Another query suggests itself, i. e. whether 
the application of the fertilizers at three differ¬ 
ent periods was any more potent than if 
applied all at once? Did the crop get as much 
relative nourishment from the last application 
as from the first ? Or did it get as much from 
the last as it would it it had been applied with 
the first ? Would any virtues have been lost if 
all were applied at the same time ? Who can 
tell ? 
[Should not we have to consider the solubil¬ 
ity of the fertilizers and the amount of rain¬ 
fall after the application ? Eds.] 
ture sod of Gsn. Diven was better for the corn 
than the 52 loads of manure used by Mr. Mc¬ 
Cann. 
The Experiment Record, after referring 
to our corn crops of last Fall, says: 
“ But the editor has * & strong faith' that he 
can repeat the same yield * again and again.’ 
That is a grand point, but too seldom thought 
of by farmers. To win a large result by 
thoughtful effort, and then to repeat the same 
indefinitely through following years, that is 
the ideal perfection of culture that we have 
long been working for, and have endeavored 
to point farmers in the same direction. That 
is the way to make farming an eimet science, a 
result which we have claimed to be possible 
and which is now clearly foreshadowed by 
facts aud figures that continually multiply 
around us, and that we are endeavoring to ac¬ 
cumulate and diffuse. 
Now let the Rural go ahead in its noble 
work, aud let other journals and other far¬ 
mers everywhere take the hint, not only for 
corn and wheat, but lor all food staples, and 
let them take up everywhere the universal re¬ 
frain, more food from, an acre, and less cost for 
production. 
Feeling an interest in your paper and your 
experimental garden, I send an ear of corn 
for experiment and name. I bought of a 
neighbor last Spring oue bushel of ears and 
plauted five acres with it, without auy fer¬ 
tilizers. and harvested 000 bushels of ears. It 
was planted the 8th of May aud cut the 10th of 
September, in good sound condition. Please 
try it and report in the Re rax, and oblige 
Lucas Co., Ohio. Otis Ford. 
[It is hard to distinguish this from the Ches¬ 
ter Co. Mammoth in appearance. The above 
yield would be not less than 65 bushels of 
shelled corn per acre.—E ds.] 
.Dr Sturtevant has tried some experi¬ 
ments with corn stover which lead him to 
think it does not pay to strip off the leaves in 
feeding. He finds the part rejected by the 
cows is under—certainly not over—ten per 
cent. Now will it pay to cut ten tons of sto¬ 
ver in order to make the cows eat one ton in 
ten ? 
He thinks that corn stover, if cut early aud 
put into the barn, or under cover, before it is 
washed by the rains, is worth six-tenths as 
much as hay. 
He would cut as soon as the corn is glazed. 
The great question as to concentrated fer¬ 
tilizers is. whether wo can buy them in the 
market and raise our corn, aud not deteriorate 
our laud Dr. Sturtevant says that he has 
demonstrated that this cau be done in so far 
as 5 years of trial can be considered a test. 
The first year he manured 8 acres; the second, 
third and fourth, 9 acres, and the fifth, 6 acres. 
The result was that his land gave him 4 tons of 
to grow in each hill. Variety, commou Yellow 
Gourd seed. The Committee husked a number 
of hills, supposed to be an average, and the 
weight of the corn in the ear averaged four 
pounds per hill, which, allowing 70 pounds to 
the buBhel, would indicate a yield of 123 3-7 
bushels per acre; at the time the corn was 
weighed, it was quite ripe, and in condition to 
husk and crib. The field that was awarded the 
2nd premium, wa3 planted id May four feet 
apart each way, three stalks allowed to grow 
to each hill. The samples selected by the 
Committee, averaged 3 15 pounds of corn per 
hill, and the hills being closer together, would 
Bhow a yield of 8,710 pounds per acre, or, at 
70 pounds per bushel, a yield per acre of 134 
3-7 bushels, which is more thau field No. 1 
figured, but the corn in No. 3 was greener, uot 
ripe enough to crib unless in a very favorable 
location. Neither field bad extra manure or 
culture. The owner of field No. 2, husked a 
number of hills, which he considered not over 
an average, which indicated a weight of 3J 
pounds per bill, or 145.57-70 bushels per acre. 
As an evidence of the shrinkage of new corn 
it may be stated that 37} pouuds of the corn 
on the cobs from field No. 2, iu a dry. exposed 
place sbruuk in 17 days.to October Oth, to 37 
pounds—in next 14 days to 35} pounds, and in 
next 30 days to 25 pounds. J. S. Collins 
Moorestown, N. J. 
[From our own experience—we have no con¬ 
fidence whatever iu this, or in such methods 
of ascertaining the yield of corn, aud we hope 
our readers will uot accept such estimates as 
of more than passing value— Edb ] 
[Continued from page 7.] 
THE BUSHEL VS. THE “BUSHEL OF EARS 
In the “Corn” number of the “Rural” 
seems an appropriate place to enter a protest 
against the practice of quoting corn yields of 
“bushels of ears.” The legal measure every¬ 
where iB the bushel of shelled grain, and a 
bnshel of coru should always mean that quan¬ 
tity which will give the legal measure. An 
illustration of the inconvenience, to say the 
least, of this practice of calling two different 
measures by the same name, has just been 
brought to light by the wide-awake secretary 
of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, W. I. 
Chamberlain Esq. In the first “Ohio Crop 
Report” just issued by Mr. Chamberlain, 
under the auspices of the State Board of Agri¬ 
culture, he calls attention to the fact that “the 
very heavy averages (of corn) per acre are 
nearly all in Nortli-euBtern Ohio,' and sus¬ 
pects that “at least in some cases * bushels of 
ears’ are reported instead of bushels of shelled 
corn.” By referring to the tables accompany¬ 
ing his report it is seen that Summit county 
claims an average yield of 65 bushels per acre; 
Trumbull county of 57 bushels, and Stark 
county of 52 bushels ; while of the counties 
containing the famous Miami Valley, Butler 
returns but 38 bushels, Miami 37 bushels and 
Montgomery 34 bushels. In the northern 
counties the “ bushel of ears ” is often heard 
of, in the southern ones, never: hence Mr. C.’s 
suspicions, while the averages claimed for 
these northern counties, though uot above 
what ought to be made, are certainly higher 
than have yet been made by any but a very 
lew of the best farmers. c. e t. 
Stocks versus Stacks. —Why will editors 
persist in using the word stooK in reference to 
nnhusked corn ? I know they are presumed 
to know everything, but lu this instance I 
think they are wrong. Stack as thus applied 
is an Americanism and to the manor born. 
Stook is English, meaning a collection of 15 
bundles or sheaves and corresponds to our 
American term shock, meaning the same. I 
deprecate the custom so prevalent of using 
foreign terms to express American ideas, and 
protest against the use of stook and shall per¬ 
sist in writing stack, and proof-readers and 
editors may change it if they choose, but it is 
annoyiug to me to read it and to appear as not 
knowing any better. Kit. 
An Extra-long Variety of Yellow Flint. 
Several have brought to the Rural, office 
ears of a yellow tlint coru which are longer 
than the usual eight rowed flint, with a smaller 
cob. The illustration, fignie 0, shows some¬ 
what these two peculiarities. The cob is, in 
fact, too small, as 5 out of every 6 would 
break in two when shelled. 
It is offered by seedsmen under the name of 
“Improved Eight-rowed Yellow Flint.” 
NOTES 
RAISING CORN IN MISSOURI 
For the benefit of new subscribers we here 
present a reduced cut of the Blount Corn from 
the original, published in the Rural New- 
Yorker of March 8, 1879. During the season 
it was one of the kinds offered iu our then 
Free Plant and Seed Distribution. (See page 6.) 
In planting sweet corn, farmers are very 
apt not to make late plantings, so as to sup¬ 
ply the family with green corn until fro6t. 
It is generally safe in this climate to plant 
the early kinds as late as August 1st. 
There is no preventive that we know of 
for smut in corn. The spread of this fungoid 
parasitic plant—botanically Ustihujo maydis — 
may be measurably prevented by going 
through a field a3 soon as the affected ears 
cau be determined, .pulling them off and 
burning them. This plan no doubt would 
consume more value iu time than the smut, 
if left to itself, would do harm. 
John 8tanton Gould, according to Prof. 
Atwater, once stated that he has seen the roots 
of Indian corn extending seven feet down¬ 
In raising corn here we follow two plans: 
If we have sod or pasture land or land that 
has been in wheat or oats the past seasou, we 
plow in the Fall and let it lie until Spring, 
when the ground is again plowed and furrowed 
with a shovel plow both ways; then the seed 
is dropped aud covered either with the hi.e, a 
shovel plow, or a large rake, if a horse is used, 
lu case the land has been in corn the previous 
year, then it is plowed in the Spring aud plant¬ 
ed iu the same way. In cultivating, double 
shovels are used almost altogether, unless 
riding or walking cultivators are employed- 
In this State very few, if any, diamond plows 
are used, and, as a rule, the ground is left 
level, very few believing in hilling up. The 
main idea is to keep the surface stirred up and 
the coru elcuu ot weeds. 
As a rule, bottom lauds are the best for corn, 
as most of our soil is rather light and gravelly 
on the ridges, and. in ease of a protracted 
drought, the ridge laud seems to suffer first 
and most- This fact wus very plain this year; 
for, while we had an unusually 
dry Summer, we had a reason¬ 
ably fair crop of corn on bot¬ 
tom laud, while the ridge laid 
was burned up, and in many 
cases, it did not yield ten bush¬ 
els to the acre. Coru is one of 
the main crops here, aud the 
general opinion seems to be that 
level culture is the beBt, both 
for the yield of com aud also 
for the land. 
N. J. Shepherd 
Miller County, Mo- 
SWEET CORN 
E. WILLIAMS 
The Mexican Sweet. —Wbat funny looking 
corn! It is not sweet com is it ? 1 never saw 
sweet corn that color before! I should not 
think such black looking corn was fit to eat! 
What makes it so dark ? What is the matter 
with it? The above arc but samples of the 
remarks made by guests at our table every 
seasou for years past, and every one without 
exception on being assured the coloring was 
natural and that it was really aud truly sweet 
corn, have, after tastiug for themselves, unan¬ 
imously pronounced it the very best sweet 
corn they ever ate. 
While many are prejudiced iu favor of a 
white article all admit the superior quality ot 
the colored. One lady asked this past season 
why she had never seeu such coru iu market 
aud said it was almost impos¬ 
sible to get corn that was really 
sweet. Would you have bought 
such looking corn if you had 
seen it ? I asked. No, because 
I did not know it was sweet. 
, And for the same reasons others 
would not purchase It till, like 
you, they be ca ne acquainted 
with it and could overcome their 
j g T TL. prejudice against its looks. 
I There is, doubtless, much corn 
offered in our n: arkets in a green 
state that is not. genu ne sweet 
l.-ilj. com, and much that loses its 
sweetness by heating in trausit 
long before it rea«. hes the table 
jiiiffj of the consumer. 
lip; 
lg§S 
JOTTINGS 
I see by the Tribune the editor 
of the Rural gives the yield of 
Blouut’s Coru as 150 bushels per 
acre, aud c.aims this extraordi¬ 
nary yield was largely due to 
level culture. Does he know, 
or what evidence has he lor the 
belief, that level culture tended 
any more towards producing 
this large yield than if anti-level 
culture had been practiced. If 
different methods of culture had 
been adopted in different por¬ 
tions of the Bamc field the com¬ 
parison of the products of the 
different portions might have 
appeared to favor level culture, 
but as the whole plot was 
treated alike I fail to see why 
or how the kiud of culture 
The Early Burlington, an early 
dwarf while field corn is some¬ 
times grown quite extensively 
for market, and though quite 
sweet for a field variety, will 
not compare with the shrivel¬ 
ed sweet kinds for which it 
is no doubt often sold. And 
right here is where the color of 
the Mexican is of advantage, 
proclaiming at once Us ideutity. 
I think it must le 15 or 20 years 
since we first obtained the seed* 
aud we long since decided it 
was the sweetest and lendercst 
of all the sweet or sugar va¬ 
rieties we have ever grown. 
It is also one of the earliest. 
JERSEY BULL BIAVOLO,—FIG. It 
should receive this credit. I hope the Editor 
will give the reason for the “faith that is in 
him.” 
[The above criticism is quite, merited. See 
noteB from the Rural Farm. Eds.] 
—--*-♦-*-- 
The Burlington County, New Jersey Agri¬ 
cultural Society, offered premiums ou best six 
acres, or more, of com, grown in the County. 
As usual, the paBt season, the Committee to 
award premiums were called to view and ex¬ 
amine quite a number of Hue fields of corn. 
The crop that was finally decided to be the 
best, was planted in Apiil, iu hills 4} feet 
apart each way, three to four stalks allowed 
ward. Prof. Johnson states that the roots of 
corn which iu a rich and tenacious earth ex¬ 
tend but two or three feet, have been traced 
to a length of ten or even fifteen feet in a 
light, sandy soil. 
Gen. Diven, of the Elmira Club (N. Y.), 
speaks of having raised on seven acres of old 
meadow, without manure, 1260 bushels of ears, 
or, allowing two bushels of ears to oue of 
shelled corn. 90 bushels of shelled corn to the 
acre. Mr. McCann remarked (as reported iu 
the Husbandman), that he did uot see how 
such crops of corn could he raised. He spread 
52 loads of manure on one acre and got only 
208 bushels of ears. Evidently, the old pas¬ 
Hungariau grass this, the last year, per acre- 
“ I wish I was a geese, 
All forloru. all forlorn. 
For thoy possess their souls in peace, 
And accumulate much grease, 
Kat ; n’ corn." 
Sixteen Inches Long At the Connecticut 
meeting of the Board of Agriculture, at New 
Britaiu, Dec. 15. 16 and 17, there was exhibited 
an ear of the Beuton Coru sixteen iuches long. 
I measured it and will vouch for the fact. This 
is 2 iuches longer than the longest exhibited 
at the Centeunial, and 1 inch longer than I 
have ever seen before. 
E. Lewis Sturtevant, m. d. 
The Triumph Sweet —Of the white vari¬ 
eties I place the Triumph at the head of the 
list as far as my experience goes. It is tender, 
sweet aud excellent, the ears of good size, and 
it is very productive, generally two good oars 
on the stalks, and sometimes three. Plauted 
at the same time as the Mexican it comes in 
season just as the Mexican is over. I have 
not tried all the known kinds, but Darling’s 
Extra Early, Crosby’s Sweet, Excelsior, 
Campbell’s 60-Day Sugar, Stowell's Evergreen, 
Moore's Early Concord, Mammoth Sweet, 
Trimble’s Farmers’ Club and Egyptian are 
among those l have tried and our preference, 
so far, is in favor of Mexican and Triumph 
