, 1860-07-27
A DOWN-C0UNTRx LETTER.

| A D0WN.C0UNTRY LETTER.
No. rArr-.1.<ss rsesh r. ,. Croes--a-3<ld Of Cor.
| Eae1x aa4 FtEkrss-sk1rsAf MAR .Usst-
Heaas. @@'' @
4CorTeapoooe1 c. x II a rrS.a ani Tsibuee]
| erA'os. ctan'l aisu ';u.. IT,, 18th July, 1870.
| ine week ending July 2lst at noon, WAS for
tnc t'me the most oppresaively warm Of any pc.
rod OF like duration have seen in ten years
fesldence in Illinois. During tho week there
| were frequent showers, with a great deal Of
'nanoes' the atmosphere was charged with hu.
1nid'ty, and all animate nature sank and hall
aaifoeaied, *hsls: vegetation moved upward and
onward with wonderful force and vigor. .'small
corn" Is small corn no longer, but is pushing
'n'o saik and tasale, and nothing but An unusu.
a!y early frost will prevent eyery field from
maturing. We anticipate crop Of corn large.
~ twenty or twenty-five per cent than We have
ever gathered in this part Of the,S State.
Now, word as to the probable average yie1d
per aero Of the corn crop of Illinois. zee
some parties are estimating it ut 80 bushels,
ana the whole crop Of the State 1t one Auadrtd
m'Hso" oushels. This statement is largely cop.
LED IN the New York and Eastern papers. and
! many credulous gentleman .,e n,ed;c,t;nr ,no.
the ability Of the We4t to pay, and Of iss rail-
| roads to earn, an indefinite amount Of money.
Let me make few figures and see whether
| the Weld i. lks,v "a ba a.. h;.h :. -
The average distance at which cor, :. r,.rt -
in this State NAV he set doun n. ttras tsat ~ .ss
eight iuche, betxeen IN. h;us 1.;. ~ I ..." 49,
ion of good practical corn farros-, II .1,;s e...
of the State. thai it ia thu dst,nce at rh;.h 49,
best crops. ore year with snotba- arc 49,. :.
and with thi. opinion roe. another hat ,.....
yield ia obtained with tbrea sta,ta IN hi, 49,,
with four or more: the growth of ton- 49, ,.o~.
stalks shading the ground too ,nnch and 4.-;ns
the capacity Of the soil beyond ita ,trsnath '
Corn planted three feet eipht ;ncbes anart 49,.
3,e49 hills to the acre. nearly and x;th t,,.ea
stalks to the bill, 9,7ao STALKS in the acra Noa-
it requires from 100 to 75t, ears ,f co-r rha,
dry, to weigh 70 pounds. or to sbet, "a nourds
to the bushel, and practical tell me- t,,,.
it will require m average Of 125 ears. a. il ia
husked from the stalk in the field. or "a hills of
three stalks each, to make bushe1 of c>rn.
"but." says some sharp reader, "you make no
allowance for two ears on stalk. WHY not2"
WILL tell you. Because what you gain in num-
her Of ears yon lose in quantity Of grain, obser-
Fasion and experience having shown that the
yield Of three stalks In bill is better than that
OF tour, ind that one large ear Of corn to stalk
produces more grain than two ears; there being
limit to the productive capscity Of the soil,
and the corn plant as well.
Now, then, the yield per acre of corn planted
three feet eight inches apart, every bill con.
tanning its complement Of three stalks and three
ears, is a trif1e less than rs bushels. Iftbere
Is an average oftwo stalks in bill, the yield is
81 bushels; one, the yield il go bushels.
The first main difficulty iu growing large
crop Of corn. per acse, is in getting good
"stand', that ia in getting the seed ont Of the
ground at nearly one and the same time in The
same field, and after it is up of preventing the
ra'oees ot BIRDS and Vermin- 1t looks like a
"'aA'4 "a''e1 70 supply the missing hills, but
practically, 1t Is one OF the most difficult, aud
IN e1ght cases out OF ten, partial rep1aating
anounts 70 nothing. There was great con1-
p.a'nt th1s year as veil Of the depredations Of
pt'os' 2au oouo' "hetneF to-day the "staud"
y. uo1n "i' average more than one AMI one-half
1.a'AS ~ 'le 'hsee 1ees eight inches, over the
"e ~ euo u 'ne cofnnelos Of Central ILL.,
N's' - 'u1 '4op ~ pe gs1hsred would yield
opo ea4 a,a HA4' 10 every h1ll' then our crop
81 n'e4A8e .. 'o1fty y'nlne bushels
-. 1901 'os VIC @econo 'aaan aitacuitT has
~ ~ W. eAeoan'eseo' ana lhe great depreda-
lots VI 'ne crop 10 Dc sat'shed. These are rate,
"'ee' pfa'f'e culekens' qnalls, ducks, geese,
sq''ife's' cranes &C., the last named, when
pi"n'S' oefng "ofae than all others together.
naFo seen theH towards sunset in autumn,
week a'.er week, horer'ng about and over corn
neios' oarken'ng the sun like smoke from
RreA' prairie hre, trumpetiug and cutting up
IKE crowd OF fallen apEels; and then settling
wv" SUI sweeping OIL lne corn with thon-
e tee'' A"e quant1ty destroyed aud
deroured by ~. -. horde Of depreda:ors will,
this year, and always has equa)led one sixth Of
the crop,by the time tits all husked and cribbed
This leaves for the farmer about one car in a
hill. or IN average Of mt far fror t.a..-.
n1s.-hels to the acre for the whole State,
To fortify M figures mad opinions. 7 br;no
forward the testimony Of that sp,.ndid old fef. |
low, Jacob strawn Of Jacksonville. Morgan In !
who has, in the course Of his active snd nxsf,,
life, raised and fed tvi.e "a much coro a, snr
other man in the State. Tie baa mn f.,b :. a..
=, se' >"a eons4oefs si3ty