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THE FARMER’S DEPARTMENT.►From the American Farmer.1 OkCulture of Indian Corn*DRESDEN, Ohio, June 1,1831. Mr. Smith.—Indian Com being an ini-it production of .our soil, antU^tensive-iy grown by our farmers, it i3 desirable that we-should, attain thecat the same time the most easy and most productive. *To contribute something to this end f shall make some obsej^tijpns on the best mode of cultivating this grain, and point out some errors into which I conceive many of our farmers have fallen with regard to it. To ascertain the proper mode of culture for any plant it is necessary to examine into its nature arid qualities, and the kind of ^ soil to which it is best adapted, and .we I ^hdlt;A(51cIAb4arshould proceed accordingly, a The want of proper attention to this rule*ms producedthoV0Imuch wild theory and bad practice in agri-culture. The Corn plant requires a loose k alluvial soil to bring it to its greatest per-'' fection, we should therefore in preparing ground for its reception render it as light and mellow as possible, ploughing as deep as the nature of the soil will admit; harrowing the ground previous to planting is advantageous in hard cloddy sobs, but is not generally necessary. The deed should be dein Furrows struck as deep as the _ tnd is ploughedrisnd lightly covered Inth loose earth, iftoo much earth is thrown upon it there is clanger of its rotting in coldwet weather, which sometiifres succeeds the season of planting. By this mode of plftn^ ing the plants are more firmly fixed in the' earth, the roots striking deep*draw a great*er supply of nourishment to support tjieTn,they are likewise more secure from drought which often proves very destructive to the Com crop, the stalks will not generally grow as_tall as those which are planted su« I ] perficially, but are thicker and st ronger and L produce larger ears. The best process of \ cultivation is, that which will preserve u | \ level surface, and most effectually destroy the weeds. This is most effectually done by drawing a large harrow over the rows, (the depth of the furrows will preserve the plants from injury,) the weeds should be carefully removed^ and the furrows filled up around the plants as they become large e-nough to bear it. If this operation is well done, (and much of the success of the crop depends upon its being so,) one ploughing Will be sufficient; in doing this the earth should be thrown to the corn, but care should be taken not to ridge it, which is very injurious, as it carries off* tho rain from the corn which requires a plentiful supply of moisture, especially when earing.Many farmers pursue a quite differentcourse, just skimming the Surface, and planting their seed almost oa the top of tho ground;the consequence is that tho roots, unable topenetrate the hard earth beneath, afford but little sustenance to the plants which run up spindling, and being often seen by examining the outer rows of corn where the ground could not- be well ploughed. What seems to have led to this practice^ the cultiva-tion of new ground where it could not be ploughed deep, the strength of the soil”prom t i* .i 'iL '____luces abundantly with any kind of culture, rhe superficial farmer continues qjcimming he surface until it becomes exhausted, whenlupposing the land worn out he abandons it10 wiser cultivators. #Another error which some practice is soabsurd as almost to carry, with it its own Bbhfutafibh;4his is to plough so deep as tor etij and mangle the roots of corn with theidea of making it Jproduce better. ^ This causes what is'called fred corn, that is, the blades wither and die before it is fully ripe.Though I conceive the above observationsto be supported by reason, they are somewhat the result of experience, the best proof of theory. I once planted in the same field with some who ploughed shallow, while my part was broken up beam deep and furrowed with/Jhe-ploagh one after the other in the irrow, the consequence was that Ia better crop than they, with much less labor, and I am convinced that every similar trial would produce a similar result.-A WESTERN FARMER.
Newspaper Details
Gettysburg Star and Adams County Republican Banner
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US
Tue, Jan 31, 1832
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Muskingum C.
OH, USA 18 Mar 2021
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