ILLINOIS STATE DAIEYMEN’s ASSOCIATION. 
21 
the abundance of nature literally runs to waste. When"day after day, week 
after week, and even month after month, he sees the sun rise in the morning 
glowing with a fierce, heat, climb the sky and hang at noon above his head, 
scorching and destroying his crops, instead of ripening and maturing them^ 
and, slowly descending the western slope, set at evening in a cloudless sky; 
when evening after evening he sees his cows return from their bare pastures 
with a weary and careworn look, with loose and half empty udders ; when, 
in order to prevent his herd from entirely losing their milk, he is compelled 
to pay the miller extortionate prices for feed,—then, indeed, will he realize 
the fact that the part of prudence is to prepare for drought every year, with 
as unfailing a regularity as he prepares for the winter season. 
Having, therefore, established the necessity of preparation for drought, 
the question arises, In what is this preparation to consist? It is plain that 
we must replace that which nature denies, an abundant supply of rich and 
succulent food, and that this should be grown and cultivated in such a man¬ 
ner as will give the greatest possible amount of nutriment at the least possi¬ 
ble expense. As to what this food is to consist of, however, opinions may 
diftei in the East. I believe that for our State it will generally be conceded 
that the leaves and juicy stalks of the Indian corn is the best that we can 
piocuie. That glorious grain, which has done so much for us in the past, 
which has contributed more than all other cereals to the greatness of our 
State, will, if properly cultivated and fed, again prove our friend in dire 
extremity, and bridge over the abyss of drought and scarcity which some¬ 
times intervenes between the abundance of the spring and the refreshing 
rains of autumn. It may now be asked, Plow shall we cultivate and feed 
it ? In the first place, it is necessary to select a rich and dry piece of land. 
It is a waste of time and labor to plant fodder corn on poor or wet land. This 
land should be plowed immediately before planting, and after plowing we 
should harrow it lepeatedly and thoroughly. By this thorough harrowing 
we attain two desirable objects; first, the land is put in the best possible 
condition to promote the speedy growth of our crop, and secondly it is in the 
best possible condition to encourage the sprouting and growth of the weed 
seeds which it may contain. Now, it may seem strange to some that I should 
consider the growth of the weed seeds desirable. My reason is that by in¬ 
ducing them to grow now, we can kill them by the million with the harrow, 
when they are finally disposed of. Whereas, if we only cover them up, they 
will sprout at a later period of the season, when we can not so easily get at 
them, and will in their turn produce millions of seeds to trouble us another 
year. The ground being thus prepared, we should drill in our corn m rows 
three and a half or four feet apart, in rows, if possible, running north and 
south, and at the rate of about three bushels per acre. My reason for plant¬ 
ing in rows as far apart as three and one-half feet is, that I believe that expe¬ 
rience and observation have shown that we can raise more and better corn 
at that distance apart than when closer. When corn is sown broadcast, or at 
intervals of a few inches, it grows up a weak, watery plant, can never pro¬ 
duce an ear, and consequently is destitute of the sugar and other valuable 
substances which compose the ear. 
Whereas, when planted at wide intervals, the stalk contains several 
