The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1853-04-19
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Culture of Corn and Pens.

Culture OF Corn and Pens.
OUR old friend and correspondent,
DR.. Philips, Of Mississippi, gives US
Che following directions for the cult
yation Of Corn and Peas, on pages
336-Tl8 Of Patent Office Report
for 1851:
Co7n.-The mode Of culture I
prefer, and therefore deem 'best' is
to break up land deep-6 inches
and thorough, in large beds, say
of 80 feet; run off rows with q shovel
plow, 4 feet distant; this is invariable
with me, giving fewer or more stalks
in the row, according to poverty or
richness of land. Drill corn at rate
of about half bnshel per acre; cov-
er with an iron-tooth harrow. When
corn is fully up, run round with a
narrow shovel-plow, lthe bull-tongue,
also called scooter-plow,l clean with
the hoe very nicely, leaving no grass
or weeds; thin out either at this work
ing, or wait for a vet spell of wealth
er. In few days, run round again
with a 6-inch shovel.p,cw. prefer
these plowings to be deep and near
to corn. The latter plowing should
mould the plant we'll. IF, by this
time, grass has begun to appear in
the middles, / would use an iron.tooth
harrow to tear up clods and destroy
all grass, ifit required running the
harrow twice. In the course Of
5asome two weeks after last plowing,
if time permitted, I would hoe the
corn, levelling the ridge, cutting up
grass, and cleansing around stumps
and trees; and two weeks, or near it.,
after second plowing, I would run
another furrow with the largest shov-
ell, or use the sweep, which breaks
out the row, if not broken out. I
would do so early enough to keep
the rows clean. When my corn is
in bunch, SOW peas, and either
use the harrow, or sweep, or shovel
plow, to cover, which cleans the row
and lays by the corn; though if not
hoed previously, now give a hoe
ing, 80 as to leave the corn-feld
clean for peas and corn.
Peas.-I use the cow.pea of the
long: variety upon all corn land,
principally as renoyator, using 10
to Is quarts per acre, being scatter.
ed asregularly as possible over the
entire surface, before the last plow-
ing. This has been a practice of
some Is to 18 years standing; and
so thoroughly am I convinced of the
value of this pea as renovator, that
1 intend to average hereafter one
bushel per acre, even if I have to
plant and cultivate peas merely for
seed. am not satisfied that I SOW
now enough.
[ find that where the shade is most
dense, and earliest, the land has i'm.
proved most. / have corn now on
land cleared and cultivated in corn
in 1880, which will this year give me
40 bushels per acrr to which there
never has been applied any manure;
no other aid used, save q rotation
of two years in cotton, and one in
corn and peas. The land being
good, I did not deem it needful to
: make any greater change this year
acorn; and to give better growth
of vine, &C., to turn under, [ shall
next year continue in corn, and thus
bring it under my usual rotation
two years in corn and peas, and one
in cotton, for all ordinary land.
I hope this corn and pea story will
not be too tedious. l thus dwell on
it because I am thought as discard.
ing tho pea; whereas, [ know of not
a solitary planter anywhere who be-
slows more labor to secure growth
of the pea-yine. I have 20 acres
planted in peas, 8 feet apart, which
have bcen plowed three times and
howed twice; but I do it as a reno
waiting crop. Fifty head of hogs
will feed my family abundantly; 1
have almost two acres per head.
Southern Cuztivator.