U. XXIf. N:» 40 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



315 



Frotn llii' Sciuthern Planter. 



SKPLANTING CORN— LARGH CROP. 



r, — In the November nmnber nf yniir worl(, 

 itnti! tliut yoii liavo been informed thnt I bad 

 d one lititulrod husheU of corn from an acre of 



and you desire me to furnish you with the 

 I of ciilliva'inn, &c. ; nnd I proceed to answer 



inquirios, but beinj very much occupied, and 

 e same time very unwell, you must excuse me 



• details arc not as full and interesting as you 

 d expect. 



inve been a cultivator of the corn crop for fif- 

 years, and during that lime have never failed, 

 ieve, to make such crops as attracted much 

 tion : vet, I have ahvaya tlioui;ht that on our 

 lands iro made too much stalk and too little 

 ; ai.d have annually complained of my over- 



for not plantini; ncy corn thick enough, 

 lis year I dclermined to make an experiment 

 r own, uninfluenced by the advice of over- 



or '"riends, several of whom remonstrated 

 St tl ■! extrnva<rance of my proposition. For 

 u."po"e, I selected a lot, which I considered 

 good ' jnd, though not of the first order, as it 



previous nreparation for the purpose, hav- 

 ecn indifferently used for many years, as a 



lot, watermelon patch, cabbage patch, turnip 

 , nnd sometimes cultivated in corn: about 

 bird of it, it is true, was used a part of the 

 ding fall as a cow. pen. 



the month of May, I had this land plowed as 

 as a two-horse plow could turn it, and after 

 g it harrowed perfectly level nnd fine, I had 

 opened with a coulter two feet apart, and on 

 '8th of M.iy the corn was planted, at the dis- 

 ! of nine inches in these rows of two feet. 

 Ilias been my liabit for many years, never to 

 corn witliout first soaking it well, and then 

 ig it in plaster and ashes — a practice that I 

 niiiend with great confidence to your readers, 

 not only gives the corn an early start, but 

 ;rvc3 its color even in the dryest seasons. In 

 case, the corn was soaked and tiien rolled as 

 I, and then left until the land was ready to 

 ve it, which being a few days later than I had 

 ;mplalcd, occasioned it all to sprout ; when it 

 broui.'hi out to be planted, I found the sprouts 

 rally from one-half to an inch in length. 1 

 at first doubtful whether I should plant it or 



01 length I concluded, as the whole affair 

 but an experiment, I would let that go along 

 it as another experiment, that might lead to 



• practical result, intending to examine it on 

 lecond or third day, and if I found it dead, to 

 int it. It was planted on Friday evening: on 

 bllowirig Monday I examined it, and was sur- 

 •d to find the corn ready to shoot out of the 

 I, and in ir.any instances it had protruded. On 

 icxl day, it might be seen from one end of the 

 to the other. 



I^hen the corn reached the height of about two 



I ron the coulter very deep, and close to the 



on each side. I ihen had the earth thus 



Bned, pulled with hoes about the stalks, in or- 



fo give some support to the corn in the form of 



I. From this time the corn was never worked 



touched : it grew so rapidly as in a short time 



lade the whole surface of the field, so as to 



erve the moisture, and at the same lime to 



;k the growth of grass and weeds; and at the 



of gathering, it was the only part of my corn 



land that was not covered with crab-grass ; but on 

 that there was not a spire. 



The fodder was pulled at the usual lim'', and 

 was an enormous yield, though 1 did not have it 

 weighed ; the tops were also cut as usual, and 

 then I invited several gi?ntloiucn to come anil see 

 the corn gathered and measured. Four of them 

 came. Two of these gentlemen first measured 

 ihe land accurately, which was less than an acre. 

 'I'he corn was then gathered, shucked, and meas- 

 ured in their presence, an 1 yielded, as you lave 

 heard, one hundred bushels to the acre. 



The result of this experiment has served to sat- 

 isfy me, that it is practicable to make I.'iO bushels 

 to the acre, on our best corn lands, properly pre- 

 pared, and with a good season. 



I am convinced that this lot would have yielded 

 me much more than it did, if it had been planted 

 with any other kind of corn than that which was 

 planted. 



Yours, &c. 



J NO. M. BOTTS. 



Washington, Dec. 27, 1843. 



From the Farmer's Mor.ilily Visitor. 



LIME AS A MANURE. 



Much labor has been exhausted in trying to as- 

 certain the best method to enrich and prepare the 

 ground so as to produce the best crop. After us- 

 ing various kinds of dressing, none have proved 

 better than lime, for land on which corn is planted. 



Li:ue has in itself many valuable properties. It 

 gives a suitable degree of heat to cause inmiedi- 

 ate vegetation ; it guards it from worms and in- 

 sects that often destroy one-half of the first plant- 

 ing ; it causes an early and rapid growth, that ri- 

 pens the grain before the frost appears. When 

 lime is used for other kinds of grain, it has the 

 same effect as on corn ; it has also the valuable 

 quality of guarding it against mildew. No grain 

 sown on land so prepared, will suffer from this 

 great evil, by which so many valuable fields have 

 been destroyed. 



The best method of using lime is, to mix one- 

 eighth part with old barn manure, then to be placed 

 in the hole with the corn. When used for other 

 kinds of grain, it should be spread on the top ot 

 the ground after it is plowed, and harrowed in with 

 the grain. No one can fully estimate the value of 

 lime for this purpose, unless they try the experi- 

 mcnt. The average difference in a crop is from 

 one-third to one-half more by using the lime. 



It is also almost the only sure preventive of ver- 

 min on fruit trees in this section of the country. 

 Lime placed about the body of the tree early in 

 the spring, will prevent their increase. Slacked 

 lime mixed with soap and water, used as wash on 

 the parts nf the tree where insects have deposited 

 their egns, will destroy them entirely. This has 

 been proved by the writer. 



i In many parts of England, they estimate the 

 value cf their land, in some proportion, to its near- 

 ness to lime kilns, on account of the valuable 

 properties of lime for dressing. Our farmers 

 should turn their attention to the subject. 



A Close Observer. 



DR. JACKSON'S GUANO. 



To the Editor of the New KnErland l-'armer : 



.Ml/ Dear Sir — I think every one connected with 

 agriculture ought to be indebted to Dr. (". T. Jack- 

 son for the liberal communication of his recipe for 

 artificial guano, which I have no doubt will ()rove 

 a very valuable manure. But I suspect he must 

 have misunderstood my assertion. I reineiuber 

 distinctly stating to him that I thought his guano 

 would cusl double the natural guano ; and the fol- 

 lowing notes of my experiments will show how 

 little I was able to form such an opinion as would 

 justify me in hazarding so decided an assertion re- 

 specting its value as that imputed to me. 



"On the IGth of Sept. 184:}, potted four plants 

 in sandy loam, with half a teaspooiiful each, of Dr. 

 Jackson's guano — viz.: 2 Geranium cuttings; I 

 seedling Camellia; 1 do. Acacia; — and also H 

 similar plants in two different (pialities of Peruvian 

 guano, with the same (juanlity and same soil. 



" In a month, the Geraniums began to shoot — 

 those with Dr. Jackson's guano, three or four days 

 earlier : the size of their shoots, leaves and general 

 luxuriance, rather exceeded those with the natural 

 guano. On the Gth of December they were all 

 destroyed by fire." 



Notwithstanding the extreme low price quoted 

 of the ingredients of the artificial mixture, I fear 

 that if the labor of preparing, the cartage, and profit 

 bo added, it can scarcely be sold under 5 1-2 cts 

 per pound. But even this price bears no propor- 

 tion to its real value, compared with other common 

 manures ; and I repeat that I am sure Dr. Juckson 

 is entitled to the thanks of every agriculturist for 

 his liberality. Yours, 



J. E. TESCHEMACHER. 



March 29, 1844. 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY. 



The application of manures to particular soils, 

 is a subject of much inquiry at this time, in grow- 

 ing of the various crops. Mr Pusey, President of 

 the Royal Agricultural Society of England, re- 

 marks, with much justness — "Though we have not 

 yet seen the secret workings of nalrue, I believe 

 that we are near Ihe door, and that the veil will 

 soim be raised. Any young chemist who will take 

 up the late brilliant discoveries of general princi- 

 ples and devote his life to patient research into the 

 means of applying them, may hope to acquire an 



perishable reputation , and it is evident, from the 

 ardor with which chemists now embark in agricul- 

 tural research, that they feel they are now making 

 progress." 



Even in this country of abundance, the acquisi- 

 tion and judicious application of manures to our 

 lands is of more importance to our country, proba- 

 bly, than all our foreign commerce, which occu- 

 pies so much of the time of Congress to protect 

 and sustain. Philo. 



Do not despise the poor. Remember that while 

 honest virtue is often clothed in rags, vice fiaunts 

 gaily in satin, and dazzles the eyes with costly 

 jewels. 



Care of Cows in the J^/etherlands. — Comfort and 

 warmth is not overlooked by the cautious husband- 

 man. When the cows are first turned out to pas 

 ture, which is generally some time in May, a piece 

 of coarse cloth is put over their loins and tied 

 round their bodies, to prevent the injurious tffi'cte 

 of cold dews and fogs: when the air is warmoi- 

 this is discontinued. 



Faith spans the gulf of Death with the bridge 

 of Hope. 



