2 
JAN. 4 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
results when they may in the main be guessed 
at. The soil of the Bbunt Held is a sandy 
loam—somewhat gravelly but not so much so 
as the Chester. 
The Ear of the Blount corn varies (not to 
speak ol nubbins) from seven to nine inches 
in length and from eight to fourteen rows and 
from 40 to 50 kernels in the row. [\n engrav¬ 
ing of an average ear and cob of Blount’s was 
was presented March 8, 1879— Eds ] We 
think the average car would not contain over 
450 kernels. They are white—less dented than 
those of Chester, not so deep and wider at the 
top or more wedge-shaped. If they were as 
large at the bottom, it would be necessary for 
them to have a thicker cob to stand upon. 
The Blount Corn Plant in 1879 grew a 
full foot taller and required at least two weeks 
longer to mature than in 1880. Its bight last 
season averaged between 10 and 11 feet. lu 
many plants the disposition is shown to form 
an ear at every joint. *• Sets,” indeed, often 
appeared at every joint, but the lower ones 
made no growth or development. The great 
est number of ears found upon ai,y plant 
was 10. Upon several stalks m this field eight 
were found, though the lower ones were often 
nubbins. We should judge from an estimate, 
though not an exact one, that each stalk would 
average not less than two and a half perfect 
ears. Upon some stalks the sets, instead of 
developing into ears, would remain dormant, 
while the ear stalk, or "shank," won'd grow 
into stalks, so that the plant would become 
branching, spreading and sterile. Sometimes 
ears would develop near the ends of these 
branches; but the weight of the ears would 
always break them (the branches)down before 
the corn had ripened. 
Faults op the Blount.—I t can hardly be 
deemed a fault iu this variety that the ears 
average small, since it is evident that the corn 
plant has not strength to support two or more 
very large cars. The stalks arc very strong 
and the ears generally grow fiom opposite 
nodeB in a manner to balance each other, 
though rather high up. The tips of the ears 
are rarely covered. The ** shanks," or ear- 
stalks, are often long, as we have said, though 
we are satisfied that this objection could soon 
be bred out. As in the Chester, the perfect 
ears grow too high up. The stalks grow too 
high by a foot at least. Iu 1879 the season was 
scarcely long enough for it to mature. Last 
season it had two weeks to spare. It should 
not be overlooked, however, that ’79 was as 
unfavorable as ’80 was the reverse. 
The Y teld. 
As our old readers are aware, several com¬ 
mittees of eminent agriculturists made it their 
business to carefully investigate the yield of 
this field. Huskers were ready to do their bid¬ 
ding. The field was measured on three differ¬ 
ent occasions. Stooks were selected and husk¬ 
ed at the bidding of the committees. The 
highest estimate thus formed was 150 bushels 
of shelled corn to the acre ; the lowest, as we 
remember, 132. The actual yield, however, 
proves to be nearer the latter, viz., 134.44bush¬ 
els of shelled corn per acre, as estimated from 
measurements completed December 5th, when 
the last of the corn was cribbed. 
Memoranda — A bushel of ears of Blount 
weighs 35 pounds oud gives 17 5 quarts 
of grain, weighing 28.99 pounds, the cobs 
weighing 6.01 pounds. The Chester bushel 
of ears weighs S5 pounds also, making 17.0 
quarts of grain, weighing 28 pounds. The cobs 
weigh 6even pounds. 
A Reinar liable Yield under the Circumstance*. 
Some of our readers will attribute the above 
immense yields to one thing—some to auother. 
The favorable season was one element of suc¬ 
cess, but not the chief one, because many good 
farmers hereabouts, upon land fully as fertile, 
naturally, and highly manured, raised less 
than 75 bushels to the acre. Tne method of 
planting and cultivating wus no doubtanother 
element of success. The variety of corn 
planted was another element, and possibly the 
special fertilizer used still another. Bat undue 
prominence must not be awarded to either the 
variety or the concentrated fertilizers as we 
now proceed to show. 
In another part of the same field upon which 
the Blount was grown we bad determined to 
raise a crop of Minnesota Early Amber cane, 
with which to experiment in making sirup 
and sugar. The seed was sown, but as it was 
slow to germinate, having been covered 
too deeply, the “Quack" grass grew to 
such a hight that we concluded, though 
late (June 9) to again plow the field and plant 
corn. This was accordingly done. It was again 
harrowed twice, the rows marked off three and 
a half feet apart, and. as with the Chester and 
Blount., the seed drilled in June 10. It was 
then rolled with a heavy iron roller. The 
variety here planted was the common 8-12 
rowed Yellow FJint. It must be noted that no 
manure of any kind was used. The plot 
measured .783 of an acre or .03 over seven- 
tenths of an acre. From this plot we have 
gathered 105J bushels of ears, which is at the 
rate of over 143 (143 16)bushels of ears per 
acre. We find, however, that a bushel of ears 
of this variety of corn makes (averages) but 81 
pints of grain. The yield of grain per bushel 
of ears therefore would fall short as compared 
with either of the others, and the yield of 
shelled corn per acre would be 69$- (69.34).* 
Here we have an unusually fine crop of corn 
planted not until June 101b, without any 
manure. To what was it due ? To a very 
favorable season chiefly ? We think not. 
Many crops of corn have been raised here¬ 
abouts the past season, some of them highly 
mauured—some not. One field, indeed, of 
three and a half acres received 1 200 pounds 
to the acre of Lister's amiuoniated bone phos¬ 
phate, besides a "handful to the hill." An¬ 
other field received 25 loads per acre of farm 
manure of au excellent quality and a handful 
Thorough Preparation of the Land. 
Variety of Seed. 
Prilling in the Seed. 
Flat Cultivation 
The Preservation of a Mellow Surface and the. 
Timely Destruction of Weeds 
A'o Interference with the Boots of Corn by 
plowing or otherwise. 
We hope, life spared, to prove to our friends 
that the Rural Farm can raise as large a crop 
of corn in 1881 as it did in 1880. 
“The Wild Corn of America ” 
In the Rural New-Yorker of March 3rd, 
1877, an engraving appeared of what is vari¬ 
ously known as Wild Californian or Oregon 
Corn, Rocky Mountain Corn, Texas Wild Corn, 
Cow Coru, Corn in pods, etc. By whatever 
may be the “Wild Corn of America,” most of 
our visitors had never before seen it and were, 
therefore, greatly interested in its peculiari¬ 
ties. The tassels of this corn, instead of being 
composed of male flowers only, as is generally 
the case with other kinds, bore more females 
than males— or at least, as many, and these are 
pretty regularly distributed throughout the 
panicle. So far as we have observed the 
flowers are never perfect, i. e., possessed of 
both stamens and pistils, and Professor Beal, 
who examined several fruits from one of these 
spikelets under a glass, was unable to distin¬ 
guish even the rudiments of stamens. The 
disposition on the part of the corn plant to 
produce not only females among the males (as 
shown in the tassel), but males among the fe¬ 
males is shown in figure 5, which is an ear 
of Blount's Corn, and an accurate drawing 
from life. Here, it will be seen, we have first 
a normal growth of ear which abruptly 
changes to male floweiB. Then there are sev¬ 
eral kernels, and final)}' the resumption of the 
ear, which is again in every way similar to the 
corresponding part of other ears. Many of 
our fruits are 6huped by pressure. It is so 
with corn. Whenever the pressure docs not 
exist, the kernel aseumes a round shape. This 
may be seen in tbe kernels upon the • tips” of 
ears where they are less crowded. The ker¬ 
nels of the tassels of the “Pod "(as we may 
call it for short), com are quite round us 
shown at fig. 7, in the engraving and are of 
the natural size, A Yery interesting experi¬ 
ment w ould be to select (as we have done,) 
kernels from these tassels and plant them year 
a f ter year with the view of ascertaining what 
form they would gradually assume. Would 
they lose the pod ? Would the tassel become 
exclusively male, as in other kinds? Would 
they gradually assume the appearance and 
characteristics of the corn at present culti¬ 
vated? In such experiments, it would be nec. 
essary to keep the plants away from contact 
with foreign pollen. In this way a few }eara 
would probably suffice to determine whether 
or not this “Pod” corn is, or is not, the origi¬ 
nal ZeaMays. 
[As is well known to old subscribers, it has 
been our custom during several years past to 
issue SPECIAL NUMBERS Of the RURAL NEW- 
Yokker. The present is our second number , 
especially devoted to Indian Cohn. T/ie next 
special will be devoted to those Hardy Shrubs and 
Trees which are best suited to the Rural Home. 
The third Special ivill treat of Strawberries, tic. 
—the best of the new and old varieties with orig¬ 
inal illustrations from nature. The. fourth Spe¬ 
cial will be devoted to Wheals—new hybrids — 
rare varieties—die b>xt yielders. Seventy-seven 
different kinds of wheat are. now growing on the 
Experiment Farm of the Rural New-Yorker. 
Several of those tchioh have originated there are 
being raised for the purpose of free distribution 
among our subscribers.] 
THE ESSENTIALS FOR A CORN CROP 
ON THE ILLINOIS PRAIRIES. 
B. F. JOHNSON. 
The following facts in respect to Indian 
Corn Cultivation are gathered from twenty-live 
years’ observation and experience on tbe black 
soil prairie of Illinois, in about North latitude 
40 deg., or near the parallel of Columbus, 
Ohio, and Springfield, Ill. The crops were 
first made on a vlrgiu soil and have been con¬ 
tinued to this time, and the details, unless 
otherwise noted, refer to making them with¬ 
out manures or fertilizers of any kind. And 
another explanation which perhaps should be 
made Is that in order to obtain the best crop, it 
is necessary to modify the practice as the soil 
acquires age and becomes more or less par¬ 
tially exhausted- Thus when the 60 il is new, 
oue certain treatment makes the best crops; 
after four or five years this requires to be 
changed, at the end often years other changes 
must be adopted; until finally, when the soli 
has arrived at the stage of impoverishment 
common to the land in the early settled timber 
States, the best methods and practices aro 
found to be nearly identical with those com¬ 
mon there. Therefore let it be understood, 
that what is here set down applies to black 
prairie soils which have been cropped from 
ten to fifteen years, as the present representa¬ 
tive corn crop of the country, avoiding an ac¬ 
count of tbe minimum of cultivation which 
produces the largest crops on fresh soils, and 
the maximum whieh briugs aboutresults nearly 
equally satisfactory, on lands which have been 
cropped for nearly half a century. 
But the essentials for a good corn crop on 
the black soil prairie, are neither many nor 
difficult to be attained and are pretty much 
confined to the following points—a stroug, rich 
soil, a good seed bed, a full staud, an early 
start and thereafter suffijient cultivation. 
These embrace the details of 1. plowing and 
soil preparation, 2, plauting and seed, and 3, 
timely and sufficient cultivation. 
Plowing and Soil Preparation. —In the 
case of a wheat or an oat stubble, or a Timo¬ 
thy or Blue Grass sod, the land should invaria- 
CHE8TER CO. MAMMOTH —30 ROW8.—-FTG. 1 
of phosphate to the hill. These two fields are 
situated similarly to ours and the soil of 
either cannot be distinguished from the other 
by the eight or by handling. The corn is 
planted in hills usually four feet apart—four 
kernels to the hill. Very little hoeing is done, 
the plow or two-horse cultivator being relied 
upon to keep down the weeds. Not one of 
these fields has yielded a hundred bushels of 
shelled corn and few of them seventy-five. 
Well, we must not, therefore, good readers, 
credit too much to the season or to the 
manure, as many of us are prone to do. The 
expression that a given quantity or kind of 
manure or fertilizer gave a certain yield is 
used too often. We are satisfied that in a 
given season and crop little is known how 
much or how little is due to any one factor. 
Granting, however, a fair percentage of credit 
to the favorable season and to the concentrated 
fertilizer in the case of the Blount and Chester, 
the following items remain to be considered : 
•One bushel of ears of this Yellow Flint, weighs 84jg 
pounds, m&kiinf St pints of grain weighiuK 27 pounds. 
name it is known here or there, it is generally 
looked upon as the Wild Corn of America. 
Each kernel is enclosed in a covering or husk 
of its own, the same as the kernels of wheat 
or oats are enclosed. But the entire ear is 
enveloped in a husk the same as other corn. 
Whether this is the original type of the many 
kinds of corn now known need not here be 
discussed. In fact, mere speculation would 
not aid us in determining anything one way or 
the other. We desire here to speak of the 
taEsel which this ** Podded" Corn plant bears, 
a true representation of which reduced one- 
half in size (to save space) is herewith pre¬ 
sented (p. 5). Generally in the Borts of In¬ 
dian Corn now cultivated, the tassel is the 
male Organ furnishing the pollen for the pistils 
(silk) of the female flowers beneath. Occa¬ 
sionally, however, female flowers appear upon 
the tassel and hence we sometimes find there 
upon scattered kei nels or more or less imper¬ 
fect ears. Last season we raised a small quan¬ 
tity of this “Podded Corn at the Rural Farm, 
merely as a matter of curiosity, for, though it 
