The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1858-04-09
The Culture Of Indian Corn.

In the proceedings OF the Rhode is'ahd
Society for the Encouragement OF Domestic
Industry, recent, published, we find
letter from Mr.. Thomas Andrews OF Sla-
tersyille, which cannot fail to interest our
agricultural readers. The writer says he
has studied the culture Of Indian Corn Tor
more than sixteen years, with very little
assistance from books, but by observation
and experiment. He says:-
1.-THE kind or variety Of corn at harvest
depends not on the kind or variety Of corn
planted, but on the kind or variety from
which the plated corn receives It's pollen.
This have established by repeated ex.
periments. For instance, | have planted
the improved Canada corn, and have raised
from IL a sweet corn, fit for use at the time
that the ears Of the Canada corn would have
been in the milk. The mode Of operation
was very simple; as soon as the tassel OF
the Canada corn began to appear It was cut
of. The tassel was also cut from the sweet
corn and the pollen shaken from It on the
silk of the incipient ear Of the Canada corn.
The ear will be sweet corn without any IN
termixture Of kernels OF the Canada corn.
II the tassel be suffered to remain on the
Canada corn, and the pollen from the tassel
Of the sweet corn be shaken on the silk OF
the ear, the ear will consist Of kernels OF
Canada corn and kernels OF sweet corn IN
termixed. have mixed three varieties on
one cob, by shaking the pollen from the
tassels at different times and | see no reason
why many more might not be added to them.
But IL the pollen from tassels OF different
varieties be shaken on the silk Of any variety,
at the same time the corn produced will
have in it combined all the peculiarities OF
the varieties represented in the pollens. i,
was by this means that | produced the
Rhode Island premium corn and the An
drews' Hybrid corn; the first, bya eombi-
nation of the pollens Of the large yellow
corn, the Adam Anthony, or redcapped corn,
and the Canada corn; the other, by a
combination Of the pollen Of the Rhode
Island premium, the Dartmouth white, and
the improved Canada corn. ] have found
some varieties that will not intermix on the
ear with other varieties. have never known
the Rhode Island premium to do so. There
are probably others that will not mix IN the
kernel. Why this is so | am not prepared
to say. Further experiments may demon
stra,e the facts more clearly, and perhaps
afford the reason for them. Ii is the pollen
from the tassel that decides the kind OF
corn, and without the pollen there will be
no corn. The bob will grow in It's covering
Of husks, but without a kernel Of corn on
II. An easy way to prove this is one that
I adopted; cover the incipient ear so tina,
no pollen can lodge on its silk. This can
be done with paper or cloth; IL IL be done
effectually you will raise cobs and that will
be all. This led me to let the suckers on
my corn alone. | never cut them out or
remove them. They yield pollen, il no,
ears, and thus help fill the ears on the paren,
stalk. have come to the conclusion, that
IN those varieties that most abound ia
suckers there is deficiency Of pollen N
the tassels to fructify oil the silk and make
well-capped ears, and that nature sends the
suckers to supply that deficiency. BY ex
aiming the ears Of the Rhode ISLAND
premium corn, or the Andrews ii ybrid corn
II will be seen that the corn grows very
close over the butt Of the cob, as well a,
being well capped over at the other end"