THE CULTIVATOR. 
43 
means-that would incorporate it with the soil, that ne¬ 
cessity did not urge for the accomplishment of other ob¬ 
jects. The change was the fruit of a doubt of the ulti¬ 
mate utility of using lime to hasten the decomposition 
of vegetable matter contained in soil under regular cul¬ 
tivation, and that this questionable advantage was all I 
conceived I had to place against the known and certain 
result, that by so applying it, it would be converted in¬ 
to carbonate at the expense of a material contained in 
the soil that there was, or in future would become, ca¬ 
pable of supporting a vegetable; and that so far as it 
could be converted into a carbonate, before mixed with 
the soil, was clear gain; and I regard my experience as 
having fully sustained the conclusion.” 
To render Cora prolific. 
It seems to be a great desideratum with farmers, 
to plant that variety of corn which will produce the 
most ears on a stock. This criterion of a good varie¬ 
ty is deceptive, and passes for more than it is worth; 
and withal leads to a neglect of the main point which 
should engage the farmer’s attention. It is not the 
number of ears on a stock, but the number of bushels on 
an acre, that should be the first aim of the grower ; 
and this depends not so much on variety, as upon rich¬ 
ness of the soil. Corn, like cattle, will produce ac¬ 
cording to the food which is consumed ; and if this 
food is not in the soil, it matters little how many ears 
grow upon a stock, the product will be in the ratio 
of the food : if there are many ears, they will be com¬ 
paratively small; if but few, comparative large, in 
proportion to the richness of the soil. An acre of 
good pasture will carry, say five sheep, through the 
season, and fit them for the butcher ; but if the acre 
is made to carry ten sheep, they cannot thrive, and 
will not be fit for the butcher. And again—if the 
acre of pasture is poor and light, the five sheep put 
upon it will be stinted in food, and will not thrive. The 
gain in the sheep will be in proportion to the quanti¬ 
ty of herbage they convert into mutton and wool. So 
with corn. The roots of this grain, like the sheep, 
range over the whole pasture of a field, gather the 
nutriment which it contains, and this is transmuted 
into grain and forage; the aggregate of which is not 
very dissimilar, whether the ears are three, two or 
one upon a stock, provided due regard is had in plant¬ 
ing to the habits of the variety—so that the pasture 
be fed off clean, without being overstocked. We have 
frequently observed, that we have more ears upon a 
stock on the borders of our corn field, and where the 
intervals are large between the hills, or some of the 
stalks deficient, than we have in the centre of the 
field, or where the planting is close ; and that the size 
of the ears, or the aggregate of the product, is always 
in proportion to the richness of the soil, and the ex¬ 
cellence of its cultivation. The atmosphere undoubt¬ 
edly contributes essentially to the food of the corn 
crop, Where the surface of the soil is kept clean, open 
and permeable to it. The fermentation of long dung, 
in the soil, and the frequent use of the cultivator, 
tend to keep it in this favorable condition. There is 
no danger of gorging or injuring the corn crop with 
long manure, if it is spread and buried with the 
plough ; nor are its fertilizing properties so much im¬ 
paired, in using it for corn, potatoes and ruta baga, 
in this way, as they are by the system of summer- 
yarding it, so generally adopted in some counties ly¬ 
ing west of Albany. 
The remarks which we have made upon Indian 
corn, tending to show, that the product depends es¬ 
sentially upon the quantity of food which it finds in the 
soil for its subsistence, applies, with greater or less 
force, to all farm crops. The economy of manage¬ 
ment depends upon the -judgment of the farmer in 
adapting the food, both as regards quality and quan¬ 
tity, to the wants of the particular crop. But let us 
not be misapprehended on one point: unfermented 
dung should not be used for the small grain or other 
crops which ripen at mid-summer—until it has been 
first prepared apd fitted for them, by the autumn¬ 
ripening crops, as corn, potatoes, ruta baga, &c. 
These latter subsist principally upon the gaseous and 
volatile portions of the manure, which are first disen¬ 
gaged from the mass in the process of fermentation, 
and which are rather deleterious to the former, at the 
season when they are maturing their seeds. 
Another criterion which some farmers consider as 
essential to a good variety, is smallness of cob. So 
far as this conduces to the early and perfect drying of 
the grain, it is entitled to weight, but no further. The 
objection to a large cob was answered by a gentle¬ 
man, by asking the objector, whether it required most 
cloth to make him or his son a vest, pointing to a boy 
standing by his side 1 The circumference of a cob 
two inches in diameter, will contain double the quan¬ 
tity of grain that a cob of one inch in diamater will 
contain. 
There is no doubt but the habits of corn change 
with change of climate ; or in other words, that the 
dwarf northern varieties, when taken to the south, in 
a few years become acclimated, and assume the tall 
growth of the south. It is hence advisable, that where 
early maturity is desired, as it seems to be in our la¬ 
titude, seed should be occasionally procured from the 
north. Another means of preserving the early ripen¬ 
ing properties, is to select for seed the ears which ri¬ 
pen first. We have raised the Dutton corn, obtained 
from the green mountains of Vermont, for sixteen 
years ; and yet, taking care to save for seed the ear¬ 
liest matured ears, we are not sensible that it ripens 
much, if any, later now than it did when we first plant¬ 
ed it 
Varieties of Indian Com. 
Dr. Brown, in an essay lately published in the Far¬ 
mer’s Cabinet, enumerates thirty-five varieties of In¬ 
dian corn which he has in his cabinet. He divides 
them into five classes besides sub-classes. We give 
the names, as well for future reference, as matter o f 
curiosity. 
A. YELLOW CORN. 
A. a. No. 1. Genuine gourd seed, of 24 rows ; No. 
2, of 22 rows ; 3, of 20 rows ; 4, of 18 rows ; 5, of 
16 rows ; 6, of 14 rows ; 7, of 12 rows. 
A. b. No. 8. King Philip Indian corn, 8 rows. 
A. c. No. 9. Sioux, or early flint, 12 rows ; 10, 
Sioux of Pennsylvania, 12 rows ; 11, Sioux and gourd 
seed mixed, 16 rows. 
B. WHITE INDIAN CORN. 
B. a. White flint. No. 12, genuine white flint, 
12 rows, Virginia ; 13, white flint, 10 rows ; 14, ear¬ 
ly white flint. 
B. b. White flour. No. 15, from Peru, 8 rows ; 
16, Pennsylvania, 8 rows, called Smith’s early white ; 
17, New-Jersey, 8 rows ; 18, New-York, 10 rows. 
B. a. and B. b. No. 19, Mandan Indian corn, a 
mixture of 12 and 15. 
B. c. No. 20, early sugar or sweet corn, 12 rows, 
grains shrunken. 
C. HAEMETITE, OR BLOOD-RED INDIAN CORN. 
No. 21. .Common sized, 12 rows and red cob. 
No. 22. Red cob with white grains. 
No. 23. Reb cob with yellow grains. 
No. 24. Red cob with brown grains. 
No. 25. Red cob with white gourd seed. 
No. 26. Red cob with gourd seed and yellow flint. 
No. 27. White cob with yellow grain. 
No. 28. Speckled red and yellow grains, on a white 
cob. 
No. 29. The same on a red cob. 
No, 30. Dwarf haemetite, commonly called Guinea 
corn. 
D. BLUE CORN. 
No. 31. Blue corn, 10 rows. 
E. No. 32. The corn of Texas; each grain is in¬ 
closed in a pod or husk, and the ear in a husk. 
No. 33. Corn found in the envelope of a Mexican 
mummy. 
No. 34. Cobbett corn, grown in England. 
No. 35. The famous Dutton corn. 
We take the liberty of adding to the above list five 
other varieties in our possession, seemingly not em¬ 
braced therein, viz: 
1. Lake Superior corn, ears six inches, 12 row's, 
reddish brown color, said to be very early—from S. 
Robinson. 
2. Squaw corn, 8 rows, blue grain, also early. 
3. Corn from Trieste, on the Adriatic—ears six in¬ 
ches, and semi-conical, 12 and 14 rows, orange yel¬ 
low. 
4. Rice corn, ears four inches, grains like rice, and 
ears four inches long. 
5. A yellow 12 rowed corn, from Vermont, ears 
considerably smaller than the Dutton. 
Dr. Brown gives four criteria, the three first from 
Mr. Taylor, which should be regarded in selecting 
our seed corn, viz : 1, The most stalk ; 2, the largest 
cob; 3, longest grain; and 4, early growth and quick 
culture. The reason for the first is, that a man can 
gather more grain, stalk, blade, top, shuck and cob, of 
large than he can of small stalks. This quality would 
not be so highly esteemed in the north ; for tall large 
growing would be here late ripening corn ; and be¬ 
sides, corn of this description will not bear planting 
so thick, and consequently will not yield so much per 
acre, as varieties of more diminutive growth. The 
large cob is preferred, because it gives the most corn. 
3. The longest grain, because it decidedly settles the 
superiority of the farinaceous product. We dissent 
from this conclusion, and think the superiority in fari¬ 
naceous product depends more upon weight than the 
length of the kernel. The Dutton, it will be seen by 
the communication of J. Wright, has weighed 69 lbs. 
the bushels. This has a short kernel; and yet we 
doubt if any long kerneled variety can be found to 
weigh so heavy, or to afford so much nutriment. The 
fourth requisite, early growth and quick culture, is a 
very important one to northern farmers. 
New Agricultural Publications ,—The Practical 
Farmer is the title of an agricultural paper which has 
been commenced at Mechanicsburgh, Pa. to be pub¬ 
lished monthly, on a sheet of 24 pages. The Buck¬ 
eye Plough-Boy, on a 12mo. sheet, has been com¬ 
menced at Cayahokia Falls, Ohio. 
“ Help one another. 5 ’ 
This is an excellent every-day admonition, applica¬ 
ble to all ranks; and if acted upon with brotherly 
kincfness, how much wretchedness and crime would it 
avert—what incalculable blessings would result to so¬ 
ciety. But it is not our present purpose to moralize 
upon the text generally, but merely to illustrate its 
beneficial tendency in its particular application to hus¬ 
bandry. 
“ Help one another ” to do good, was the great max¬ 
im that prompted Sir John Sinclair, in his eminently 
successful labors to multiply the products of his native 
soil. He, more than any other man, effected the es¬ 
tablishment of the British Board of Agriculture, and 
rendered it subservient to the noble purpose of multi¬ 
plying the resources and comforts of his countrymen. 
He was principally instrumental in effecting the grand 
improvements in Scotch husbandry—improvements 
which, in sixty years, have quadrupled the products of 
her soil—which have converted the noisome moss in¬ 
to fields of luxuriant grain, reclaimed the barren heath, 
and covered her hills with herds and flocks. It is no 
stretch of fancy to suppose, that his individual efforts 
to help others, by his example in improvement, by 
enlightening the public mind in rural affairs, and in 
inciting to industrial emulation, and consequently to 
virtue, has annually added millions of wealth to the 
British empire. How many thousand individuals may 
at this day say he has bettered their condition ! how 
many should bless his memory ! How much more use¬ 
ful are the labors of such a man to the human family, 
than those of the chieftain in offensive war, who, at 
the head of armies, devastates towns and provinces, 
slaughters thousands, and reduces their widows and 
and offspring to penury and wretchedness. 
The late Chancellor Livingston was another exam¬ 
ple of the great good which an individual may render to 
society, in rural matters, by acting upon the principle 
—“help one another.” He was among the first and 
most active in efforts to improve our agriculture, by 
introducing new modes of culture, and valuable stock, 
and in illustrating their advantages by his practice 
and his writings. He has been eulogized as a states¬ 
man, a civilian and a patriot; and yet perhaps in no 
department was his usefulness more conspicuous, than 
in the departments of husbandry. IIis disposition to 
help others was a prominent trait in his character, and 
contributed very much, if we mistake not, to raise the 
agriculture of Dutchess to a pitch of excellence, ex¬ 
celling that of any other portion of the union. As an 
agricultural writer, he was not surpassed, in extent or 
usefulness, by any other citizen of the state ; and his 
ample means were liberally employed in demonstrat¬ 
ing the utility of what he recommended. Who will 
pretend to estimate the benefits, in dollars and cents, 
or in human happiness, which have been produced, by 
his individual exertions to improve our agriculture, to 
the state at large, and particularly within the sphere 
of his immediate influence. 
We might cite innumerable examples, from the 
dead and the living, to show the immense benefits that 
have resulted to society from praise-worthy efforts to 
'■'■help one another,” of men engaged in rural affairs. 
The two we have cited will suffice to impress upon all, 
we trust, the importance of adopting the precept: and 
though we may not be able, individually, to do much, 
we may each do something to help one another; and 
these somethings, in the aggregate, will effect a great 
deal towards improving the moral and social condition 
of society. We see the benign influence of this pre¬ 
cept happily illustrated in the conduct of the Friends 
towards each other; and it were well for society if 
these examples of brotherly kindness w'ere more gene¬ 
rally followed by other religious denominations. The 
duty rests upon all, and the recompense is alike at¬ 
tainable by all. 
But we come now to the improvement of our subject— 
which is, to enforce the precept "■help one another ”—• 
particularly upon our correspondents, and upon those 
who may become useful correspondents, and to ask them 
to communicate for our columns, whatever in their 
practice or knowledge may conduce to the benefit of our 
readers. If an individual, by cultivating a new kind of 
grain, root or pulse, or by any new mode of practice, 
adds ten per cent to ordinary profits, his discovery, or 
improvement, or newmode of practice, if made known, 
and adopted by his neighbors, will in like manner add 
ten per cent to the profits of each of them. Say, for 
instance, that a farmer, by discovering a means of 
preventing the ravages of the grain-worm, saves from 
destruction fifty bushels of his wheat crop, worth 
one dollar per bushel—the gain to him is fifty dollars. 
JNowif this improvement is made known to twenty 
thousand farmers, as it would be in a short time if 
published in the Cultivator, and successfully adopted 
by them, it would add, in a single year, one million of 
dollars to the solid wealth of the country. Although 
