36 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



premises in this extraordinary inference, that the 

 putrescible liquor which in this province, and 

 under the management of our farmers, is wasted 

 and annihilated as far as regards any useful 

 purpose, is intrinsically worth more than the 

 dung, as an efficacious and permanent dressing : 



and if we take into consideration, that this latter 

 manure is not treated with any skill and judg- 

 ment, it will not seem surprising, that the cul- 

 ture of white crops has never been carried here 

 to any extent, since we have despised and ne- 

 glected the only means of creating them." 



CORN FORK. 



The importance of the crop and the appro- 

 priateness of the season, will excuse our " going 

 it strong" in the present number upon the sub- 

 ject of CORN. 



Mr. Augustus Shriver made a report to the 

 American Farmer, last fall, of a crop of eighty- 

 five bushels of corn to the acre. This the Edi- 

 tor seems to consider a very astonishing yield 

 for any land in the State of Maryland, and con- 

 ceiving that it could be effected only by extra- 

 ordinary management, calls on Mr. Shriver for 

 his mode of cultivation. To this call Mr. Shri- 

 ver responds as follows : 



'Now to the mode of cultivation I have 

 adopted for several years with the most satisfac- 

 tory results. I ploughed the field, which is a 

 light gravelly limestone soil, being a tough blue 

 grass and clover sward, about the first of last 

 November,. to the depth of nine inches; harrowed 

 it the 6th of April, lengthwise the furrow ; the 

 ground being at that time remarkably light and 

 mellow. Manured it with fresh barn-yard ma- 

 nure, at the rate of fifteen five-horse wagon loads 

 per acre. I spread and plough in my manure 

 immediately after the wagon. The manure was 

 turned under but about two inches deep. I like 

 to keep it as near the surface as possible, so that 

 it is out of the reach of absorption from the rays 



of the sun. Harrowed the ground lightly with 

 the ploughing, and laid oft the rows five feet 

 distant, running the rows north and south. I 

 had boys to drop, and I directed them to drop it 

 a good step, (about twenty-six inches,) and from 

 five to seven grains in a hill. This may seem 

 close ; but if you take into consideration the 

 width of the rows, the distance between four 

 hills will be something upwards of ten square 

 feet. I am convinced that if corn has a free 

 circulation of air one way, it can be planted al- 

 most as thick as it can stand the other. I did 

 not harrow the field in question, which I always 

 had done, heretofore, as soon as the corn is up, 

 and plaster. The season being so wet at the 

 time, I did not like to work it ; when the ground 

 was sufficiently dry the plants were too high for 

 a large harrow to pass over them, and having 

 but a poor opinion of the one-horse harrow, I 

 treated my crop as follows : 



"1. Cultivated it June 1st and 2d, merely 

 setting up what corn was covered, going three 

 times in each row. 



" 2. June 7th and 8th, cultivated it as before, 

 thinning it down to four stalks, and if a hill had 

 less, left enough stalks around it to make up 

 the deficiency. Gave it a thorough hoeing, that, 

 is, chopped away the old hill and gave it fresh 

 ground, cutting up every spear of grass. 



" 3. Ploughed it with shovel ploughs June 



