THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



II 



clever theories, written by intelligent, well 

 educated young men, ignorant only of the sub- 

 ject on which they discourse, we receive the 

 greatest abundance; but from the practical 

 farmer who understands his business, and no- 

 thing else, we never hear. We know that to 

 such men writing is a laborious business, but 

 for the sake of the cause to which they are 

 devoted, they ought to encounter it: they alone 

 who know how to cultivate the soil, are for 

 our purposes well educated, and they alone 

 can enlighten each other and the world upon 

 this subject. He is the most learned agricul- 

 turist, even if he does not know how to read 

 or write, who can make the most crop with 

 the least means. No matter under what garb 

 he may appear, whether as prince or peasant, 

 learned or not, the successful farmer receives 

 the homage of our praise when we speak in 

 reference only to the science of agriculture. 

 Upon this subject it is the successful man 

 whose knowledge we want. There are a 

 plenty of people already in Virginia who make 

 a barrel of corn to the acre; we want to hear 

 from the man who makes eight or ten; and he 

 whose land is' deteriorating, whose stock is 

 starving whilst his crops are growing "small 

 by degrees and beautifully less," no matter 

 how well his periods may be rounded, is re- 

 spectfully requested to seek some other me- 

 dium for the propagation of the practice which 

 he pursues. It is no better than an imposition 

 for a man who invariably makes bad crops, 

 to appear in the columns of an agricultural 

 journal, except for the purpose of asking ad- 

 vice. With these opinions, we shall leave 

 crude guesses, formed in the absence of all 

 real knowledge, to ingenious philosophers and 

 flashy young gentlemen just from college, and 

 seek to instruct our subscribers with the facts 

 that well attested experiments are daily de- 

 veloping in the art of agriculture. Will our 

 readers assist us in this design] 



teen and one-tenth barrels of corn, although 

 it had suffered severely from drought in 

 the month of August last. From twenty 

 acres of the lot, from which this acre was 

 taken, there was an average yield of twelve 

 barrels. Mr. R. says: 



As I have stated the quantity made, I 

 feel it due from me to give the mode of 

 j cultivation. The land, a clover ley, was 

 j followed in the month of April, about se- 

 ven inches deep, without manure, checked 

 j off a fraction over four feet apart each 

 j way, the corn soaked over night in water, 

 j rolled the next morning with plaster, and 

 ! planted on the 1 3th day of May — after 

 | planting, the drag harrow was passed over 

 between each of the rows to prevent the 

 com being washed out of the hills by 

 heavy, rains. When about knee high it 

 was thinned, leaving three stalks in the 

 : hill, though there were many hills in 

 which there were but two stalks. The 

 j after cultivation was with the cultivator 

 at four different times, twice in each row, 

 I which is all the cultivation of any kind 

 it received. When the corn began to tas- 

 sel, it was slightly sprinkled with plaster. 



PROLIFIC YIELD OF CORN. 



Mr, Jos. K. Roberts, of Prince George's 

 county, Maryland, in a communication to 

 the Editor of the Gazette, states that he 

 made last year on an acre of land, four- 



WORKING CAST STEEL. 



We have recently obtained information 

 on this subject, from the most skilful and 

 celebrated workman in the United States, 

 Capt. J. Hill, of Billerica, Massachusetts. 

 We were a little surprised to learn the 

 difference in the management of cast steel, 

 from that of the German. There is some- 

 thing yet remaining mysterious with re- 

 gard to the nature and management of 

 this article, which no cyclopedia or other 

 vehicle of intelligence have as yet devel- 

 oped. The process of manufacturing cast 

 steel, it is not our purpose at present to 

 describe ; but it is evidently composed of 

 refined iron and carbon in very nice pro- 

 portions. . In the process of shaping it 

 into cutting blades and other articles, it is 

 heated and hammered in the manner of 

 other steel: when tempered for this pur- 

 pose, it is first heated to a full cherry red, 

 and plunged into water till cold. It may 

 then be held over a moderate charcoal 

 fire, until the color of any part which has 



