156 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
IMPROVEMENT OF CORN, WHEAT, &c. 
Ta the Editor of the American Farmer: 
I hacj the pleasure, a few days ago, of show- 
ing you a couple of stalks of corn, eack contain- 
ing seven perfect ears. They were taken from 
a field of twenty five acres, on the farm ol Gen. 
T. M. Forman, of Cecil county, Md. and were 
a fair sample of the crop. General Forman 
informed me that he had many years ago adopt- 
ed the plan of selecting his seed corn, always 
taking it from the stalks that have the greatest 
number of perfect ears; and that by continuing 
this practice he has brought his corn to the high 
quality represented by the specimens alluded to. 
This has been uniformly the result with all who 
have perseveringly practiced it. The first, I be- 
lieve, to do so, was Mr. Cooper of New Jersey, 
forty or fifty years since; then the “Maryland 
twin corn” was produced by some gentlemen on 
the Eastern Shore; then the Baden corn was 
announced, and the Mercer corn, also; all were 
produced in the same way. General Forman 
intends to measure an acre, which shall be a 
fair sample of the whole field, and let us know 
the quantity of shelled corn it shall have pro- 
duced; this will enable our farmers to compare 
the product of this corn with that of the com- 
mon kinds. 
A word or two on the utility of attending to 
such things by our farmers. The wonder is 
that every body does not do it, and the only rea- 
son I can suggest for its not being done, is, that 
people are not generally aware, that all kinds of 
plants may be improved by careful attention to 
just as much as animals are. There 
are at this day very few farmers so ignorant as 
not to know that their horses, cattle, sheep and 
hogs, are wonderfully improved by a judicious 
selection of breeders. You will scarcely find 
a farmer now that does not improve his stock 
by this means. I need not enlarge on this fact. 
But where are thev that improve their corn and 
wheat, and rye and oats, in the same wayl — 
They are only found here and there, and so sel- 
dom, that they are considered prodigies. Every 
body, almost, when he wants an improved arti- 
cle of this kind, purchases some celebiatedkind 
lor trial, which may or may not be what is re- 
presented, or may or may not suit his soil or his 
climate; but never thinks of improving what he 
has already got. No one ever thinks of cross- 
ing the breed of his corn, wheat, rye or oats, 
and thus improving them; and very few even 
take the trouble of selecting the best of that 
which they have for seed. Let me assure our 
farmers that they can improve their corn and all 
other crops by cross breeding, just as easily as 
they can their animals. They can change the 
size and color of the cob; make the corn early 
or late, yellow or white, soft or flinty; all by 
cross breeding, with no cost and very little trouble. 
Generally, all that is done to impioveour 
crops is by manuring the lane and cultivating 
■the growing plants. Now for a moment let us 
see how it would do in improving animals, 
merely to feed them well and give them good 
stabling, paying no attention at all to the selec- 
tion of breeders. All will admit that stock rais- 
ed and kept in this way would soon “run out,” 
no matter how good it may have been, at the be- 
* ginning. Well, what is high feeding of stock 
but analagous to high manuring of landl The 
one feeds the cattle, the other feeds the crops; 
neither does any thing more than supply the 
wants of the individual animal or plant. It 
does not and cannot change the character or 
quality of its progeny. When feeding, either 
of plants or animals, does all it can, it does no 
'n.ore than simply keep the individuals as they 
•were, in reference to their natures — it generally 
produces a good crop, or a fat animal, and that 
fs all. 
“But,” I anticipate I shall be asked, “Aow are 
we to improve our com, wheat, &c. by cross 
breeding!” 
Wheat, rye and oats may all be treated alike 
— and the process given for one will answer for 
all. Take several good kinds of wheat, bald 
headed and bearded, blue stem, purple stem, red 
and white, five or si.'c kinds in all; mix them to- 
gether thoroughly, and sow the parcel in some 
good ground at a considerable distance from 
any other wheat field. At harvest lime go into 
the field and select the best heads, those that are 
largest, best filled, and that contain the best 
grains, on the shoilest and lobust stalks, and 
keep the seed for another year’s sowing. The 
next year at harvest make the same selection 
for seed. Continue this selection for two or 
three years, and then you will find you will 
have a wonderfully improved variety ol wheat. 
But to keep the quality of this new wheat up to 
its standard, and even to continue the improve- 
ment, you ought always to select a quantity lor 
the succeeding year’s sowing in the same way. 
This is not as troublesome as at first sight it 
appears to be. A half a bushel or a bushel of 
seed wheat may easily be selected in this way 
in a few hours — hours that possibly might not 
have been devoted to tts profitable employment. 
I he cross breeding of corn requires a little 
more trouble. You have an excellent kind ol' 
corn, but it is late in maturing and has rather a 
large cub. Select some other kind of corn that 
ripens as early as you desire, and has the right 
sized cob. Plant your late kind as early in the 
spring as you can, in every alternate hill, leav- 
ing the other hills vacant. At a later period, 
say 20 to 30 days later, (according to the difler- 
ence between the two kinds,) plant the vacant 
hills with the early corn. The place of the ex- 
periment should be remote from any other corn 
field. Cultivate both in the usual way, until 
you observe the tassels of the early kind begin- 
ning to push. Then carelully cut out all the 
tassels of this early kind — do nothing to the late 
kind. Watch carefully and cut out all lassels 
as they appear from this Rind. When the corn 
is ripe, select all the good ears of the early kind 
for next year’s planting. Plant this selected 
seed in the usual way the second year, and when 
ripe select the best ears of the earliest lipening. 
You will find in these ears a variety of grains 
in shape and color, and of different quality— 
there will be grains resembling both original pa- 
rent slocks. Now select the grains that suit 
you. All the grains will produce a small cob 
and early corn; but some of the grain on the 
cobs may be small and inferior like the original 
parent; therefore on this the third year, select 
the grains. Generally this third planting will 
establish the variety; but the better v ay is to 
continue to select your seed every year. You 
may now select seed with a view to inci easing 
the number of ears to the stalk; but take care 
to avoid selecting small ears simply because 
there are many on the sialk. If you find a stalk 
with three lull sized ears, it is better to take 
them than those from a stalk that has four small 
ones. 
By these means corn is susceptible of almost 
any degree of improvement and change of char- 
acter; and I am fully satisfied that there is no 
one branch of agriculture that would so well 
pay for the s.nall amount of labor and atten- 
tion required. 
Salting Horses.— A curious fact is men- 
tioned in Parker’s Treaties on Salt. “A person 
who kept sixteen farming horses, made the fol- 
lowing experiment with seven of them which 
had been accustomed to eat salt with their food. 
Lumps of rock salt were laid in their mangers, 
and these lumps, previously weighed, were ex- 
amined weekly, to ascertain what quantity had 
been consumed, and it was repeatedly found 
that whenever these horses w'ere fed on hay and 
corn, they consumed only about or 3 ounces 
per day; but that when they Avere fed with new 
hay, they took six ounces per day.” This 
should convince us of the expediency of per- 
mitting our cattle the free use of salt at all times; 
an ' it cannot be given in so convenient a form 
as rock salt, it being much more palatable than 
the other article in a refined state, and by far 
cheaper. A good lump should always be kept 
in a box by the side of the animal, without fear 
that it will be taken to excess. — Selected. 
MR. EVERETT’S SPEECH. 
Agriculture — its importance — necessity and march 
of improvement. 
Hon. Edward Everett, our Embassador at the 
British Court, was a guest at the annual dinner 
of the Royal Agricultural Society, at Derby, 
July 14lh, when upon his health being proposed 
by the Chairman, Earl Spencer, he responded in 
the following speech, which embodies truths of 
which too many professed statesmen are una- 
ware. We bespeak for them a consideration 
and due application by our own countrymen. 
Mr. Everett, upon rising to return thanks, was 
received with loud and long-continued cheering.. 
He said — My lord and gentlemen, 1 assure a'ou 
without affectation, that when 1 consider the 
kind manner in which you, my lord, have spo- 
ken of me and my country, I am almost over- 
powered by my feelings, and want words to ex- 
press them. (Cheers.) 
Such a notice, from such a company, of my- 
self and my country, from the intelligent assem- 
bly of English noblemen, and gentlemen and 
yeomen — from you, my lord, v ho have borne 
the flag of your country with honor on the sea — 
(cheers) and who sustain a position of such im- 
pcrtancC and respectability on shore — sir, I 
Avant AA’ords to thank you as 1 ought. Y'ou have 
done me no more than justice, I assure you, in 
ascribing to me the kindliest feelings toAvards 
the land of my fathers. (Cheers.) My lord, I 
am a great believer in the efficacy of race and 
blood. 1 do not think it is confined to the ques- 
tion of Short Horns and Herefords, and South 
Downs and Leicesters. I believe in the race of 
men as well as in the inferior animals.(Cheers.) 
Attached as I am, ardently, passionately, to my 
oAvn country, desirous to strain every nerve in 
her service, and, if need be, shed every drop of 
blood in her defence — (cheers) — I yet rejoice 
that my ancestors wmre the countrymen of your 
ancestors. My lord, the sound of my native 
language beyond the sea is music in my ears. 
(Cheers.) I do rejoice that when I speak my 
OAvn mother ^tongue 1 speak in the mother 
tongue also of a kindred people like that of 
yourselves — (cheers) — and, my lord, if there is 
any occasion — if there is any meeting that 
ought to bring us together as brethren, is it not 
a meeting of those devoted to the great parent 
art, the common interest of civilized [nations'? 
Oh, my lord, I believe that if one-thousandth 
part of the energy, of the skill, of the treasure 
that have been expended by rival nations in the 
deadly struggle of Avhat is called “the field,” had 
been employed in a generous emulation to see 
who would excel the other in the arts of peace, 
[cheers] I believe my lord, if this had been 
done, your fathers would have driven us diplo- 
matists out c f the field (cheers); at any rate you 
would leave us very little to do in mariying on 
angry international discussions. You have 
been pleased to allude to the important com- 
mercial connection between our two countries; 
it is important, and most earnestly and heartily 
do I wish it might become more so. (Cheers.) 
But there is a thought on the subject ■v’hich has 
struck me, since I listened to your lordship’s in- 
structive speech last evening, illustrating the in- 
calculable importance of agricultural pursuits. 
The commerce betvv’een our two countries is 
the largest that is carried on between any two 
countries on the face of the globe. The annual 
commerce between Great Brain and the United 
Stales is nearly twofold that which you carry on 
with any other people. The entire annual 
movement of this commerce both waj’s — your 
exports to the United States — your imports from 
the United States — either of them singly being 
twice as great as your commerce with any other 
nation. And yet what think you it amounts to? 
About as much as the annual crop of oats and 
beans in Great Britain. [Cheers.] I take the 
fact from the instructive essay of your worthy 
colaborateur, Mr. Pusey. 
One more fact to show the importance of 
your agriculture. The whole foreign commerce 
of Great Britain, in pursuit of which you over- 
shadow the ocean with your fleets, and plant 
