Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1835-10-08
From the Gene,st Farmer.
HARVESTING OF CORN--nY "

.nr. t0r,-Sumc Of nv opinions respecting
tho best and most prohtsl, mode OF harvesting a
crop of corn, were considerably shaken by the
communications which appeared inlhe last volume
Of the Farmer OH this subject. from whose
testimony is Of the Greatest weight; my imprcs-
si0n ha, been, tint TO secure the greatest quantity
OF GOOD sound corn il was best, soon tho tops
had become somewhat dry, and the ear, hard gla
1.d, to top the corn, and LEI the stand the
stalks ill the lmc of gathering, and such OF course
has generally lecn my practice. did this, be-
cause | believed that after the top had perio, med
its ofhcc OF formulating the plant, i, became in a
manner useless aud that stalks dry, and leaves
wiihcrcd, however excellent as fodder for cattle,
could do little nothing towards celebrating the
Juices necessary for the perfection of the ears 1t
hcsijcs appeared to me that the fresh and green
hu,k, winch farmers know retain their power of
celebrating sap much longer in general than the
l.avc,, were designed by nature 10 supply the cars
with food and though opposed To the mntilation
If plants generally, ~ the means OF increasing
ihrir prod civ ness topping corn did not con-
si Ter As an operation Of that kind. When such
men, wrN,r, Is lIucl and Colman, maintain a
different theory, and, backed by experiment,
contend that topping corn ~ hnrtiul, certainly
bccomcs ma,r agrlculturi>ts 10 pause, and test
the question thoroughly. These farmers and o
Tiers assert, that topping com isdccldcdy injurious
hat il materially lessons the actual weight OF
the crop--and THEREFORE that allowing the stalk to
r..man whole I'LL the time ofgatheriue OF else cut
ting il up CLOSE TO the bottom, Is thr preferable
mode oi h rvcstins.
These experiments, though SO far thu, wcr.
detailed, they appeared TO be very fairly conduc-
ted we're not altogether satisfactory to me- as they
did not 90 far enough. Every farmer is sensible,
4
b, exposure to the direct RAYS of the sun. and
must therefore be expected 10 weigh less vt the
time of gathering than corn shaded by the tops,
or cut up by the bottom aud standing in stack,
till huskcd. My corn the past year had been
cut up by the bottom, with the exception OF a
few pieces of rows, before tine thought of max INF
any experiment, myself ON tine subject occurred.
Ia order to see, however, whether my IDEAS of hc
different rate OF shrnkagc bctweca topped corn,
and that cut up, were correct. | carefully weighed
basket full of ears of each kind, At the time OF
gathering, aud placing them in dry chamber,
where they lay undisturbcd, lei them remain until
the middle OF January, when | had both kinds
carefully SHIELDED and weighed. By tls expert
mcnt, it appeared that the corn cu up By the bot
TEN shrnnk three pounds IN bushel more than the
topped !; but this did not mark the extent OF the
difference as at the time OF Smelling. the formc,
was easily distinguished from the latter bv its COM
parativc dampness, tho both parcels we're brigh,
6ne corn. | cannot therefore, consider the cues.
ton as entirely put at rest by any experiments tina
have yet been made, but as the matter is ccltanl
one Of Importance, hope that another scaso
Gill no, pass without its being done elTeciuallS
In order to do this, all the specimens must not onl
be weighed and measured AT the time of gatherin
and at the time OF Smelling, but be suffered to renal
in some position favorable TO the evaporation
all dampness until the corn is completely and tho
roughly dried, when careful comparison Of tn
whole would show the true result