1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
233 
start  and  have  it  thrive  all  the  time  we  need  good 
seed,  soil,  fertilizer  and  cultivation ;  these  four,  if 
“  good,”  will  soon  make  our  baby  independent  enough 
to  say,  “  Good  byehorsie,  I  can  hoe  my  own  row  now.” 
And  is  there  a  prettier  sight — in  an  agricultural  way 
— than  a  field  of  baby  corn  plants  just  “  laid  by,”  with 
broad,  dark  green  blades,  tassels  and  brace  roots  get¬ 
ting  ready  to  push  out,  stalks  almost  as  large  as  your 
ankle,  ground  barely  to  be  seen  between  the  rows, 
and  a  good  crop  assured  ?  And  is  there  any  crop  com¬ 
parable  with  corn  when  we  consider  its  many  uses ; 
as  a  feed  for  all  kinds  of  stock,  as  a  food  for  man,  as 
a  fuel,  for  sugar  and  syrup  and  starch,  a  “  cleaning’ 
crop  ?  And,  alas,  as  a  hell-filler— in  the  shape  of 
whisky — it  stands  preeminent !  A.  L.  crosby. 
The  R.  N.-Y.’s  Famous  Corn  Yield. 
THE  REQUISITES  OF  SUCCESSFUL  CORN  CULTURE. 
Older  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  will  remember  some 
interesting  experiments  in  corn  growing,  made  by  the 
senior  editor  of  The  Rural,  Mr.  Carman,  on  his  ex¬ 
periment  farm,  on  Long  Island,  in  1880.  For  the  ben¬ 
efit  of  more  recent  readers,  we  have  briefly  inter¬ 
viewed  Mr.  Carman  on  the  subject. 
“  What  varieties  of  corn  were  grown  in  this  trial  ?” 
said  the  scribe. 
“  Chester  County  Mammoth  and  Blount’s  White  Pro¬ 
lific.  But  it  is  hardly  fair  to  call  it  a  ‘  trial,’  as  none 
was  intended  when  it  was  planted.  The  field  con¬ 
tained  something  over  five  acres,  four  of  which  were 
planted  to  the  Chester  corn.” 
“  What  kind  of  soil  was  it  ?” 
“Very  gravelly,  high  and  natur  illy  well  drained, 
except  a  small  part  in  the  east,  toward  which  the 
field  slopes.  It  had  been  lying  idle  for  about  14  years. 
For  years  before  the  experiment  it  had 
been  used  as  a  thoroughfare  over  which 
teams  and  cattle,  men  and  women,  had 
tramped  until  it  was  as  hard  as  a  brick. 
We  plowed  it  up  to  get  rid  of  an  eye¬ 
sore  more  than  with  the  idea  of  growing 
a  specially  valuable  crop.” 
“  When  did  you  plow  it  and  what  fer¬ 
tilizers  did  you  use  ?” 
“It  was  plowed  in  early  May,  except 
a  small  part  which  was  a  mass  of  daisies, 
and  had  been  plowed  the  previous  sum¬ 
mer.  We  harrowed  it  with  La  Dow’s 
Pulverizing  Clod  Crusher,  then  it  received 
350  pounds  of  corn  fertilizer  per  acre, 
and  was  harrowed  the  second  time  with 
a  straight  iron-tooth  harrow.  No  stable 
manure  was  used.  It  was  laid  out  in 
shallow  drills,  averaging  about  3%  feet 
apart,  and  was  planted  with  a  Hoosier  corn  drill  on 
May  15th.” 
“  What  amount  of  cultivation  did  it  receive  ?” 
“  I  believe  it  was  cultivated  twice  and  hoed  three 
times.  The  cultivation  was  shallow  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  land  was  kept  level.  As  the  season  pro¬ 
gressed,  it  was  seen  that  an  unusual  crop  might  be 
expected  and  my  interest  in  it  grew  so  great  that  I 
made  arrangements  to  have  it  measured.” 
“  Well,  what  was  the  yield  ?” 
“The  best  acre  yielded  159.37  bushels  of  shelled 
corn  and  the  next  best  125.37.  The  part  of  the  field 
where  it  had  been  plowed  the  summer  previous  for 
killing  daisies,  gave  the  heaviest  yield.” 
“  How  much  of  the  Blount  corn  did  you  plant  ?  ” 
“A  little  less  than  an  acre — about  seven-eighths. 
This  was  plowed  late  in  the  fall  as  well  as  in  May. 
It  was  given  300  pounds  of  corn  fertilizer,  sowed 
broadcast,  applied  before  harrowing  ;  100  pounds  of 
the  same  were  given  when  the  corn  was  about  six 
inches  high  and  100  pounds  of  potato  manure  were  ap¬ 
plied  when  it  was  eight  inches  high.  In  other  respects, 
its  treatment  was  the  same  as  the  Chester  corn  re¬ 
ceived.  The  yield  was  134.44  bushels  per  acre.” 
“  What  special  lessons  would  you  deduce  from  the 
experiment  ?  ” 
“  Well,  you  see  this  method  was  radically  different 
from  almost  all  others  then  in  vogue,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  it  has  largely  changed  the  manner  of  cultivat¬ 
ing  this  important  crop.  What  I  claim  to  have  shown 
in  the  crops  alluded  to,  and  what  I  have  tried  to  teach 
since  are  the  following  points :  1.  Planting  in  drills  in¬ 
stead  of  hills,  when  size  of  crop  is  aimed  at.  2.  Shal¬ 
low  cultivation.  Never  put  a  plow  in  the  corn  field 
after  the  corn  is  planted.  Use  the  cultivator  and  hoe  as 
much  as  you  please,  but  don’t  destroy  the  roots  of  the 
corn.  I  think  the  old  agricultural  heresy  of  ‘  the  root- 
pruning  of  corn’  was  quite  effectually  settled  by  those 
crops.  3.  Keep  the  ground  level  throughout  the  sea¬ 
son.  It  is  not  difficult  to  do  this  with  the  plow  kept 
out.  4.  A  careful  selection  of  seed  adapted  to  the 
locality  where  the  crop  is  to  be  grown.  What  is  the 
best  in  one  neighborhood  may  be  the  worst  in  another. 
5.  Sow  the  fertilizer  broadcast,  never  in  the  hill.  When 
put  in  the  hill,  contact  with  the  seed  is  apt  to  destroy 
its  vitality  or  impair  its  early  growth.  If  covered  up 
so  as  to  spare  the  seed,  the  rootlets  get  only  scanty 
benefit  from  it.  Put  it  broadcast  and  harrow  it  in. 
The  corn  roots  run  from  hill  to  hill  and  will  have  no 
trouble  in  finding  it.  6.  Tillage,  tillage,  tillage.  I 
would  keep  the  cultivator  going  as  much  of  the  time 
as  possible.  Thorough  tillage  is  not  only  of  advantage 
to  the  growing  crop,  but  it  brings  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  into  an  available  condition  and  so  benefits  sub¬ 
sequent  crops. 
The  Wagon  of  the  Future  is  Here. 
I  thank  The  Rural  New-Yorker  for  a  hint  on 
which  I  acted,  resulting  in  a  wagon,  a  picture  of 
which  is  herewith  forwarded.  The  hint  was  this : 
“  The  wagon  of  the  future  must  be  low  down  and 
open  at  the  sides.”— R.  N.-Y,,  October,  1890.  This 
being  in  harmony  with  my  own  opinion,  held  for  some 
time,  but  declared  only  a  cranky  notion  by  practical 
friends,  I  decided  to  work  the  idea  out,  feeling  sure 
The  Rural  would  be  glad  to  know  that  at  least  one 
of  its  readers  had  a  working  faith  in  its  opinion  of 
what  an  ideal  wagon  should  be  and  gumption  enough 
to  produce  it.  Behold  its  picture  at  Fig.  124. 
The  front  wheels  are  three  feet  two  inches,  the 
rear  four  feet  high.  The  axles  are  of  two-inch  round 
steel  bent  to  right  angle  cranks  at  the  wheels.  The 
cranks  are  eight  inches  and  arc  held  in  horizontal 
position  by  spiral  springs  adjustably  connected  with 
the  wagon  body,  front  of  wheels,  allowing  the  body 
to  be  lowered  eight  inches— the  length  of  the  cranks. 
The  wagon  body  rests  directly  on  the  axle  close  to 
the  cranks,  on  boxes  in  which  the  axle  rolls  in  response 
to  tension  placed  on  the  springs  by  the  load  or  draft. 
The  sides  of  the  body  are  fully  strengthened  against 
lateral  pressure  by  the  fenders  which  also  furnish  ad¬ 
ditional  width,  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  box  or 
body.  Truss  rods  prevent  the  sagging  of  the  center  of 
the  body.  The  side  openings  are  closed  by  boards  cut 
to  fit,  and  secured  in  place  by  springs.  To  remove  the 
boards,  press  the  springs  and  raise  them. 
You  will  see  many  advantages  at  a  glance.  The 
spiral  springs  are  very  light,  carry  the  .load  very 
steadily,  and  act  as  spring  whiffietrees  in  starting  a 
load.  The  cranks  are  perfecte  qualizers,  as  when  one 
wheel  meets  an  obstruction  the  spring  at  the  opposite 
wheel  shares  the  resistance.  The  wagon  though 
light  (900  pounds),  has  carried  over  200  loads  of  from 
2,000  to  3,000  pounds.  No  bolster  or  reach  is  needed. 
It  may  be  cheaply  built,  and  it  is  certainly  a  pleasure 
to  use  it ;  for  when  loaded  it  is  only  18  inches  from 
the  ground.  It  is  wholly  of  my  own  construction  ex¬ 
cept  the  wheels.  The  wood-work  I  made  and  put  to¬ 
gether  during  leisure  hours,  and  I  also  made  the  pat¬ 
terns  for  the  irons,  which  a  blacksmith  made  and  put 
together  under  my  supervision.  paul  H.  munroe. 
It.  N.-Y. — We  have  not  seen  the  wagon,  but  from 
the  description  and  picture  we  believe  it  will  prove 
a  success.  The  world  needs  men  and  tools  that  “get 
down  close  to  their  work,”  and  this  wagon  is  well  cal¬ 
culated  to  do  that.  The  man  who  walks  away  round 
to  the  “  tailboard  ”  of  his  wagon  every  time  he  adds 
an  armful  to  the  load  may  cultivate  his  legs,  but  won’t 
leave  much  of  a  legacy  to  his  children.  We  like  the 
looks  of  the  wagon,  and  hope  Mr.  Munroe  will  be  able 
to  put  it  on  the  market  so  that  others  can  use  it  too. 
The  Interview. 
HILL  OR  DRILL  FOR  CORN? 
A  Talk  About  Fertilizers. 
“  Shall  we  plant  our  corn  in  hills  or  drills  ?  ”  said  a 
representative  of  The  Rural  to  Prof.  I.  P.  Roberts. 
“  Nearly  all  carefully  conducted  experiments  go  to 
show  that  more  corn  can  be  grown  to  the  acre  when 
planted  in  drills  than  in  hills.  Perhaps  it  would  not 
be  wide  of  the  mark  to  put  the  difference  at  five 
bushels  per  acre  more  of  the  drilled  corn.” 
“  Do  you,  then,  advise  farmers  so  to  plant  it  ?  ” 
“Well,  that  depends.  Corn  planted  in  drills  is  more 
difficult  to  keep  clean  than  in  hills,  where  the  cultiva¬ 
tor  can  be  run  both  ways.  With  drilled  corn,  if  the 
season  is  good,  and  we  keep  well  up  with  our  work,  it 
is  all  right.  But  if  a  wet  season  comes  and  the  grass 
gets  a  start  in  our  corn  fields,  there  is  apt  to  be 
trouble.  As  a  rule,  if  we  have  clean  culture  with  corn 
in  drills,  we  must  do  more  work  with  the  hands  and 
hoe,  and  that  will  generally  eat  up  the  margin.  An 
expert  will  do  best  with  drills,  the  every-day  working 
farmer  is  apt  to  ‘  get  left.’  ” 
“Then,  again,”  said  Prof.  Roberts,  “  it  costs  nearly 
20  per  cent  more  to  cut  corn  in  drills  than  in  hills, 
when  it  is  cut  by  hand.  This  seems  like  a  wide  di¬ 
vergence,  and  some  have  questioned  the  accuracy  of 
this  estimate.  But  I  have  made  the  statement  as  the 
result  of  careful  observations  on  the  work,  when  the 
laborers  did  not  know  that  any  were  being  made.  A 
single  blow  with  the  knife  cuts  the  stalks  in  a  hill, 
whereas  in  drills  it  will  take  two  or  three  and  some¬ 
times  four  blows  to  do  the  same  work.  If  it  is  cut  by 
machinery,  the  corn  in  drills  is  cut  most  easily. 
“  Does  that  sum  up  the  situation  ?” 
“  So  far  as  direct  results  are  concerned.  But  there 
is  another  very  important  phase  of  the  matter,  and 
one  which  is  altogether  too  much  neglected.  I  allude 
to  the  effects  upon  subsequent  crops  resulting  from 
the  thorough  culture  which  it  is  possible  to  give  corn 
planted  in  hills.  We  do  not  half  estimate  the  value  of 
culture.  There  are  vast  stores  of  fertility  in  our  soils, 
if  we  will  only  bring  them  out  and  render  them  .avail¬ 
able  by  thorough  and  persistent  culture.  This  was 
thoroughly  illustrated  on  the  college  farm,  by  a  crop 
of  oats.  We  had  three  plots  of  corn  the  year  before, 
one  sowed,  one  in  drills  and  one  in  hills.  They  were 
side  by  side,  and  the  following  spring  they  were  sowed 
to  oats.  When  we  came  to  cut  them,  the  reaper  started 
in  at  the  part  of  the  field  which  had  been  planted  to 
corn  in  hills,  and  the  reel  of  the  machine  was  adjusted 
to  the  height  of  the  oats.  When  it  got 
to  the  middle  of  the  field  where  the  corn 
had  been  in  drills,  the  oats  were  not 
quite  so  fine,  and  when  the  last  part 
was  reached,  where  corn  had  been  sowed 
the  reel  would  not  touch  the  oats,  they 
were  so  short.  The  workman  called  my 
attention  to  the  matter,  and  I  looked  it 
over  carefully.  The  soil  was  all  alike 
and  had  been  fertilized  alike,  the  varia¬ 
tion  being  merely  the  result  of  the  cul¬ 
ture  the  various  parts  of  the  field  had 
received.” 
“That  seems  almost  incredible,  ’  said 
The  Rural. 
“There  is  no  doubt  about  its  accuracy,” 
said  Prof.  Roberts.  “We  have  noted  the 
same  results  repeatedly,  and  they  show 
for  years  afterward,  as  the  following 
will  prove.  In  187<>  we  planted  a  field  with  mangolds 
and  corn,  following  it  with  our  regular  rotation  of 
oats,  wheat  and  clover.  In  1880  we  again  planted 
mangolds  and  corn  ;  but  we  enlarged  the  part  devoted 
to  mangolds,  encroaching  on  the  part  before  planted 
to  corn.  Now,  remember  that  mangolds  receive  much 
more  cultivation  than  corn,  the  small  cultivator  being 
kept  running  through  them  until  quite  late  in  the  sea¬ 
son.  Then  see  the  results.  The  crop  of  mangolds  on 
the  part  of  the  field  where  mangolds  had  been  grown 
before,  was  about  30  per  cent  larger  than  that  on  that 
part  where  corn  had  been  grown,  and  this,  mind  you, 
after  an  interval  of  four  years,  during  which  all  the 
land  had  received  precisely  the  same  treatment. 
There’s  nothing  like  culture  and  plenty  of  it.  We 
grew  30  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  the  third  con¬ 
tinuous  crop  without  manure,  on  land  which  had  been 
previously  well  tilled.” 
“  You  are  evidently  strongly  impressed  with  the 
value  of  culture  ?  ” 
“Most  certainly.  Good  agriculture  means,  first 
culture,  and  secondly,  careful  conservation  of  farm 
manures,  plus  commercial  fertilizers.” 
“Can  you  make  suggestions  as  to  absorbents  for 
liquid  manure  ?  ” 
“  One  good  way  on  farms  where  there  arc  silos,  is  to 
cover  them  with  good  earth,  from  two  to  four  feet  in 
thickness.  The  heat  of  the  ensilage  will  dry  out  the 
earth  and  when  you  begin  to  feed  it,  you  can  use  the 
dry  earth  as  an  absorbent.  Muck  is  good  and  sawdust 
is  also  good.  Manure  containing  sawdust  should  be 
composted.  This  soon  breaks  down  the  woody  fiber.” 
“  Do  you  consider  corn  the  best  crop  on  which  to  use 
stable  manure  ?  ” 
“  By  all  means.  Corn  will  get  more  out  of  it  than 
will  any  other  plant.  In  ordinary  rotative  farming  it 
will  pay  to  increase  the  use  of  fertilizers  as  the  manure 
supply  increases.  That  is,  the  farmer  will  find  himself 
crowding  the  stable  manure  on  to  certain  fields  and 
crops  and  buying  fertilizers  to  go  on  the  other  crops. 
We  lose  too  much  of  the  nitrogen  in  our  stable  manure. 
If  we  could  save  it  all  and  make  use  of  suitable  green 
crops  we  would  need  to  buy  little  besides  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid,  which  are,  as  everybody  knows,  the 
cheapest  elements  of  fertility. 
The  Ideal  Farm  Wagon.  Fig.  124. 
