ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 381 



the balance in wheat. I put 265 two-horse cart loads of 

 barn-yard manure on it : the manure was coarse, made out of 

 straw, corn-tops and husks, hauled into the yard in January 

 and February, and hauled out in March and April, conse- 

 quently was very little rotted. I spread it regularly and 

 plowed it down with a large concave plow, seven inches deep. 

 I then harrowed it twice the same way it was plowed. I then 

 had the rows marked out with a small plow, three feet ten 

 inches wide, and one and a half inches deep. I planted my 

 corn from eighteen to twenty-two inches apart, and covered 

 it with hoes: just drawing the furrows over the corn, 

 which covered it one and a half inches below the sur- 

 face. When the corn was four inches high, I harrowed it, 

 and thinned it to two stalks in the hill : in about two weeks 

 after harrowing, I cultivated it: about the 15th of June I 

 cultivated it again, which was all the tillage I gave it. We 

 farmers of the eastern shore count our corn by the 

 thousand : I had 38,640 hills on my lot, and I think my corn 

 would have been better had I planted earlier : I did not 

 plant until the last of April. I think the planting of corn 

 shallow and working it with the cultivator is much the best 

 way, especially on clover lay. 



MR. HOPKINS' METHOD. " Soil and Culture. The soil 

 is a warm sandy loam. It was plowed deep in the autumn. 

 About the first of May, I carried on, and spread all over 

 the ground, about thirty loads of stable and barn-yard 

 unfermented manure, then rolled and harrowed the ground 

 well, being careful not to disturb the sod, which was timo- 

 thy, and mown the summer preceding ; and on the 9th and 

 10th of May planted the same, two and a half feet between 

 the rows, and fifteen inches between the hills. It was 

 dressed with ashes when it made its appearance above 

 ground. On the 10th June commenced weeding and thin- 

 ning, leaving from two to four of the best spears in earh 

 hill, the whole averaging about three spears in a hill. After 

 this I ashed it again, using in all about ten bushels of good 



