATEMENT. 



7^0 the Cojnmittee on Grain Crops: 



Gentlemen, — At your request I make my statement 

 respecting my mode of cultivating or making corn pro- 

 duce from two to four Ibid. My method is by four years 

 experience, viz : — In the latter part of June and the first 

 of July I go among my corn and commence with those 

 stalks that are not silked out, and take off the pollen or 

 blowings, at the top. I take them with my thumb and 

 finger lightly, and open the ear and put in the pollen, 

 in the ear, opening with one hand and putting it in with 

 the other. By so doing the crop of corn will yield more 

 and there will not be any false ears. It takes time to 

 do this work and it requires a careful person to do it. 

 A leaf of the stalk will often cover over the ear so that 

 the pollen cannot drop in naturally. The first year that 

 I tried it was on ten hills of corn ; they yielded fifteen 

 ears of corn to the hill. The second year forty hills ; 

 average number of ears two hundred and twenty ears of 

 corn good length. The third year, ten hills, eighty ears 

 of sound corn. The fourth year eleven hills, with no 

 false ears ; it yielded each hill four stalks, twelve ears 

 to a hill. My method of manuring is to put the manure 

 in the hill, one good shovel full of fine manure and put 

 the corn on the top and cover two inches. 



I make a practice of putting on my corn, or around 

 each stalk, ashes ; say, three spoonfuls to each stalk. 

 I think it helps the corn — it grows faster and does bet- 

 ter with the ashes, than without. I should like to have 

 my method of increasing the crop of corn tested by all 

 the farmers in Essex. Would they not like to have the 

 yield of corn increased, if it can be done by a little ex- 

 tra labor and pains ? Certainly they would. 



