THE fURAL HEW-YORKER. 
discussed, and the claim fairly presented. This 
latter communication, as well as Danviu's work 
on cross-fertilization in the \ cgctuble Kingdom, 
received at the.samo time, called our attention 
to this point, and we immediately put it in 
practice. In 1^77, we cut out from our seed 
field about oue-lialf the stalks; in 1878, we 
found it necessary to cut out only about one- 
fifth. Think of this gain : fifty per cent of 
barren stalks one year, and only ‘30 per cent 
from the Held planted with this prepared seed 
the next year 1 
When this process becomes general, we shall 
see an immediate and great improvement in 
the crops that we raise; now, farmers are 
hampered with poor seed, and so few fanners 
know what they want, that they feel satisfied 
with what they have. Sure progress in com 
culture must come from the breeding oj the 
seed : yes. we mean it, the breeding uf seed. 
The careful selection of the corn ears of the 
type of cob and kernel that is desired, aud 
then the fixing of this type by using males of 
approved quality—the same as iu breeding 
animals. 
We are already over-stepping our limits as to 
space, and hence cannot go further into this 
interesting subject, or state what are the quali¬ 
ties that are desired in the corn and the corn 
plant. We will but say that some qualities can 
be impressed on the corn in three seioetious : 
other qualities require for their fixation twice 
or thrice three selections. It is very desirable 
that farmers should think over this matter of 
seed, and if the subject is studied, the student 
will be surprised at his own power over the 
corn plant so long as he works within the 
limits set by naturnal laws. 
Wausliakum Farm, So. Framingham, Muss. 
CORN versus WHEAT. 
BY PROF. ELBRIOGE GAJ.E. 
It is 'well kuowu that there are portions of 
the great West where corn is the leading crop, 
while there are others that are almost exclu¬ 
sively wheat regions. This is especially true 
of Kansas, the eastern portion being eminent¬ 
ly, though not exclusively, a eoru region, while 
the western portion is decidedly a wheat re¬ 
gion. Having a farm located between the two 
extremes, I may be permitted to give a com¬ 
parative view of these two great farm crops. 
The wheat farmer will urge from Ids stand¬ 
point the claims of wheat to a leading place in 
our agriculture, while the eoru farmer will, 
with equal earuestuess, sing "Corn is King.” 
The wheat farmer will proudly tel) us that 
Kansas ranks to-day first among the States in 
the production of wheat, aud the corn farmer 
will tell us. with as much show of .State pride, 
that Kausas ranks only the fourth among the 
corn-producing States. As for wheat, we know 
that on a very large area of the Western plains 
it is a decided success, while in the eastcru 
portion oi the State the corn crop is equally 
successful. The writer thinks that he has 
seen a heavier crop of corn growing in the val¬ 
ley of the blue than in any of the States East. 
Now, while not prepared to speak disparaging¬ 
ly of either, I may be permitted, both from 
personal experience aud observation, to judge 
somewhat of the comparative merits of these 
two great staple crops. It will be well to re¬ 
member, before making any comparison of the 
two, that almost all statistics of farm crops 
are greatly in excess of the reality, both as to 
the average aud the aggregate amount. The 
experienced fanner has already learned that it 
will never do in his calculations to put very 
great reliance upon the reports that are gath¬ 
ered up by our agricultural bureaus, or that 
find their way into tin land-advertising sheets 
of the West. 
Let us first consider the comparative cost aud 
return of fifty acres in corn and wheat respec¬ 
tively. First the corn crop. 
Dr. 
To plow!ug 50 acres...,... 
6!4 ousfielo seed. .Hs 
Planting, 30 els- per acre.rs-UO 
40 days tendiu*... 
Picking, 3 cents per bushel. M-UU 
Total cost. $200.30 
Cr. 
4(1 bush.corn per acre.2 000 tusli,, at 20 cts.$40J.OO 
Value corn stalks, 50 cts. per acre. 2a.U) 
Total credit. V^’SS 
Less cost .- • • • 200.30 
$218.70 
The wheat crop will stand about as follows: 
Dr. 
Plowing 50 acres.. 
£0 bush, wheat tor seed..— do.uo 
Seeding. 30 cts. per acre. 45.00 
Harvesting, $2.1X1 per acre.... 100.00 
Thrashing, S cts. per bush. ,|IJ - W 
Total cost. $255.00 
15 bush, wheat per acre, at 60 cts.$4511.00 
Less. 255XW 
And we have.llb.00 
above cost of production against $218.70 in the 
case ol the corn crop. In both eases we have 
sought to give the average figures. Ju these 
estimates the corn crop has a lew dollars the 
preference, but not enough, perhaps, to be 
taken into account if there were not other 
points of difference which the figures only par¬ 
tially reveal. These points favor the eoru side 
of the argument. It is worthy of note that the 
farmer and his regular hel'j can mainly handle 
the corn crop, and hence the extra price <>1 
harvest labor is avoided. The farmer has also 
more lime for handling the corn crop both in 
the culture and in the harvesting, which is 
very important to the man of moderate means. 
Again, the seeding of the corn crop is a very 
small item, while the seeding of the wheat crop 
is a heavy tux. It is an important fact also 
that the outfit of machinery necessary for 
handling the wheat crop is very expensive, 
while the corn crop demands very little in this 
direction. It should not be forgotten also that 
the corn crop can be marketed in the con¬ 
centrated form ol beef, pork, butter, cheese or 
wool, always paying a good percentage upon 
the original value of the corn for the expense 
of feeding, besides adding materially to the 
fertility of the farm, while on the other hand 
wheat will be a constant drain upon the fertil¬ 
ity of the soil, and at the same time involve a 
heavy expense for marketing. An abundance 
of corn results in a bountiful supply of beef 
aud pork, while wheat produces neither. 
As we. move west over the plains we soon 
reach a point where the corn crop becomes 
uncertain, and at last where it fails altogether, 
while wheat comes in as the great staple. Be¬ 
fore the emigrant moves beyond the corn belt, 
he will act wisely if he takes the above facts 
into consideration. He should remember that 
though corn may be the rougher, it is, all 
things considered, the richer crop. With the 
wheat crop there is no alternative but to haul 
it to market aud take what it will bring; 
while with the corn the farmer is more nearly 
master of the situation, tor it the market price 
does not suit, the thrifty farmer will find a 
way to feed it at home and market the products 
in a concentrated form. Ju view of all the 
fuels then, we are prepared to choose the corn- 
producing lands tor a successful agriculture. 
And I cannot repress an expression of the be¬ 
lief that those who have been so eagerly mov¬ 
ing out upon the wheat lands of the Far West, 
beyond the corn belt, have made a financial 
blunder that many, when too late, will sorely 
regret, ^_ 
CORN EXPERIMENTS AT CORNELL 
UNIVERSITY. 
FROKESSOB I. I*. ROBERTS. 
EXPERIMENTS IN CORN, 1875. 
Hound Holt Total 
lbs. lbs. lbs. 
1 . Itidjfft culture, heavily hilled 
with plow twice, Cultivated 
twice. 352 55 4o7 
2. Deep Hat culture 14 tunes i_ 230 19 “4 30354 
3. Shallow fiat ’’ UtUueK)... 324 TJ>4 367>4 
4 Continuous flat cultivation (7 
times)...... . 362 22 384 
5. Drilled I stalk to the loot (flat 
culture, 4 times). 365)4 18 38354 
6 . 5 stalks in a hiU Hint culture 
4 times).. ‘163 23 338 
7. 4. (4 times) 438 44 482 
8 . 3 “ *” ” . 301X 127 42834 
3. 2 “ " *. 266 49 315 
10 . llllliuieil “ “ " 335 51 386 
11. Limed, 200 Imsli. per acre (4 
times) flat culture. 493 57 550 
12. UiibUekered . 4) 
times).... 338 50 388 
IS. Suckered twice " “ " 308 42 350 
14. Unlimed Western corn, did 
not get ri|ie . . 341 >4 
15. Limed, Western corn (200 
bush, per acre did not *et 
ripe.,..,..,.,. 545 
REMARKS. 
All plats but m and ir>, common eight-rowed yel¬ 
low. All plats unless otherwise designated tour- 
stalks per hill, and ur, reet apart both wayB. 
Ground sandy loam, except oue small corner which 
inclined to stiff clay. I ‘lat i had the most, clay sol l. 
Plat 4 the least, and H. disappeared at plat (five) a. 
The field corn adjoining on clover sod, clay land, 
not good; yield only 40 bushels ol shelled corn per 
acre, season cold. The land used for experiments, 
had a southern slope, had grown two crops of 
clover—a little timot hy In it -in 1872; one crop In 
1873; the second cro P was left on the ground. 
Plaster—gypsum—was applied (two bush, per acre) 
to the clove) - both years. Plowed in the spring of 
1874 aud planted to fleldeorn wit hout manure, ex¬ 
cept a small quantity ol plaster applied to the 
hills soon after the corn was planted. Plats one- 
tenth of an acre. Corn husked last of October and 
weighed In the field; to get the yield per acre of 
shelled corn multiply the totals by ten and divide 
by seventy-two. 
EXPERIMENTS IN CORN, 1876. 
No, of Yield tier acre. 
Fiat. bush. lbs. 
I. 6 stalks per hilLno manure. 41 111 
o 4 •* . “ 42 22 
£3 “ .. “ 42 20 
4 . 3 “ " *. 34 20 
5. Two tublespoonl'uls of planter, pel- 
bill, applied .June 5 . 39 3u 
6 . Unplaatered... 36 40 
7. Suckered, once... 38 60 
8 . UiiHUckered.. 39 1U 
y. Heed soaked twelve hours mid rolled 
in plaster aud about two spoonfuls 
Of damp pluster dropped with the 
core..,. 41 60 
10. Seed from tips or cars.. 31 30 
II, “ bats" “ . 29 10 
12 . " " middle or ears.. 33 10 
13. Ralston's superphosphate, 500 Ihs. 
per iuii'u.. 38 20 
14. Peterson n. Hull's superphosphate, 
MX) lbs. per acre. 34 20 
16. Nothin*... 36 30 
16. Bradley’s superphosphate, 600 lbs. 
per aero. 37 lo 
17. Plaster applied .lime 6th, two spooii- 
f ills piir MIL... 28 40 
18 . Axhesiwood) .. 38 20 
W. r, stalks per hill.* 5° 
20 4 *. 34 60 
21. 3 ** " “ . 32 40 
u “ u 11 ......29 10 
23 . Planter applied Juue 6 til, two spoon- 
fills per hilL. 36 30 
24. Unplaatered.. 29 50 
26 . Heed Bume as No. 9...... 40 4° 
26. Suckered. 2*j 40 
27. UusuokersiL. 83 50 
28. Seed from tips of ears. 38 20 
23. Seed from buts of care. 40 40 
• Heed from middle of ears—error— 
not counted..... 
30. Ashes applied June 6th, two spoon- 
fuls per bill. 88 00 
81. Plaster aud ashos, hall-aud-half, ap¬ 
plied June 6tti, two spoonful* per 
;K. Peterson a Hon, superphosphate, 600 
lbs. per acre. 34 
83. Not till iK . 34 
84. Bradley’B suporphosphate, 500 lbs. 
per acre.....-. 36 
35. Nothin*.... 33 
36. Italston’s superphosphate, 51X1 lbs. 
pur acre.*. 34 
87 Oariura plaster, two spoonfuls, ap¬ 
plied in hill, dry. 33 
38. Syracuse 1 ilastel', applied June 6th, 
corn up. 36 
39. Syracuse iu hill, two tablespocm- 
fulH, dry. 30 
40 . Western corn, no fertilizer, did not 
mature. 34 
AVERAGE OF DUPLICATES. 
Yield per acre. 
Imsli. lbs. 
Nos. 1 and 19—5 Btalks... 40 00 
’’ 2 “ 20—4 ” . 38 41 
“ 3 “ 21-3 " . 37 30 
“ 4 “ 22—2 " . 31 50 
“ 5 “ 23—Plastered. 37 30 
** 6 " 24—Tlnplastered....... 33 10 
“ 7 “ 26—Suckered. 33 60 
** 8 " 27—TTnstU’kered. 36 30 
" 9 *’ 26—Heed soaked 12 hours and 
rolled in plaster, etc_ 41 10 
" 10 " 28—Heed from tips. 34 60 
•• ll " 29— “ ” buts. 34 60 
“ 12 " *— *’ “ middle. 33 10 
" 13 " 30 Ralston's Biipendiosphalo 36 4o 
“ 14 " :S3—Peterson & Sou's " 3-1 20 
“ 15 “ 33 and 36 -Nothin*. 34 SO 
’’ 16 “ 34—Bradley’s 911 jierphosphate 36 60 
“ 18 “ 30—Ashes. 38 40 
REMARKS. 
Ground Inclined to be too sandy and gravelly; 
entirely free from clay. Had been In clover two 
previous years; mowed twice each year. Southern 
slope; season dry and Buffered much from drought. 
Four stalks In a mil, except where otherwise desig¬ 
nated. Hills three feet and a half apart both ways. 
Variety of corn, eight-rowed, yellow. Cayuga 
plaster used unless otherwise designated. Corn 
very dry when husked, and 70 lbs. of cars counted 
as a bushel, cultivated four times, lioed once. 
Moderately ridged culture. All superphosphates 
dropped Iu the hill thoroughly mixed with the soli 
and the corn dropped on them. Plats small, less 
than l Mt) of an acre each. 
All experimental plats, except those of ls7.5 were 
separated by one vacant row. 
EXPERIMENTS IN MANURES, BTC., 1877. 
lbn. per BuhLuIh 
plat. per acre. 
1. 25 lb Htockbrid*e Corn Manure. 58 )4 25 6-70 
2. Nothing . 72)4 31.5-70 
per acre. 
25 6-70 
2. Notlliuir ..... <2)4 31 6-70 
3. 20 lt> Soluble Pacific Guano. 95 4u i>0-70 
•1 20 tt>Lister’s Ground Bone.. 114 48 10-70 
5 2 u lb Lister's Superphosphate... 131 56 10-70 
U Nothin).'... 138 69 10-70 
i. Crofut Superphosphate. 136J4 58 5-70 
8 Seed Soaked labour*, and rolled 
in plaster, and about one tublo- 
ppoon of planter dropped in each 
hill.*. 125)4 53 65-70 
9. 20 It) Plaster sowed broadcast, 
burrowed in...140)4 60 15-70 
10. Notbiii*.... 119)4 61 15-70 
11. 25 lb Btockbridge, sowed broad- 
cant, harrowed in. 108 46 20-70 
12. ’Seed soaked in Vltative com¬ 
pound..... 106 45 30-70 
13. Suckered. 120)4 45-70 
14. Uusuokared—four Btalks - com¬ 
pare with 10. 112 48 
15. 5 Stalk... U2 48 
16. 3 " . 125 63 40-70 
17. 2 *• . ... 110 47 10-70 
REMARKS. 
All manures, unless otherwise stated, were 
dropped In the hill and mixed with the soli. 
Ground, clover aud timothy sod. The plats, with 
extreme numbers, 1 and 17, w ere the poorest, the 
ground growing better toward the middle. Plats, 
separated by one vacant row. soil, a little too 
porous; spring, dry; com, somewhat Injured for 
want of moisture. The laud had borne a crop of 
clover and timothy the preceding year. Plowed 
once. 
• Vnative Coin pounds, directions for usinff Dis¬ 
solve the Compound in sufficient water to immerse the 
seed, then add the seed and allow it to soak from thirty- 
six to forty-eight hours. The Compound is poisonous 
to animals. 
The package sent contained two ounces, and 
was-according to directions—to “ Invigorate’’ one- 
hair bushel of seed. An analysis shows it to be 
composed of nearly equal parts of lead oxide and 
sulphate or zinc, t manufactured from phosphate 
rock and fish scraps. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH HTOCKBRIDOK MANURE, 1876. 
acre—180 lbs, Btoekbridge ma¬ 
nure applied to the surface 
and thoroughly harrowed in; 
yield. 1,070)4 lbs. corn in ear. 
i, acre -No manure; yield.1,071)4 “ 
REMARKS. 
Soli rather a heavy clay, from which had been 
cut two crops of clover In 1874; one crop In 1875; 
second crop plowed In, In October; ground har¬ 
rowed lu spring aud replowed about May 1st. The 
stalks on the manured plat, were perceptibly taller 
than those on the unmuuurcd, and the eais of corn 
were much higher colored; moderately ridged cult¬ 
ure ; four times through with Western Corn Culti¬ 
vator (two-liorse). 
EXPERIMENTS IN CORN CULTURE, 1876, TO TEST VA¬ 
RIETIES. 
lbs. Of 
sound lbs. soft Bushels 
corn. corn, per aero. 
1 . 8 -rowed yellow, liome-rais- 
lid HtieiL......_........ 141 17 73 bit-iO 
2. Maryland yellow, from D. 
C.Agl. Dept. 97 
1 m H * aim. 
’■ “ « •«-» 
5. 8 -rowod yellow, seed raised 
by Mr. Bates.. 145)4 22 76 23-70 
6 . 100 -day corn, seed raised by „„„ 
Mr. Holden, Etna. 104)4 11 54 00-70 
7. White corn, seed raised by 
Mr Ayers, West Hill. 131 20 68 53-ill 
REMARKS. 
soil aud conditions same as In preceding experi¬ 
ment, except, that farm-yard manures were liber¬ 
ally applied In the winter. The ut most care was 
taken to make this tost a fair one. Results quite 
as marked have been obtained since on a larger 
scale, but no figures were kept. 
EXPERIMENTS IN VARIETIES, 1877, 
lbs. soft 
Bushels 
corn. 
per aero. 
17 
78 69 70 
97 
37 
81 28-70 
17 
68 14-70 
22 
76 23-70 
11 
51 60-70 
20 
68 53-70 
11. Bates’s corn. I 
12. 100-dny corn . 
13. Penn zorn. . 
It. Gold-drop. . I 
to.’ Western corn, acclimated two 
years.. 
16. White corn —Mr. Ayres. 
17. Cook’s yellow .. 
18. Western Hicks s—. 
AVERAGE OF DUPLICATES, 
No. 1 and No. 11 Bates’s seed. 
“ 2 “ “ 12—100-day corn. 
“ 3 " " 13— Pa. seed. 
“ 4 “ “ 14—Gold-drop. 
“ 5 “ “ 15—Western corn. 
“ 6 " ’’ 16—Ayers’s seed.. 
” 9 *’ “ 17- Cook’S yellow.. 
" 10 " “ 18-Western Hicks’s. 
69 10-70 
55 30-70 
55 10-70 
61 30-70 
36 
38 10-70 
51 60-70 
33 30-70 
Bushels 
per acre. 
. 53 
. 45 60-70 
. 48 20-70 
. 49 
. 36 30-70 
. 4615-17 
. 62 45-70 
. 5140-70 
0. Western corn, acclimated two 
years. . 
6. White corn— Mr. Ayres,.;.... 
7. 8 -rowed yellow —Mr. Bates — 
planted with pumpkins every 
third hill.. . 
10. Wunlorn Hicks’*, acclimated four 
year*.... 
lbs. in 
Bushels 
ear. 
per acre. 
64)4 
36 60-70 
68)4 
36 20-70 
72)4 
41 30.70 
60« 
34 40-70 
64)4 
36 80-70 
95 
64 20-70 
67)4 
38 40-70 
78JC 
46 
128 K 
7830-70 
122 
63 60-70 
REMARKS. 
All the plats were separated by three rows of 
potatoes. Ground clover sod, one year standing, 
gravelly and variable m quality. The ground, 
from No. 0 to No. it) was the best, and the poorest 
at No. l and No. 18. On plat No. 7 pumpkins were 
nearly a failure, with few vines. Plats 1-40 of an 
acre each. Culture same as In 1876. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
No experiments were conducted In corn In 1878 
on account of my absence in Europe, except in 
the regular experimental corn field, which con¬ 
tains about two acres divided into 38 plats, and 
which lias been In experimental corn for four con¬ 
secutive years, These experiments are conducted 
tor the purpose of ascertaining the value of various 
fertilizers of known composition, when applied to 
the soil continuously. Not knowing the history 
or the management of the land except during a 
few years prior to Its use for experimental pur¬ 
poses, ll Is thought, best by those having the exper¬ 
iments lu charge, to defer the publication of 
results, at least for another year. There are some 
difficulties in experimenting, that It Is hard to 
overcome. It the plats are large, the variation of 
soil often changes the results; If small, some 
local cause, so slight that it Is likely to escape 
notice, may change results perceptibly’ in the yield 
per acre. T prefer to let each one draw Ills own 
conclusions from the results given, rather than 
state any myself, some results appear to contra¬ 
dict otUers, the reasons for this 1 cannot tell. 1 
can only go on and try to ascertain the tree ones. 
Some of the phosphates used have been analyzed 
and most of them are of good, fair quality; some 
being very good; but notwithstanding this, they 
have failed to produce any marked results either 
In wheat or corn, t hough the tests have been very 
numerous and under varied circumstances. Good 
phosphates produce marked results wltliln ten 
miles U) the north of us, while near Elmira no more 
marked effect Is produced than with us. While 
visiting Mr. li. Luwes of England, I received 
some hints that I think will assist me In solving 
this mystery. 1 have already Instituted a series 
of entirely new experiments for that purpose. 
HOW TO GROW A BIG CROP OF CORN. 
BY A WESTERN FARMER. 
“ Like produces like” with seed as with ani¬ 
mals. One cannot therefore produce a large 
crop of corn from seed that has been used to 
grow' amongst a number of barren stalks. 
Where five stalks have grown in a hill and but 
one has homo au ear, that corn is useless for 
seed. Seed should be selected from a crop 
where each stalk bears at least oue ear, and il 
there is au attempt at two, it it be ouly in the 
shape of a husk without even a uubbiu, the ear 
from that stalk should be chosen. This habit 
of shooting out cars at the joint may lie en¬ 
couraged in this way, and varieties with stalks 
producing several ears have thus been origi¬ 
nated. But unless the seed has been selected 
with cure it is in vain to expect a large yield of 
corn. The seed is the first requisite. The soil 
is the next. Too rich a soil is not prolific of 
grain. Enormous stalks often appear with the 
smallest nubbins, or only moderate ears. Ex¬ 
cessive manuring will not help the yield of 
grain so much as the production of foliage. 
The popular method of planting corn ou a 
clover sod may not be advisable in all cases. 
This is an Eastern practice and is disregarded 
in the West. it. grows out of the necessity for 
some auxiliary fertilizing by rotation of crops, 
the prevention of weeds, and the saving of 
labor in cultivation; au Eastern farm being 
unable to grow weeds and corn both. We 
have come to that now in the West, although 
u r e follow wheat with corn, or eoru with corn; 
aud do uot depend much upon breaking up a 
sod for this crop. It may be a question if it is 
not wiser to carefully nurse a sod ttud try to 
get more permanent meadow than we usually 
have, rather than break it up so frequently. 
But to grow a good crop of corn it is not neces¬ 
sary to turn under a sod. Stubble laud will 
produce a lieavy crop if it is rich enough in 
the right sort of fertilizers, and is kept free 
! from weeds. Where the soil Is not iu good 
condition manuring is necessary ; to put the 
manure in the hill or drill, is the best method. 
The crop then gets its food when and where it 
needs it the most. 
An early Btart is the great point. One car 
may be matured on a stalk with a late start, 
but to mature the secondary cars aud give 
them their full growth, is impossible uuless 
the crop makes a start from the first and keeps 
it up. If we use only a small quantity of ma¬ 
nure in the hill to start the plant, and the roots 
have then to grope several inches, or feet, 
away into the soil for food, time is lost and the 
crop is sacrificed. No after start can make up 
for this lost time. An excellent fertilizer to 
start the growth La a good handful of mixed 
