396 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



For (lie N. E. Farmer. 



CLOSE PLANTING CORN. 

 Mr Editor— la a comiininication of Mny 1st 

 1644. yui.r correspondent L. C. very correctly eup- 

 . poses Jt iinportHnt for fanners to publish the results 

 of unsuccessful experiments. It tends to prevent 

 the <vide extension, and consequent mischievous 

 effects of merely fanciful theories. l!ut in the 

 statement of an unsuccessful e.vperirnent, we 

 should be very careful to enumerate all the proba- 

 ble causes which were combined in producing the 

 result. This, we think, L. B. has not salisfact'orily 

 done. The compuratue failure of his second ex- 

 periment in planting Indian corn, he Beenis to as- 

 cribe exclusively to close planting. That the corn 

 was planted loo thick for the preparation of the 

 soil, may be true ; yet we are confidont oiher cau- 

 ses were in operation in the production of a dimin- 

 ished crop. Suppose he had planted precisely in 

 the manner of the preceding year, would his har 



tit.es of seed and no longer fruitlessly labor to ap 

 portion seed to the reduced state of soils. The 

 crop harvested by Mr Phelps, seems a fair justifica- 

 t.on of his method of planting. It may be well 

 or farmers here to inquire whether it be not prac- 

 ircable to raise our fields to a state which would 

 lairJy admit an equal quantity of seed, rather than 

 censure a method which proved so successful. 



„ , , „ M. ALLEN. 



t^embroke, Mny ,30, J 844. 



,, ^^"'' '""'='' esteemed correspondent has our 

 tlianks for the above communication. His views 

 upon agricultural topics always carry with them 

 great weight, and those above are in accordance 

 with our own opinions Ed. 



vest have been as large.' Certainly not, even if 

 he had manured somewhat more liberally. Indian 

 corn does not find a sufficiency of its most appro- 

 priate food when planted in succession of years in 

 the same field. Repeated planting tends to multi- 

 ply the enemies which annoy the corn plants It 

 IS not improbable the yellowness of the stalks 

 which was mentioned as appearing about the first of 

 August, was produced chiefly by the preyin- of 

 worms at the roots. We have not noticed this'ap- 

 pearaiice as common, in corn sown broadcast for 

 fodder. 



L. B. should have taken another piece of land of 

 similar soil with that on which his first crop of corn 

 was raised, to have made a fair comparative experi- 

 ment between his own manner of planlin-r and 

 that of Mr Phelps, to which he refers. The°re.ult 

 might have been in favor of the first method of 

 plamin,-: that was probably sufficiently close for 

 the strength of the .soil and the preparntion of the 

 field ; but the difference probably would not have 

 been near as great as in the reported experiment. 

 It IS a general error in thia.Commonweulth to 

 put too little seed of Indian corn on the acre 

 There is an opposite extreme, but few farmers are 

 likely to run into it; they are far more likely, on 

 the suggestion that close plaating is wr.m- to 

 make their rows so wide apart that a New Vork 

 wagon might be driven through without louchin<r 

 the corn on either side. This error makes unnec". 

 easary labor, exposes too much naked soil to the 

 direct influences of ihe summer sun, and therefore 

 reduces the land with a comparatively small crop 

 even more than an ample one would occasion! 

 Light and a sufficiency of moisture, are very nec- 

 essary to the health and vigor of plants, but light 

 will, unobstructed, pass through a civity less than 

 three feet wide, and moisture will he better re- 

 tained where plants are so near together as to re- 

 quire nil the ground to be stirred in the dressings 

 than where they stand so far apart th:.t the middle' 

 of the rows receive little or no attentum. Over- 

 seeding is a manifest evil, and may be common in 

 this country in the vine family, and ^ome other 

 vegetables of the garden, but in field culture, the 

 opposite error is far more prevalent. We reduce 

 fields by severe cropping, and then reduce the 

 quantity of seed, in the hope that a k^-^ plants will 

 prosper. Experience has already proved that the 

 ullimnte effect of this course will be the entire ex- 

 haustion of fields. It is time for us to retrace our 

 steps, and prepare fields to receive the proper quan- 



CULTURE OF THE POTATO. 

 We have read hundreds of es.says on the culture 

 ot the potato, and yet among them all, we do not 

 hnd any general, fi.xed rules in regard to the best 

 method ot producing a crop. When carryuiT on 

 our own farm, we made various experiments' dunnr. 

 a series of years in this matter, and the following 

 IS the result: " 



1. If the season proved a dry one, the plantin-rs 

 from whole tubers of the largest sizes, produced 

 the greatest yield. The reason of this, we in- 

 terred, was, that large tubers gave the growin.r 

 crop a greater amiunt of nourishment than smalie" 

 ones or cuttings could. 



2. If the season proved wet, then little or no dif- 

 ference was found between cuttings, or small or 

 large tubers. 



3. Wo never obtained a greater quantity, nor so 

 f^ood a quality of potatoes, as when planted on sod 

 turned up after the grass got well started, the first 

 neek in June; and we do believe, where a plea, 

 sant flavored, mealy root is desired, that a .^rass 

 ley fresh turned over, is the very best preparation 

 for a crop that can be made. By allowing the 

 grass to got a good start before plowing, it irssists 

 greatly m the rapid decomposition of the sod ; and 

 tins, with its roots, have proved with us the sweet- 

 est and best elements out of which to form pota- 

 toes. 



4. By manuring highly with fresh barn-yard ma- 

 nure, poudrette, guano, fish, sea-weed, or indeed 

 any strong, rank, highly fertilizing substance a 

 large crop is generally obtained, but we have in- 

 variably found that It was at the expense of its 

 quality— Ihe potatoes proving more or less watery 

 and frequently possessing a strong, tangy taste ; 

 and as nutriment for either man or beast, we fully 

 believe that the same kind raised upon fresh turned 

 up sod, IS worth 50 per cent more than that pro- 

 duced from ground where rank unrotted manures 

 are applied. If the land could be subsoil-plowed 

 as the sod IS turned up, we have not a doubt, es- 

 pecially in rather a dry season, but it would add 

 considerably to the productiveness of the crop. 



5. A top-dressing of lime and charcoal is the 

 best preventive we know of against insects and 

 disease. 



C. The after.culture is so well understood in 

 ifiis country, that we need not dwell upon it. 

 Twice hoeing is as good as more ; and the hills or 

 roH's never should be disturbed after the blossoms 

 have appeared, as this injures the growth of the 

 luhors already set, and causes the roots to throw 

 out new ones. We have heard a great deal said 

 by some experimenters about the non-neassily of 

 billing potatoes abundantly. We can assure our 



JCKK I a, 184 4. 



readers from repeated experiments we h-^Ve^n^ 

 that Ihe potato delights in an accumulated, wide- 

 spread, mellow bed ; and unless this is ptovided 

 you cannot expect, except in the richest and mosi 

 frinble soils, a large crop. Our emphatic advice, 

 iberefore, i„ the after-culture of the potato, is to 

 turn with a wide plow, all the good topsoilbe. 

 tween the rows to the plants ; first, soon alter 

 their appearance above the ground, and second, 

 just before the vine blossoms; but in doincr this 

 be careful not to bury the tubers too deep. " This' 

 should then be followed with the hoe, gathering 

 the fine soil nicely about the vines, and leaving 

 their beds with a flat top rather than a sleep roof 

 shape. In this way, they preserve the moisture 

 better, and present a broader surface to the grow- 

 ing and invigorating influences of the licht and 

 sun. Wc usually plant in drills 3 feet apart the 

 sets 6 inches apart in the drills. M/hcn a 'top. 

 dressing of lime is not convenient, ashes are ex 

 cellent, at the rate of a pint or so round eachstalk 

 or plaster, at the rate of a table-spoonful. Either' 

 of these greatly stimulate the growth. We wish 

 Ihe gro>vers of the potato could be induced to pay 

 more attention to the quality of this important crop 

 than has usually been done._.4mer. Jlgriculturist. 



[In behalf of the Boston folks, we second that 

 wish — Ed. Fa R.J 



From the Maine Farmer. 



TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR ORCHARDS. 

 Mr. Holmes :_The raising of good apples is 

 beginning l„ be appreciated by the farmers of this 

 6iate as its importance demands. There are munv 

 exceMent varieties of apples which are natives of 

 this btate, but are not considered so valuable for 

 shipping purposes as some other kinds The Rox 

 bury Russelt, (a native of Massachusetts we be- 

 lieve,) has gamed great celebrity abroad as the 

 best variety to keep for a long time, and is there- 

 fore most valuable for exportation. In this respect 

 It 13 excelled by no other variety within our know- 

 ledge, and may be cultivated with great a,'vanta<re 

 as a sure source of yearly income. Those who 

 have cultivated this fruit to any considerable ex- 

 tent in Maine, have never failed of finding a ready 

 sale and obtaining a fair price for it. The more 

 common kinds may be raised and turned to good 

 account for feeding cattle and hogs, and have been 

 round by the experience of those who have used 

 them for this purpose, to form a good substitute 

 for turnips, potatoes, &.C., while they mny he pro- 

 duced with much less labor, after the expense of 

 setting out the trees, and taking care of them for 

 the hrst feiv years, has been incurred. 



Some farmers are frequently hesrd to complain 

 that their orchards occupy the best of their land 

 and that it would be more profitable for them if 

 they were removed. This is true, no doubt, in 

 many instances where their orchards are old and 

 have been neglected and suffered to run lo decay 

 so that they produce but very little fruit, and that 

 of an inerior quality. There is room, however, 

 for great lm;:rovement in the quality and (■ luntity 

 of fruit, without being liable to this objection. 

 I here are many places on almost every f^.r,,, where 

 Ihe apple tree would thrive well, and »o..ld do no 

 nijury to any other crop. The margins of your 

 hel<.s may all he occupied with a row of lioes set 

 so near the fence as to occupy but little room 'and 

 cause no inconvenience to the cultivator. We 



