The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1855-03-30

ASot, lcii III Acuts COuuly, N.Y. prtule
um was offered for the best essay ON the
of Indian corn. There were four
The committee awarded The
premium to Mr. S. L. DRAKE, of Henry
county, for the following essay, which we
copy from the Louisville Courier, and re-
commend to the careful attention of our
farming friends:
In wriin" al essay on the cultivation and
management Of c)rn crop, the writer of this
viii not strive so much to maintain system
in writing, as merely to contribute what he
may know from practice.
Among the many requisites to insure good
corn crop, the period OF breaking the land, &C
cording 10 its kind whether it be turf stubble,
or land which had produced corn the preceding
year, Is OF great consequence, and should be
varied according to its tendency to wet or dry
and | will remark here that have but little
faith in the benefits resulting from fall or early
winter plowing, because, If 1t be done earlier
than November, the effects of the sun will
prove injurious to the land thus exposed, and
it will be sure to want re-breakin. before it
should be planted.
Der or January, it is still not exempt from the
necessity Of re-breakiug, but it is liable, if the
winter be a wet one, to excessive washing, and
the consequence is, the valuable liquids are
drenched out, aud the product will consequent
ly be diminished. These remarks are intended
to apply to stubble aud sod lands.
From my observation and experience, ]
would say, that February is preferable in Ken
lucky to any other time for breaking turf or
sod land, aud no farmer should, If he can avoid
1t, let day pass, when this period arrives,
without having some blowing done when the
ground is sufficiently clear OF frost to do 3d.
Stubble lands may he broken in this month
also, but should give precedence TO turf land
Experience has proved to me, and think will
convince any one who will try it, that turf or
stubble which is turned under in February will
rot as soon as that which is plowed earlier,
while it is not liable to the injuries mentioned
above.
Land from which crop of corn was taken
the year previous, should not be broken before
March, but hold that it is bad economy, ex-
cept upon land of great fertility, to tax it with
two consecutive crops 1T is not only too eX
hausting to the land but is always attended
with more difficulty in the cultivation from
grass and weeds-an important feature in the
production Of a good corn crop. The blowing
should be deep and thoroughly DONE and, if
practicable the sub-sol plow should follow the
ordinary plow, for upon the complete prepare
ton of the land depends, in great degre the
success Of the crop. The planting should not
be done until Tie ground becomes dry and
warm enough to insure the speedy termination
Of the seed SO as to make good stand, to
| avoid replanting the vacancies, and sometimes
| furrowing out entirely, which, if done without
rebreaking, seldom produces good crop, and
is difficult 10 cultivate it would be infinitely
better for the farmer to attend to some other
job until the proper season arrives.
An important point in this matter is the
method of planting There are, as conceive,
but two definite methods of planting corn, one
Of which is by crossing off the land with a
pillow, the required width and planting the crop
so as TO form rows each way, and the other is
to drill it. Drilling is either performed by
| hand or by some of the Numerous kinds Of seed
drills now in use.
! From three years experience in planting
with Barnhilrs patent corn planter, l prefer
that to any other method of putting in my crop.
The advantages afforded by this method are:
lst. After am ready to choc1 off for plant
ing, can dispense with three fourths of the
iaborerS and two thirds of the horses, and the
! planter may from this cause alone, be enabled
to prepare his land thoroughly while the sea-
sou is arriving when he may plant with safety,
and be can thus bc enabled to wait upon the
weather, and for the preparation of the land,
which, if he does not he will seldom fail to re.
gret. The land should in all cases be first har-
rowed before the planter | consider the prop
or time for putting in this cropin Kentucky is
oil, 80 L Al.
land from the goth of April to the 9Th or even
to the 10Th of May would not be too late.
Another reason in favor of the drill system
with this machine is, that it deposits the grain
at intervals of about II to IA inches apart, in
rows, say 4 feet to feet 3 inches apart The
plants should be thinned out, so as to leave but
one stalk to each deposite. The corn is thus
regularly dispersed over the ground, whereas,
il in hill, the amount of stalks on the land
would be about the same but the more uni
/ form distribution of the drilled corn over the
surface Of the land, am confident, will pro-
duce the largest yield, and if properly cultva-
ted, will withstand the effects of drought bet
ter than corn planted in hills, while the drilled
corn can be cultivated easier, and in much bet
ter rotation. For instance, if the entire crop
is one field, your workings will always be 10
regular succession from one side to the other
The period between workings to all parts of
the !ie!d.will be regular Otherwise, if in hills
to be plowed both ways, when the field is once
plowed over, say from east to west, you turn
across and are obliged to re-work part of the
corn Immediately with a part that has not been
worked fer or 10 days.
The system Of cultivation that pursue and
! which believe as successful as any other. is,
as soon as the corn is planted, and before it is
up, it you choose, to run twice in a row with
one horse Rounder Or Livingston county
rplow, the bar side to the corn.
L; start half my teams thus: when they have
proceeded this way long enough for the land
to want stirring again, start the second half,
to follow with cultivators, also twice in a row