Cheraw gazette and Pee Dee farmer. [volume] (Cheraw S.C.) 1838-1839, 1839-09-13
From the Genesee Farmer.
Varieties Of Indian Corn

Varieties OF Indian C0rns
The following is an extract from pape,
| read before the Agricultural Society Of
Fredericksburgh, Virginia.
The kind of corn cultivated, believe to
be of greater importance than Is generally
supposed. Any Virginian who has travel.
led northwards, must have observed the dif:
ference between their crops and ours. He
must have seen that the stalks diminish in
sze, while the crop per acre, obviously in.
creases and yet ours is VIGOROUSLY the soil
and climate for growing corn. think the
difference may be attributed to the kind Of
corn cultivated, kind which enables them
to plant much thicker than We do. Here,
most of US plant gourd. seed corn, shooting
up large stalk, bearing generally one, oc.
casionaily two ears, and not admitting thick
planting. There, the stalk is low. is plan.
ted very thick, and bears two, three, and
four small Ainty ears. Not farther North
than Pennsylvania, have seen corn plant.
ed five feet by four, with three and four
stalks in the hill. Counting three stalks al
this distance, md utiowtng three ears TO
each, any given space, there. will yield sew.
en- or eigh, ears to our one; small ears
certainly, but still large enough 10 account
for the great superiority in the product per
acre. commenced with the old full.breed
Virginia gourd-seed, and stuck 10 it for six
or eieh, years but finding that on COM
mon land many slalks we're too late in cur.
ing, or did not ear at all, determined to
change my seed. My next variety was the
..TaliafcTo white flint" This sort is touch
ed with the gourd.seed, but It is superior 10
it in having smaller stalk. rpening earlier,
bearing more ears, and q harder and heav.
ier grain. | then tried what is called the
"Alsop corn" resembling the Taliaierro in
other respects, but somewhat smaller in stalk,
and superior in number Of ears, often pro.
ducing two, three and sometimes greater
number of ears. This corn still plant. |
made one experiment with the Maryland
twin corn, and thought it as prolific as the
Alsop but the grain being lighter and the
stalk taller, it was abandoned. Last win.
ter purchased, in Washington, small
quantity of 'Bladen corn and planted with it
rich lot Of two acres. 1t came up and
grew off we'll, was the TALES, corn ever
saw, averaged five or six shoots 10 the stalk,
and promised at one time to make great
crop. But it suffered nearly twice as much
as the rest Of my corn, from the heat OF
drouth Of the summer, and was broken Oft
bv wind in August, which did very little
injury to the rest Of the crop. 1t did not OF
course fill up or ripen well. and l feed it to
hogs. But as it certainly had more shoots
than any corn | ever saw, have saved q
small portion to plant again. If it can be
brought down to proper standard, reiain'
ing its great number Of shoots, it will prob.
ably turn out to be very prolific variety.
1t will readily DO seen that / consider
thicker planting THAI common essential in
i making heavy crops Of corn per acre. Bu'
thick planting with large kind, is out o'
the question. At the same time, it mus
be borne in mind, that as we increase the
number, we diminish the size of the cars
and add to the labor ofgathering and husk
ing. Every judicious farmer will decide
from experience, how far he can carry this
process :; and will stop as soon rs he be-
| gins 10 doubt whether he is paid for his ad-
di,ional labor. Dismissing all speculation
on this point, believe we may safely plan
any small variety Of corn, at the rate of ONT
stalk TO every ten square feet on tolerabl
land, which would give about 1850 stalks
and from six to ten barrels Of grain to tn
acre. | will only add, in conclusion, thu
although have frequently been deferred B.
the influence which custom exercises owe
the mind ofevery one, from planting cor
as thick as | was inclined to. have, in n
, one instance, exceeded the usual rate with
out adding TO the crop.
/ WILLIAM P. TAYLOR.