THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
45 
boasting how mach they have planted in a dc.y, 
when, by planting the grain together, they lose 
moie than would pay for many dav^s work. 
We do not expect that every man will raise a 
hundred and fifty bushels of corn to the acre, 
even should he'use every reasonable effort. — 
There are too many concurring circumstances, 
all of a fortunate kind, required to make such 
crops common ; but that any good soil, skilfully 
cultivated, may be made to give 70 or 80 as a 
medium crop, we fully believe. Fewer acres 
planted, and those better manured and tended, 
would, we are confident, much increase the corn 
crop of the country, as well as the profits of the 
farmer. 
From the American Farmer. 
LARGE CROPS OF CORN. 
Corn planters, who are in the habit of grow- 
ing from four to six barrels of corn to the acre, 
are very incredulous as to the possibility of rais- 
ing a hundred bushels to the acre; and yet there 
are a thousand instances of the fact recorded 
from time to time in our journal. Could we 
spare the time and space, we could fill a dozen 
papers wuth such facts, well attested ; but, as 
we have neither at our disposal, we shall con- 
tent oursetf for the present by copying the fol- 
lowing article from the Albany Cultivator. Its 
re-publication should, and we trust will, excite 
a laudable spirit of rivalry, as what one man has 
done another may do : 
The great crop of the United States, whether 
we look at quantity or value, is unquestionably 
our corn crop. Four hundred and fifty millions 
of bushels in 1840, and probably 500 millions in 
1842, show the importance of this grain to us. 
And yet the quantitj" now grown is nothing, a 
taere drop in "the bucket, compared with what 
we might do, should circumstances render it ad- 
visable to increase the production to an extent 
that might easily be reached on the present cul- 
tivated lands of the Union, la order to show at 
a glance what might be done, we have taken the 
pains to collect a few instances of good crops 
that have been grown among us, and would re- 
mark that on a very large portion of our soils, 
in favorable seasons, and with the cultivation 
com should receive, crops like the ones named 
may as well be grown as inferior ones. It is 
true, we now and then meet with a farmer or 
writer who asserts that no man ever saw 75 
bushels of coin grow , on an acre, and that the 
farmer should be contented with 25 ; but the on- 
ly emotions excited by such are contempt for 
theignoiant confidence shown, and pity that in 
this country men should be found so far behind 
the times. 
w . 
C tn 
. V 
C y 
1 Product 
Iper acre 
Whole 
product. [ 
Name and place of cultivator. 
Year. 
1 
13q 
136 
R H Rose, Silver hake, Penn. 
18-20 
1 
IIS 
118 
John Stevens. Hoboken, N. J. 
ls20 
i 
17-21 
172 
J & M Pratt, Madison, N. Y. 
1822 
4 
170 
690 
*< u u 
1824 
1 
13-2 
132 
Sam’l Chidse-v, Cavusa, “ 
1819 
8 
112 
00 
Earl Stimson, Saialoga, “ 
1823 
1 
174 
174 
B Bartlett, Eaton, Mad. co., N. Y 
1823 
I 
116 
116 
T.& 11 Little, Newburyp’t, Mass. 
1822 
1 
115 
115 
1823 
1 
14-2 
142 
Mr. Wilinarth, Taunton, Mass. 
1825 
5 
108 
540 
Chas Bugbee, Palmer, Mass. 
1831 
1 
140 
140 
Benj Butler, Chenango, N. Y. 
1831 
1-J36 
202 
Henry Sprague, Worcester. Mass. 
1^31 
1 
103 
las 
“Old Farmer,” Rhode Island, 
1833 
1-12 
100 
130 
S Lalhrop, VV. Springfield. Mass. 
1835 
1 
108 
108 
K 11 iSheldon, Cayuga co., N. Y. 
1838 
1 
110 
no 
E Humphreys, Caledonia, N. Y. 
1837 
1 
150 
151. 
Montreal, Canada, 
1838 
1 
131 
131 
R Lamprey, Mouhonboro’, N. H. 
1339 
1 
116 
1 6 
Mr Brown, Strafl'ord, N H 
1839 
1 
130 
130 
P P Pilsbury, Tuftonboro’, NH 
1839 
1 
144 
144 
J F Osborn, Cayuga co , N Y 
1841 
1 
121 
1-21 
J Sherman, Ca)ruga co., N York, 
1341 
1 
112 
112 
(( a (( 
1841 
1 
120 
120 
Mr Ellsworth, Conn. 
1810 
1 
120 
1-20 
W Ingalls, Oswego county, N Y 
1839 
7 
l,-352 
J Myers, Canton, Ohio, 
1840 
1 
1.54 
154 
W Ingafls, Oswego county, N Y 
1840 
2 
116 
23-2 
B Bradley, Bloomfield, N York. 
1841 
1 
122 
\2i 
Samuel Phelps, Cayuga, N York, 
1842 
1 
113 
113 
Wm Ingalls, Oswego, New York, 
1842 
1 
132 
1-32 
W Wilcox, Saratoga, New York, 
1842 
The number of such crops, where the pro- 
duct exceeded 100 bushels per acre, might be 
extended to a great length from the list in our 
possession, but the above is sufficient. — Still 
we imagine some farmers will say, (some have 
said so,) that the man who puts manure and la- 
bor enough on an acre to get 100 bushels of 
corn, is a loser. We would ask how? A man 
may cultivate an acre of corn, and get ,30 bush- 
els an acre, and he will be a loser; but it is 
scarcely possible when the product is 100. In 
such a . ase, all over 30 bushels may be consid- 
ered profit. In addition to this, his acre of land 
is placed in a condition to produce more good 
crops, and the additional amount of these is to 
be added to the list of profits. The man who 
has brought 30 acres of land to such a slate that 
it will produce 100 bushels of corn per acre, is 
far better ofi' than the one who has 100 acres, 
yielding only 25 bushels per acre; and of this 
fa< t we are happy to find many of our farmers 
are beginning to be well convinced. It is unne- 
cessary to say the remarks we have made re- 
specting corn, are equally applicable to any oth- 
er grain or grass, and that the grand secret of 
success is to cultivate no more land than you 
can make rich. 
From the American Agriculturist. 
TOPPING COTTON. 
The December No, of your ever- welcome pa- 
per came to hand ihif day, and amongits useful 
articles, my attention is drawn to that from C. 
McD., of South Carolina. I must first thank 
him for the kind manner in which he has allu- 
ded to my articles on the culture of cotton, as 
published in your work, and acknowledge to all 
whom it may conc.ejn, that I do indeed feel 
hgppy in haying done some good ; of haying 
somewhat returned benefits for the very many I 
have received from farmers and farming papers. 
The amount of knowledge I have gained by 
personal experience is too limited to benefit any 
one; lam therefore indebted to books, papers, 
and men, lor all 1 am able to retail second hand. 
Mr. McD. refers lo the topping of cotton, and 
says he does not recollect that I touched on the 
subject. I did not ; not that 1 thought its ad- 
vantage at allquesfionable, but partly oversight, 
and partly because it was so seldonj resorted to, 
that I feared to be considered as recommending 
anything questionable, thereby injuring the 
utility I hoped to accomplish in the articles 
written for your paper. 
In the summer of 1832,1 think, Mr. John 
Thomas, of South Carolina, visited me, and 
among other practical lessons, he urged on me 
the utility of topping cotton — declaring that it 
would well repay for the time, whether it w’ere 
cotton that would yield only 500 lbs. of seed cot- 
ton, or of that which yielded 2,000 Us. To 
make his declaration as strong to others as to 
myself, I here stale, that this gentleman at the 
date mentioned had some 200 hands, was a cot- 
ton-grower, and had cultivated it for some 20 to 
30 years, on the rich lands of the Congaree, as 
well as higher up the country on Broad river ; 
he was an intelligent man, and truly a warm- 
hearted southerner — he is now no more. 
In consequence of his urging me to try it on a 
small scale, as this country was new to both of 
us, I did so, and have had cause to follow it up 
ever since— sometimes neglecting at the proper 
time, from pressing occupations, or the season. 
I kept no memorandum of the difference, though 
I commenced farming, by keeping notes ; but I 
am confident if followed up, that it will be bene- 
ficial two out of three years ; and on most lands, 
will not injure the third year. I give my reason 
why it may not benefit every year. If the sea- 
son is wet after the time of topping, say from 
the 25th of July to the 5th or 10th of August, 
there will shoot up water sprouts, which will 
shade the under bolls so as to prevent them 
opening well ; it will make a heavy top crop of 
bolls, which will cause the stalk to bend down, 
and if any wind comes with the rain, the stalk 
can not regain its upright position. If the season 
has been very dry, the cotton will pretty much 
cease growing by the time of topping, and will 
not then be advantageous, unless done earlier — 
which, if I ever have another chance, I will try. 
Topping is advantageous for the following 
reasons; the forms or squares, and small bulls, 
will not be cast off so readily, the upper bolls 
will mature sooner, make less leaf to be falling 
on the cotton, and the top bolls, principally, 
will be larger than otherwise. Last year I 
topped cotton on the first day of August— this 
year I did not top at all, owing to the wet sea- 
son. I would not top cotton during a wet year, 
till I had more knowledge on the subject, lor 
fear of the water shoots, hut would not'hesitate 
if a dry one. 
Benefit of Manure for Cotton. — I have 
not seen marl used, but I can satisfy any one 
who doubts the effect of manures for cotton, and 
of cotton-seed especially — that no man ought 
ever to think of leaving a level farm, the house 
and friends of his childhood lo seek rich lands. 
This year has been more favorable for thin 
lands, than usual; but whether for stiff clays is 
rather doubtful ; and whether any manured land 
did better on this account, 1 know not — but here 
is the result. My orchard lot contains 24 acres, 
in which are 4 an acre in grass, J in a flower 
garden, and near | in roads and gin-house ; I 
therefore say there are 23 acres in cotton, 9 of 
which Avere manured with cotton-seed," and 
about one with barnyard manure. From the 
23 acres I have gathered an average of 1,138 
lbs. per acre. The poorest land on the place, 
and the poorest portion was manured ; a part of 
the unmanured, say 4 or 5 acres, could not have 
averaged over 700 lbs. per acre. Tfiis field has 
been in continued cultivation since 1828; has 
on it some 270 peach-trees, 3 years old; 50 
small pear, apple, and cherry, with some 30 
large peach-trees; besides, two rows of morus 
multicaulus, forming- an avenue to the house. 
If the trees w^ere deducted, there would not be 
over 21 acres, which would give me 1,150 lbs, 
on an average ; with enough more, if gathered, 
to make 1,300 Ihs. Another field that is high 
and dry, gently undulating, cleared in 1833 or 
’34, and is much richer land, will not give me 
that average, and was a t no period of its growth 
as good, as was the manured portion. 
Pleasures and Advantages of Remaining 
AT Home. — Let any man “cypher” up the cost 
of moving— the cost of land — the cost of build- 
ing— the cost of clearing— to say nothing of the 
deprivatipns in a country where farms are to 
open — the loss of dear associates — our school- 
mates — and the time required to prepare for 
making money, and I venture on it, no sane 
man will move. I want to see many from those 
(dd countries here ; not that, Indian-] iite, I wish 
them to suffer because 1 have, but that I want 
a thicker-settled country, and more demand for 
land. Yet, -with all this, I would recommend 
them to improve at home where they now are; 
husband their resources ■; study the economy of 
manures, improve agricultural implements, 
stock, seeds, and the best rotation and manage- 
ment of crops. 
Would that man meritaught but opprobrium, 
w*ho would urge his fellows to sever every ten- 
der tie that binds him to “Home, sweet home ;” 
to even the “old oaken bucket;” to the soil; to 
his associates and relatives, for the purpose of 
getting richer land, -wffiich, wffien cleared and 
cultivated, as is now done, will cause the young 
flock to wander again — and, in reality, only- 
serve to support one generation ? I say nay, 
and therefore urge it on our brother farmer, C. 
McD., as on all others in that good old State, to 
make it a part of their regular business to save, 
gather, and make manure ; they will find that 
three years ol labor, with the cost and loss of 
moving, will give them such lands, that they 
will cling to the “old south state,” even if they 
live in the “Peedee country— God bless 3 -ou.” 
Leieis’s Letters. — 1 have justfinished read- 
ing Leibig’s Familiar Letters, and a capital fine 
thing it is, I wish it had been published prior 
to his other works, as I think it would have been 
more generally beneficial ; whereas, many who 
