Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1843-10-24
AGRICULTURE.
From the Cul,ivator.)

BEST METHOD OF CURING CORN.
Our Indian corn crop is Of the most valuable if
not the most valuable crop in The United States, and
every thing relative the best methods of growing
and securing il are proportionabIy important. In
curing Indian corn, Two methods are commonly used ;
the first is top the corn, by cutting the stalk imme
diately above the and this ~ usually done as the
grain glazed though some farmers scarcely wait Tor
this The second is cut up The corn by the bottom
as soon as glazed, bind the stalks and
small bundles, set them up, and let them stand until
thoroughly cnred In the first method, only the upper
part of the stalk is saved for fodder but the
pens finely and nothing can be more beautiful, than
field which the husks have fallen from the rpened
prain and the thick golden give a promise NJ
The rich harvest a. hand Still, prefer The second
me hod and that from ample experience al bath We
have our corn cut up by he bottom because that
way we save The whole of the stalks Tor fodder, and
that is unmportant matter To the farmer In top
ping only the poorest part of the stalk saved for, IT
Gu, ad cured properly, there is nutritious
food for ANIMALS than the stalk of II is true,
when very large, cattle and sheep unable to eat
them but if converted into chaf by cutting machine,
as they easily be- there Is no food eaten more
readily or with more profit II is not hazarding
much, 10 say, that there is more value in mere
Of corn stalks cut by the bottom, and properly fed
out, than in an acre OF ordinary hay, and no far
mer afford TO dispense with such an item IN
providing for his stock. But The saving in the
stalk is not all experiments show that there is
gain the grain of nearly twenty per centum
in cutting by the bottom in preference TO topping
Experiments made by Mr. Clark, Judge Buel, and
Others and recorded the volumes Of the Old Genes
see Farmer and the Cnl,ivator, place this matter be
vond doubt In one made by Mr.. Clark, he found
the yield per of the topped, to be AZ BUSH
els IL lbs and tho nnlopped 60 bushels, S lbs From
some experiments Instituted by ourselves several years
since, il ascertained that there ference
of consequence in the product, when the corn was
left on The untouched stalks tall harvest and when
they were cut by The bottom after The corn was we
glazed, but that both these methods gave greater
product than when topped in the usual manner. Its
said, Tim, when corn is topped and after The corn is
gathered, that cattle will eat all that is valuable of
the stalks they s'aEd the field. This is certainly
mistake the most nutritious part, the main stalk
itself, is generally left untouched BIZ them If the
corn crop well MANFRED, it should be- the cult.
/ walton OF the excellent preparation for
wheat, and Of The best farmers of our country
use the crop for this purpose In this case, cut
ting by the bottom is indispensable for The getting
in OF the wheat properly; and If it is intended to fol-
low the corn with spring crops "a IS frequently done.
such wheat, nats barley, il will be found that the
absence Of The large stalks that ds6gure corn grounds
when only topped, will greatly facilitate til the pnt-
ting in, and the harvesting Of these crops For all
these reasons, and the additional one that il is only
by cutting al the bottom TINT can be saved frnm
the fleets Of early rosls hen they occur We are de
cidedy of the OPINION that the crop oil the coun-
Try might annually be increased in value were the
metho of cutting it By the bottom as soon as the
grain is fully glazed, 10 become 90 neral.