•290 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



FEB. ac, IS 40. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



Boston, Wbdnksday, Febbdaby 26, 1840. 



A CARD. 



The Commissioner of Agricultural Survey acltimwl- 

 edges tlie receipt of a fine sample of Parker corn, from 

 Abram Washburn, 2d, Esq. ol, Bridgewater, whose far- 

 ming has been repeatedly and deservedly honored by the 

 premiums of the Plymouth County .Agricultural Society. 



Feb.22d. 



SEVENTH AGKIGTJLTURAL MEETING. 



The Representatives' Hall being engaged for another 

 purpose on Thursday evening, the Seventh Agricultural 

 meeting will be held on Friday evening n«xl, 28th inst. 

 at 7 o'clock. Subject for discussion — '1 he Small Grains. 



Gen. H. AS. Dearborn, by invitation of the Conmiit- 

 tec of Arrangements, is expected to address the meeting. 



SILK CONVENTION. 



The Ninth Agricultural Meeting to be holden at the 

 State House in Boston, on the second Thursday evening 

 in March, will be devoted to the discussion of the Silk 

 Culture. 



The attendance of gentlemen in any part of thecoini- 

 Iry interested in this subject, is respectfully requested. 

 The meeting will be continued by adjournment as long 

 as may be judged expedient. 



Publishers and editors interested in this matter, or fa- 

 vorably disposed towards it, are respectfully requested 

 to extend this notice. 



HENRY COLM AN, 

 •Commissioner of Jisfriculhirul Survey. 



Feb. 24. 



FIFTH AGRICULTURAL MELTING. 



Ikuian Corn. 



We continue our reports of t!;e Fifth Agricultural 

 Meeting; the subject under discussion being Indian corn. 



Mr Meriam, of Tovvksbury, on a visit to Poughkcep- 

 aie in 1838, found among those enterprising and intelli- 

 gent farmers of Dutchess county, N. Y., that Indian corn 

 was a crop highly esteemed, and upon which great reli- 

 ance was placed. A furniiT there with one hundred 

 acres of land, would calcul.ite to raise his five hundred 

 bushels of corn. 'I'his valuable crop among our farmers 

 had been much neglected. 



The Poughkeepsie farmerB could obtain manure for 

 one dollar and fifty cents per load, but in many. cases 

 they preferred ploughing in green crops They planted 

 more to the acre than it was our habit to do, and they 

 were extremely particular in the selection of their seed. 

 All these wore points in their cultivation to be approved 

 and imitated. In these particulars our farmers were re- 

 miss ; and especially in the selection of seed. 



On his return, he established himself at Tewksbury, 

 Middlesex county. He cultivated eight to nine acres in 

 corn. He had madeseveial experiments in llie diiTerent 

 kinds of corn. He had tried the large Dutton, the Cana- 

 da, and the Brown torn, which had been so liighly 

 commended in the Monthly Visitor He wrote to Mr 

 Brown, and having obtained the seed, he found that in 

 its color, compactness and size, it entirely corrcspondt^d 

 to the description given of it. 



He planted the tSrown corn three days before the Dut- 

 ton. It was fit for boiling when the Dutton corn was 

 setting for ears. It was earlier than the kind known as 

 the Phinney corn. The Phinney corn lie preferred to 

 the Canada. He selected his seed of the Brown corn 

 from stalks producing two ears to a stalk. In going 

 through his field he found much of it producing two, 

 some of it three ears to a stalk. His corn was ripe the 

 last week in August Had he planted only the Brown 

 corn, be should have obtained fortv bushels moie than he 

 did. His Brown corn yielded 04 1-4 bushels per acre. 

 In the autumn we had a severe gale, by which the corn 

 suffered severely, wherever it was exposed, and the crop 

 was greatly lessened. Mis Brown corn had passed the 

 season of danger before this storm took place. 



With respect to ploughing, the work among ns was 

 imperfectly executed. Foreign agriculturists perform 

 their work in stirring the ground with horses. Ameri- 



cans do it with men. His own experiencxj has satisfied 

 hiin that the ground should be well manured, as vegeta- 

 bles require goo-l feeding as mucli as animals. He is of 

 opinion that in ploughing, the ground or sward should be 

 completely inverted. The heat and light must be exclu- 

 ded, or the vegetable matter will not be decomposed.* 

 The piper grass will make its appearance and injure the 

 crop.t Heavy lands should not be deeply ploughed. 

 When the light and heat are not excluded, tn« sward 

 will not be decomposed. He would harrow tlie^round 

 after spreading his manure two or three times. Rolling 

 it after ploughing, serves to exclude light and heat. With 

 regard to planting, he would not put manure in the hill. 

 It is unphilosophical. It is like feeding an animal too 

 high; like giving a pig pure Indian pudding and then 

 winding up the fatting process -with dish-water. 



Mr Meriam was of opinion that the great error of our 

 farmers was, in going over too much ground ; and in not 

 cultivating well what they undertook to cultivate. Un- 

 der poor cultivation, Indian corn was often a losing crop. 

 By good cultivation, with less labor and expense, a far- 

 mer might obtain from one acre as much as is now by 

 imperfect cultivation, obtained from three acres. 



The proper mode of planting depends somewhat on 

 the ability of manuring the land ; the frequency or near- 

 ness of the hills should bear some correspondence to the 

 richness of the soil. He had a neighbor who spread his 

 manure and manured his corn in the hill likewise. In 

 planting, he put fifteen kernels to the hill, and selecting 

 the best, lef\ three stalks in a hill. His crop was more 

 than eishty bushels to the acre. He did not plough 

 more than two inchesdeep. Had lie ploughed six inches 

 deep, .and excluded the light and heat from the inverted 

 sward, his crop would have been better.* 



In regard to hoeing, he would s-ay, if the lands arc in- 

 clined to suffer from drought, he would use the cultiva- 

 tor in preference to the hoe. On dry lands no hill should 

 be made : on spongy and wet land, corn should be hilled. 

 In the harvesting of corn, he deemed it not advisable to 

 cut it up at bottom, but when the corn wnswell forward- 

 ed, to top the stalks and allow the crop to ripen fully on 

 the butt before it is gathered. 



Mr James W. Carter, from Lancaster, Worcester coun- 

 ty, then addressed the meeting. 



He began by saying that he did not feel at liberty to 

 decline the call of the Chair. The President was accus- 

 tomed to lay all his friends under contribution when he 

 thought it would serve the public benefit. To speak 

 here upon agriculture, was a new duty to him. He had 

 been, much of his life, accustomed to give instruction. 

 but he was not used, and he should not undertake, to give 

 instruction to farmers in regard to their duly. For his 

 own part, he had been much more familiar withturning 

 periods than with turning furrows. 



His early life, however, had been spent in rural scenes 

 and occupations. Until he Was twenty years old, he had 

 been accustomed to labor on a farm. His early attach- 

 ments to the useful and delightful pursuits of agriculture, 

 so far from being abated, had daily become strengthened. 

 The remainder of his life he considered devoted to agri- 

 culture. The pursuit constantly became more interest- 

 ing to him, and he found its practical labors a source of 

 pureand grateful enjoyment. 



He felt deeply the importance of this subject in all its 

 benrings upon individual and social comfort, and in its 

 political and moral aspects. Its importance could not be 

 overestimated. It gave him great pleasure to meet so 

 large and respectable an assembly,.devoted to agricultu- 

 ral inquiries ; and he trusted that these discussions and 

 the mutual interchange o''experiences and opinions would 

 lead to the development and establishment of important 

 principles as a safe basis for practice. Agriculture has 

 been too much matter of guessw'ork or of slavish and 

 blind adherence to former practices. He would have it 

 mafttT of inquirv and of sound science. 



On the subject before the meeting, the cultivation of 

 Indian Corn, he had been much gratified and interested 

 by the remarks of his friend from Northampton. His 



"This philosophy is somewhat questionable ; but we 

 are to he understood as acting as mere reporters. 



tHere is a new name for the tTiliaim repcns, or creep- 

 ing wheat, otherwise squitch or quack grass This grass 

 is a perfect alias, and has as many names as are to be 

 found in the first chapter of Matthew. 



ilt was really quite a tolerable crop as it was. Eighty 

 bushels per acre is no trifle. VVc think Mr M. must 

 have labored under a mistake as to the ploughing being 

 but two inches, and regret that we cannot send him a 

 proof for correction, if correction be necessary. 



object was to save labor and manure. This he hirai 

 admitted was a capital object. This labor and manii 

 in farming operations, constituted all the trouble in fan 

 ing : but if he should attempt to get along without lal 

 and manure, his crops, to use a school phrase with whi 

 he was familiar, would be "minus." His soil net 

 much cultivation. It is a heavy soil resting upon a ch 

 ey subsoil. He had found one change in the mode 

 cultivation advantageous. The old mode of making hi 

 round his corn he had abandoned, as a useless expet 

 of labor and of no advantage to the crop. 



In preparing for his corn crop he divides his mam 

 into two parts; that which is green he spreads upon I 

 land ai the tale of twelve to twenty buck loads per ai 

 and ploughs it under four or five days before plantii 

 He ploughs with as much evenness and exactness as pi 

 sible. His fine compost manure made in his yards I 

 preceding summer, he puts into the hill at plantii 

 Tliis is tile first food of the plants, prepared for their i 

 mediate use. As the plant advances, and extends 

 roots, it finds the long manure ploughed under, the gn 

 ual decomposition of which, has by that time be 

 brought into a condition to be taken up by the plan 

 He deems it of great importance to plant in straight ro 

 and to have his furrows even and true. He uses the c 

 tivalor, and spreads it so that all the land between t 

 rows may be thoroughly stirred without disturbing I 

 sward, and by having his rows straight, he can approa 

 the more nearly to the plants. He is of opinion that 1 

 oftener he uses the cultivator among his corn, the beti 

 the crop will be. He cuts up the supernumerary stalt 

 and by his mode of cultivation, he has very much 

 creased his products. He now gets eighty bushels to I 

 acre. He objects to planting corn in drills, as he thir 

 it increases very much the labor of cultivation, witlu 

 any additional profit. Immediately after harvest he pi 

 (»n another dressing of manure and ploughs it in, turni 

 up the sod ; as his experience is in favor of this praclii 



{Should this report catch Mr Carter's eye, we hope 

 will do us the favor of stating the next step in his p) 

 gress ; what crop follows his corn; and what reasons 

 would give for reverting the sod at this second plouj 

 ing, instead of cultivating a grain crop by merely harro 

 ing it in as is the approved practice of many excelle 

 cultivators. Does he find the sward completely deco 

 posed after one crop ; or does he derive an advanta 

 from hastening its decomposition by thus breaking it 

 by tlio plough? H. C.) 



J^ Allen Putnam continued the discussion. 



He liad made experiments with six difl'erent kinds 

 corn. Some which he received last year from the Co 

 miesioner, and which he called the Colnian corn, he c 

 not approve, as it yielded fifty bushels only per ac 

 (Now as we did not originate the corn, and gave it to h 

 nut fbr its productiveness, but its early maturity, we bi 

 ged him at onee to alter the name.) 



The second, was the Richaids' corn, which did belt 

 (So much for Mr Richards ) 



The third was the Bosson corn ; sometimes called t 

 Parker corn, and originally from Canada. This produc 

 fifty five bushels per acre. 



The fourth, the celebrated Tree corn, which gave sii 

 two bushels to the acre. This kind he pronounced I 

 late tor, our climate. 



The fiflh, the Tuscarora corn, which was first inti 

 duced as a garden corn. It was highly productive. T 

 kernel was large, sound, and brittle. The meal w 

 sweet ; and on warm and good lands, the yield excelle 

 This gave sixty bushels per acre. 



The sixth, the Dutton corn, did not do so well as t 

 Brown corn, which was the kind they customarily pla 

 ed. 'J'he Dutton would measure most on the cob in t 

 basket; but when shelled, compared with the Broi 

 corn, it would yield less by one quart in a bushel. 



He was not desirous of increasing the number of e; 

 upon a stalk, Tlie number of ears on a stalk seemed 

 be gained at the expense of the size of the ears and t 

 quantity of corn. He referred again to the great val 

 of the harrow in the cultivation of this crop, and the ii 

 porlance of seeding liberally. 



He approved the practice of harvesting his crop 

 cutting it up at the bottom soon after it was glazed, 

 would cure well though the ear were but sTightly a 

 imperfectly glazed. The corn which was thus manag 

 had proved in the kernel the most plump and best. T 

 larger the stalk of the corn the better the stook woi 

 stand ; and though they had had foggy and wet weatl 

 after Ihe corn was thus set up in the held, it had remai 

 ed uninjured. 



The further discussion of the subject was continued 

 the next meeting. H. C 



