1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
179 
better than on the other, though the preparation 
and manuring were otherwise precisely alike. 
Indian corn is equally sensitive to incidental con¬ 
ditions. We sometimes get a great crop when we 
expect a poor one, and still more frequently we get 
a poor one, when we expect a good one. The 
Squire, last year, had a wonderfully line piece of 
corn on an old pasture that the year previous was 
completely covered with thistles. There was noth¬ 
ing peculiar about the treatment. The land was 
carefully plowed in the fall, with a jointer-plow, 
harrowed thoroughly with a Randall Pulverizer, and 
the corn planted in hills 31 feet apart. The corn 
came up well, grew well, and continued to grow. 
In July, I passed the field one day and could hardly 
believe that such a crop could be grown on such 
land. But there it was, a dark-green, luxuriant 
mass of vegetable growth, the admiration of all. 
Such a crop is calculated to enforce the im¬ 
portance of the right mechanical condition of the 
soil and of planting in good season. 
“ I am glad to hear you say that,” said the Dea¬ 
con. “ You would make a better farmer if you 
would get rid of your chemical nonsense.” 
“ I am not so sure of that,”‘said I, “ but the corn 
crop is certainly well * calculated to teach an agri¬ 
cultural chemist humility.” 
Of course corn cannot grow without food. But 
the main practical point is to get the soil dry, 
warm, fine, and mellow, with the requisite degree of 
moisture to cause a prompt germination of the seed. 
In corn growing a “good start is half the race.” 
Mr. Crozier’s plan of raising com on ridges with 
manure underneath,as turnips are grown in England, 
can never be generally adopted here. Our seasons 
are too short, and work is too pressing. In this 
section nine-tenths of our corn is planted on sod 
land on which the plan cannot be adopted. 
Last year the Deacon planted on sod, and I plant¬ 
ed in the adjoining field on stubble, the land hav¬ 
ing been in corn the previous year. The Deacon 
beat me very decidedly, though I had a fair crop. 
“ Corn almost always does better,” said the Dea¬ 
con, “on sod land than on stubble land, and 1 do 
not believe in your plan of raising com after corn.” 
“Neither do I, as a rule, but the land was foul, 
and I wanted to cultivate it two years in succession 
in hopes of getting rid of the weeds and making 
the land mellow. When I get the land down in 
clover and grass again, I hope to see the good 
effect of this two year’s thorough cultivation.” 
I adopted a plan last year which worked even 
better than I expected. My land varies greatly. 
SAND - CLAY | SAND 
SAND ft -- CLAV -^ SAND 
B 
Eig. 1.— PLAN OF PLOWING. 
Three-fourths of a field may be sandy and one 
fourth rather a heavy loam. On these “clay-spots” 
it is almost impossible to get the seed to germinate. 
They need to be plowed and harrowed and rolled 
again and again to get them into a fine mellow con¬ 
dition. We have not time to go over the whole 
field, and if we had, the extra work on the lighter 
portions of the field is entirely unnecessary, and so 
I adopted the following plan : We prepared the 
field for planting, and then marked it out in rows, 
3i feet apart. Then we took a plow with a good 
point on it, so that it would take hold of the hard 
soil, and put it in six or seven inches deep at a, on 
the left-hand side of the mark, and about seven 
inches from the mark, and threw up a good fur¬ 
row as far as the clay-spots extended. When we 
came to the lighter parts of the field, that were al¬ 
ready fine and mellow, we turned again at B, and 
threw the furrow back again into its place. In this 
way we plowed 14 or 15 inches of the land directly 
under where the com was to be planted. Figure 
1 may assist in giving an idea of the plan. 
After the plow, the roller was passed along the 
furrows, and pressed them down; and, when neces¬ 
sary to crush all the lumps, we also ran the roller 
across the furrows. The land was thus left almost 
as flat as if it had not been thrown up. Mark 
out the rows again, if necessary; but as we drill 
in our corn with a grain-drill, this was not needed. 
The Deacon still sticks to his plan of planting in 
hills 3}4 feet apart each way. Sometimes I do so 
also ; but the temptation to put the crop in with a 
drill is so strong, that three years out of four I 
drill in the com. It is quick work, and you can put 
in the seed as fast as the land is prepared; but with 
hills, you must get the whole field ready and mark¬ 
ed one way, before you can begin to plant at all. 
I have not fully made up my mind as to which is 
the better plan. If the land is rich and smooth, 
I think drilling will give fully as much sound corn, 
and at least one-quarter more stalks, and of better 
quality. But on rough land it is a decided advan¬ 
tage to he able to cultivate the land both ways. 
“ I know,” said the Deacon, “ that you will claim 
that it is no more work to keep the land clean, but 
at any rate you will admit that it is more work to 
cut up the drilled com than corn in hills.” 
This is true, but I am in hopes that we shall soon 
cut up our corn with a self-raking and self-binding 
reaper, that will tie it in bundles which can be con¬ 
veniently loaded on a wagon and drawn to a ten- 
horse power steam husking-machine, that will go 
round from farm to farm. But we may have to 
wait a few years longer for this. 
A correspondent asks me to give my plan of rais¬ 
ing mangel-wurzel. I have not time to do so now. 
The best plan for him to adopt, I think, is to plow 
under a good coat of rich, well-rotted manure. Or 
if he has not enough manure, sow say 400 lbs. of 
nitrate of soda and 200 lbs. of superphosphate per 
acre ; or 500 lbs. of rectified Peruvian guano, con¬ 
taining 10 per cent, of ammonia. If he is anxious 
to raise a great crop, he may double the quantity. 
If sod land, I would plow under the bam-yard 
manure, and sow the artificial manures on the sur¬ 
face and harrow them in very thoroughly. And do 
not forget to roll the land. This is very important. 
Then mark out the land in rows, 26 to 30 inches 
apart. Then with a dibble, make holes, from one 
to two inches deep, and 12 to 15 inches apart in 
the rows, and drop in two or three mangel-seeds, 
and go over the piece again with a roller. This is 
all. It is less trouble than you may suppose. 
This plan saves seed ; it is less work to thin out 
and hoe the crop ; and you can soak all the seed in 
soft water for 24 or 36 hours before planting. This 
in itself is a great advantage, for if the ground is 
mellow, the plants will be up in a few days, and you 
can get the start of the weeds. When drilled in, 
you cannot soak the seeds, and if the land is dry, 
the seeds may not start for two or three weeks. 
“ If you soak the seeds, they may germinate, and 
then die for want of moisture,” said the Deacon. 
“ True, but I would rather take this risk, as you 
can plant again, or what is still better, set out cab¬ 
bage plants, as soon as the rain comes.” 
“I can indorse that idea,” said the Deacon, “for 
you had a noble lot of cabbage last year that you 
set out among the mangels. But it is not always as 
easy to sell cabbage as it was this winter.” 
“We did not raise them to sell, “I said, “but 
set them out for the ewes and lambs, or cows, in 
spring. They brought such a high price, however, 
in market, that I sold the best of them. In raising 
cabbage for stock, the mistake we have made is in 
planting the large varieties. Size has a wonderful 
attraction ; but I have become thoroughly disgusted 
with the very name of Mammoth Cabbage and 
Giant Mangels. We want solid heads of cabbage, 
and firm, smooth mangels, that will keep until June. 
In other words, we want 
quality, rather than quan¬ 
tity. The farmer who is 
going to raise two or three 
acres of mangel-wurzel, 
should sow an ounce or 
more of some good varie¬ 
ty of winter cabbage. He 
will then have plants to 
fill up vacancies, and if 
there are no vacancies, 
he can usually dispose off= 
the plants, or set them 
out by themselves. If not 2-— dibble. 
wanted in market, the ewes and lambs, or cows, 
Will be very grateful for them next spring. 
I used to make a dibble with five or six pegs in 
it, but I find that you can do the work easier and 
' just as fast with one that has only three pegs in it. 
It can be made in a few minutes. Take a piece of 
pine scantling, 2x2, and 33 inches long. Bore a 
#-inch hole in the centre, and another hole on each 
side, 15 inches apart. Put a rake or hoe handle in 
the center hole, and a couple of pegs in the other 
holes, and let them project 2)< to 3 inches below. 
Sharpen to a rather blunt point, and it is ready. 
As before said, the ground should be marked out 
in rows. You take the dibble in the right hand, or 
in both hands, and go along the row, striking the 
three pegs into the soil, and thus making holes 
along the row, 15 inches apart. This is my rule, 
but if you prefer 12 inches, I have no objection. 
As soon as you can see a plant, strike the hoe 
boldly on each side. You are sure that there are 
no plants for a foot on each side. In drilling, I usu¬ 
ally put on 8 lbs. of seed per acre. In dibbling, 
2 to 3 lbs. is enough. The America-grown seed is 
much larger than the imported, and more pounds, 
or rather, more quarts are required per acre. 
In drilling, this should be borne in mind. Better 
put on too much seed, than too little. There are 
two or three kernels in each seed. By cutting them 
with a sharp knife, you can see if the seed is good. 
If the plants come up well, and the land is rich, 
you are almost certain of a good crop, provided 
you thin out to one plant in a place, and keep the 
land clear with the hoe and cultivator. 
One word more. If you raise mangels at all, put 
in a good many. It does not pay to put in a few 
rods. You want enough to feed liberally. From 
the first of March to the middle or end of May I 
give my sheep and cows and pigs nearly all they 
will eat, but give them a plenty of other food as well. 
Improvement in Harvesting Machinery. 
The most surprising thing we have recently 
seen in the way of agricultural machinery, was a 
•MECHANISM OF WHITELY’S MOWER. 
mower shown at the Centennial Exhibition last 
year, working admirably without any visible 
gearing. Indeed, one might very well say that 
the machine was without gearing; for on close 
examination a single pair of cog-wheels only 
was found, snugly hidden and encased in a 
tight box. This machine was favorably referred 
to in our reports of the Exhibition made at the 
time, and a personal trial of it since then in 
the field, only confirmed our high opinion of 
it. The machine, of which a general view is 
given in the illustration on the next page, 
known as Whitely’s Champion Haymaker, is 
peculiar in having adopted .a most important 
and yet simple novelty in mechanics, by 
which the following useful effects are produced. 
The draft is remarkably light, because the 
absence of the usual gearing reduces the fric¬ 
tion to a minimum. The work is so free from 
noise and clatter, that the machine, at work 
twenty feet away, is scarcely heard by an ob¬ 
server. Strength and durability are secured in 
