L. xtir. N'». It. 



AND H O R T r C IT L T U R A L REGISTER 



347 



;ras3 seed ; but upon reading in the N. E. 

 er iif March 22d, J8-13, an account of a pre- 

 crop of corn raised in New Yorl;, by a Mr 

 )3, I IV93 led to plant the patch n^i^in with 

 upon his plan. In his statrincnl of the cnl. 

 nn, &c., he says: "On the :i'-id of May, I84'2, 

 ived lip one aero of uernsward, for the pur- 

 of plaiitinj; it with corn. After plowing it 

 I harrowed it well, lengthwise of the fnr- 



I then marl;ed out the fjroiin<l go that the 

 and hills should st.md precisely two feet 

 either way. On the 35th of the «aine month, 

 ited it, and was careful lo put precisely three 

 Is in each hill : when it was larfre enniiirh, I 

 it, and continued to hoe it three different 

 No other tool was used in the process of 

 ation but the hoe. beinjf very carefnl to keep 

 ecds and jrnsa duwn as much as possible, 

 1 h'loinn;, to leave the ground as near level 

 Issible each time. I permitted the corn to i 

 until it was fit for hnrvestin™-. without cut- I 

 |ip or toppintj. Between the lOlh and I5th of 

 jmlier, [ beo^an to husk and weiijh the said 



I found the aijiireL'ate weight from the j 

 (cre, in the ear, 13,28G lbs., of a ijood quality 

 it the first day of January, 1843, I thrashed 

 |1 the sound corn that prew on the said acre, 

 |ieasiired it, and found that it lully held out 

 |s. to the bushel, and it produced me one hun- 

 \md twtuli/tico bushels of good merchantable 



l:er reading the above statement, I thought I 

 tl try my small patch of ground again with 



as before stated. I gave it the same prepara- 



f manure, plowing, and harrowing, that it 

 he year previous : it was planted about the 

 of May, precisely as to distance and seed, as 

 helps says he planted his. It came up well, 

 he first of July I thought I should get a real 



crop — something to brag about — notwith. 

 ing several old grey-headed farmers told me 

 t was planted so thick, it would not amount 

 ich except for fodder. In August, I began to 



these old farmers now a thing or two ; for 

 ottom of the plants, for 12 or 18 inches, as- 

 a yellow color, and but few of the suckers 

 led out, but shriveleil np and dried ; the ears 

 larted, (two or three to every stalk,) stood 

 ctly erect, and did not " hang oflT' as they did 

 ear before. However, when ripe, it was hor- 

 d, and accurately measured, and instead of 



biushels of ear.*, as I had the year previous, 



was but eighteen bushels. As every thing 

 18 favorable to the crop, except its close plant- 

 i can conceive of no possible reason why it 

 d not have been as good as llie previous one, 

 3t the difference was caused by the close 

 ing, which caused the corn to "draw up" 



ing and weak. 



cm some experience of my own, and observa- 

 in the cultivation of corn by others, I think 

 helps' method of culture is worthy of imita- 

 cxccpt tlie close planting. Several years 

 I planted a field of corn, and dropped two or 



kernels extra in each hill, for fear the worms 

 t take a part of them. At weeding or first 

 ig, I pulled up a part of the surplus, and was 

 ised at the length of the root — not roots — as 



was but one, the main root, which I frequcnt- 

 und had grown to the length of 18 inches ; 

 18 the rows were three feel distant, I found in 



instances that the rnols from opposite hills 

 met, and believing that all the roots sent 



out by plants are needed for their most perfect 

 growth, and frequently having heard farmers com- 

 plain of ihe injury done lo their corn by the wornus 

 eating off the roots, I came to the cniiclu-sinn that 

 it made no difference with the corn whether its 

 roots were cut oil by a worm, a plow, or a cultiva- 

 tor. .And knowing that neither a plow or cultiva- 

 tor could be run between Ihe rows without cutting 

 and hrernt ng the roots, I have never suffered aiy 

 other tool hut the hoe in my cornfields since — al- 

 though I have one of Prouty &. Meai-s' horse-plows, 

 a prime cultivator purchased at your store soveral 

 years ago, and a steady horse to draw thcin. Since 

 I have adopted this plan, I have the satisfaction of 

 knowing that my corn crops will compare, as to 

 the quantity per acre, with any of the farmers in 

 this vicinity. 



Mr P.'s plan of leaving the stalks uncut, no 

 doubt added many bushels to liis crop. For two 

 years past, I have left an acre or two till harvest- 

 ing, with the full belief ih.it I gained more in the 

 corn than I lost in tho fodder; though I have my 

 doubts about the fodder being very mucli less val- 

 uable than when cut in the usual way. 



I have had the stalks and butts mowed away 

 after huskiug, and given them a good sprinkling of 

 salt, and my cattle have eaten them as freely and 

 as clenn as when cut and bundled up. 



I thirik there can be no doubt that the quantity 

 of corn is lessened to the amount of 8 or JO bush- 

 els to the acre, by cutting the stalks, as is gene- 

 rally practiced. Careful and accurate experiments 

 of the Hon. VVm. Clark, jr., of Northampton, and 

 othf'rs, has put the question beyond dispute. 



But a knowledge of the use and function of the 

 leaf, would, without an actual trial satisfy any one 

 of the fact. The moisture or water in tho soil, 

 holding in solution a variety of salts, is taken up 

 by the rootlets of plants, and by some mysterious 

 power, propelled through the minute pores, or sap- 

 vesscU to the leaf, where, aided by solar light, (the 

 rays of the sun,) a large amount of water escapes 

 by evaporation, and the true sap is formed in the 

 leaf, and by the vital powers, or action of the grow- 

 ing plant, the salts are retained to be assimilated, 

 and assist in forming the complete and perfect 

 plant, in all its varied parts and products. Now if 

 the stalk of corn is cut off just above the ear, with 

 all its long and broad green leaves, we violate the 

 laws of nature and deprive the seeds of a portion of 

 that food that would have been elaborated by the 

 agency of the leaves. 



The function of the leaves of plants, and the 

 effect of the direct rays of the sun, in causing a 

 greatly increased absorption of water by the roots, 

 and conseipiently a corresponding ratio of evapo- 

 ration of moisture by the leaf, is very clearly and 

 simply illustrated, by an experiment recommended 

 last year by Professor Henslow, to the farmers of 

 one of the counties in England. He directs that 

 three tumblers, numbered 1, 2, and 3, be nearly 

 filled with water, then oiled paper tied over the 

 tor of each tumbler, a hole made through tho cen- 

 tre of each laper, and the stem of a leaf of a tree 

 (with tho leaf attached,) be passed through the 

 hole in the paper, so as to touch the water. No. 1 

 is to have an inverted tumbler put over it, and 

 placed in the direct rays of the sun. No. 2 is to 

 have an inverted tumbler put on, and placed in the 

 light, hut so as not lo have the sun shine upon it; 

 and the tumbler placed over No. 3, is to have a 

 lold or two of paper wrapped round it, so as to ex- 

 clude the light, and then placed over No. 3. The 



result will be as follows : — No.], placed in >un- 

 sltine, will soon have the inside of the top tumbler 

 Coaled over with nuusture, which will be in such 

 quantities as lo trickle down the sides. No. 2 will 

 have a very little moisture upon one cido — and 

 No. 3 will have no water within. This little ex- 

 perirnent proves that corn, potatoes, and roots, 

 should be planted at such distances as freely to ad- 

 mit the sun's rays, and that Ihe amount of cnrii is 

 lessened by culling Ihe stalks, and that Ihe pluck- 

 ing of the leaves of mangold-wurlzel and turnips, 

 for green fodder, must be attended with loss to the 

 bulbs. 



Every body knows that plants suffer by being 

 in the shade, if the ground is ever so richly ma- 

 nured ; and this experiment tells the why. In 

 some parts of Russia, wheat is fit to harvest in six 

 weeks fnmi the time it is sown : their days, con- 

 tain 20 hours of broad sunlight, and that tells the 

 wherefore. 



But tiie leaves of plants have another important 

 office to perform : they possess the power of ab- 

 sorbing the principal part of their carbon from 

 the atmosphere in the form of carbonic acid, which 

 is decomposed by the leaf, (with the aid of sun- 

 light,) the oxygen is liberated, and the carbon re- 

 tained, and forms about 44 per cent, of the solid or 

 woody texture of plants. If the e Heel of the sun's 

 rays upon growing plants were more generally un- 

 derstood, the plants in many of our gardens would 

 not be loft so thick. Many persons seen to go 

 upon the principle that the more cucumber and 

 mehm vines there are in the hill, (and the hills 2 

 feet apart,) the more fruit they will obtain. I have 

 frequently seen 12 or 1.5 plants left in the hill, and 

 the owner would about as soon have had one of 

 his teeth extracted, as one of the plants pulled up. 



L. B. 



Printers in high places. — The Mayors of the 

 following cities are, or rather formerly were, prin- 

 ters : — London, Edinburgh, Penh, Glasgow, New- 

 Vork and Washinglon. Statesmen and philoso- 

 phers, jurists, scholars, poets and divines, (we do 

 not recollect any niililary heroes,) have been grad 

 uates of Ihe printing office. 



A Tennessee editor pertinently remarks that a 

 liberal use of the rod is the only way to make 

 boys smart. A very good ton mot, and that is all. 

 For, in spite of the old proverb, " Spare the rod 

 and spoil the child," it is probable the iiijudicious 

 use of the rod has spoiled more children than it 

 ever improved. 



Siihstilute for a Bell The first bell in Haver- 

 hill, says the Salem Gazette, was purchased in 

 1764: before that time there was o singular sub- 

 stitute, as appears by the following vote, passed in 

 1G50: "That Abraham Tyler blow his horn half 

 an hour before meeting, on the Lord's day, and on 

 lecture days, and receive one pound of pork annu- 

 ally for his services, from each family." 



A western paper, in announcing a steamboat ex- 

 plosion, very delicately observes — "Three persons 

 were slightly killed." 



The editors in Mobile are luxuriating on straw- 

 beiries and green peas. The editors in this town 

 are luxuriating on — on — last year's potatoes ! — 

 Maine Far. 



