Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1855-05-04

ed OF the Necessity OK q apartment Of
Agriculture, the farmers throughout the
United States may then know the means
by which a few of their number arc
enabled toraise four times the average cror
of the country per acre. Ga the pre.ent
occasion propose to enter fully into the
best modes Of culture. These of course
must differ in different parts Of the coup-
try. The same culture which will answer
for the small farmers Of the Atlantic
seabcard would be impracticable in the
immense coru-felds Of the far Wegt. To-
there the amount Of labor which nav 5e
judciously and prontably applied would
be impracticable here; and hence it will
be necessary TO state the methods appIi-
cable to different districts. Land a. S2Oe
per acre and at 50 per acre cannot gener-
ally be manured alike, ,eyeu although tbeir
constituents and requirements NAV be tho
same; for the cheaper lspdg aye 50 far
fren the manufacturing districts ,ha. in
some cases the Necessary amendments g
be used as manure for the soil cannot Be Oh
tanned and scarcity Of labor requires the use
oftoO!s by horsepower in place ofany other
mode Of culture, and that of the simplest
and most expeditions kind. 1t IS known
to those who have Observed closely, tha.
the roots of the Indian corn plant. in soil
prepared to admit az their full ranli6ca.ioc
will average in length 81 feet, and hence
the necessity of deep and subsoil plowinf
for this crop, mus: be evident to ali,
When the constituents of this plant shall
be spoken Of, it via be eridens tia. its
inorganic requirements, received principa.
lly, in many soils, from the sub-soil. rem
der deep disiutegration necessary. 1t viii
also be evident that soils hAbitually we.
cannot be proftably employed in the
grewth fcorn without thorough drainage;
for until surplus water ceases to occup7
the spaces between the particles of the
earth, atmospheric cannot enter. Nor can
the pulyerulent condition of the soil resul.
from this disturbance by the plow during
the growth Of this crop, if partially i'm
mersed in water, for their surpl-s water
acting as lubricator 10 the particles.
causes them to settle iu SO compact a form,
that the corn roots cannot travel freely il
search of their proper alinent The differ
ent modes of culture adopted, should al
ways embrace such mauipulations as vii;
give the greatest amount Of disturbance
to the soil with the leas. amount of abra-
sion to the roots of corn, hence tie oriri-
nal preparation Of the soil before planting
should be such as 20 secure the most me-
low condition, and to the greatest depth.
This will be perfect security from drought.
for Thc.eveC ak can circulate among parti-
cles of soil colder than Itself, it will deposit
moisture, therefore corn grown on sub
sOiled land free from excess Of water never
suffers from drought. The after cultivation
during the growth Of the crop should be
such as to render the surface at all times
penetrable to the atmosphere aud free Of
parasitic growth
The importance Of our subjec. must be
my excuse for entering thus uliuutely into
detail. Of what is the Indian corn plans
composed whence are these constituents
obtained what means can Be adorted t.
supply such as are missin. from the sell .
1t is well known to you thai | have fuli
reliance ID the doctrine Of adding to the
soil such constituents Of crop IS may 10
missing from it and by presenting the
proper conditions and necessary stimulant,
ior their appropriation, that they will be
taken Up ty the plant and that success Is
certain under such treatment. You arc
also aware that lTacei7ed from your irsti-
tuition a premium fer corn crop raised By
the use ofamendments costing less than 50
peracre but which mad the previous year re-
fusedcorn and that this crop was raised on
soil which had BY analysis been found to
be absent from the soil and required bv
the crop. The details of that experiment
have been published many times. L will,
therefore, refer iu brief to the analyses Of
the corn crop. You are all aware tia.
these are different in different stages Of
growth, and they have been SO often pub.
lished that It would be unnecessary 10
treat Of them separately. shall therefore,
speak Of the necessary constituents Of the
soil for the entire completion of the corn
crop, embracing all its stages of growth.
You are, doubtless, aware that the surface
of the corn stalk has coating cf silica,
which gives strength to the stalk. Indeed
It is to re found throughout ihs stalks,
leaves and grain, and when insufficient in
quantity, a perfect organism Of the plant
caunot he maintained. The silica is Tho
base of flint, the base of common sand, AMI
rs fonn, in some soils is insoluble and
cannot be Appropriated foe the use of the
plant. When, however, the soil has q
sufficient amount Of alkalias which have
the power to combine With silica, and thus
render it soluble, the plant can readily re-
ceive and appropriate It, and from this fac,
arises tue necessity in part for the presence
of th0ss alkaiies. Aralysi, shows that
corn requires potash, SOFA, lime, magns,
sia, and tia. each OF these is capable Of
rendering tie sile1 soluble and ready f1r
appropriation hence soils deficient in
potash, lime, or soda can seldom be made
to produce a full corn crop, and in soils
which are very deficient Of those consti.
tuents. tie use of barn-yarl manure with
ou. their separate addition, viii not give
f,I, corn crops Among the necessary
constituents Of corn, phosphoric acid iz the
most Important; thus VIC End that letelier
in his analysis Of the asa Of The kernels
states, that so per cent. is phosphOric acid,