Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1867-03-27
agricultural.



THE COMPARATIVE RESULTS.
Eds. Co. Gsats.-Early in the spring OF 1866
in some notes on the results of drilling corn YOU
advised the making Of experiments that more con-
elusive facts might be established, both as TO the
real and comparative advantages OF planting in
drills and hills, the former being comparatively a
recent practice, while the system of hill or bunch
planting has long been the general plan, that it
may bee called the common custom of planting
corn. But though ever so common, ! believe it
never had the advantage OF being entirely right,
though the hi.ling mode of planting does offer a
material advantage in certain and not unfrequent
contingency, namely. that when YOU have land
which from neglect other cause Is foul with
weeds, check or cross-row planting admits Of
working more Of the surface Of the ground and
thus more fully clearing the soil than is practica-
bic when you plant In drills and work only one
way. Thus when corn is planted merely for the
sake of summer o0rtiHg the ground for the pur-
pose Of destroying weeds, pulyerizing ineE parts
of it. for both purposes, check row planting is
preferable, not only ior the reason that more of
the soil is worked, bnt also because it is moved in
different directions, and therein submitted to full
er exposure, both 90 air and solar heat.
But II prOdn ln be- rs il generally is, the
leading object in the planting Of corn, in that
case there is scarcely any ground TO doubt the su-
periority OF the drill-seeding-a plan already at
tracing much attention, and destined in a little
while to become the general practice.
Adjoining the west end OF my orchard is piece
Of light soil, almost one-thrd OF it being sandy,
the balance q sandy loan. This was powed late
in the fall ligtHy manurel on the surface, part
in the winter, and another part in spring. por-
ton, the best Of the ground Of course-not being
manured. About the Sth of May we furrowed
quite lightly, say two and half inches one way,
and drilled in the corn by hand, The corn. drill
will be here soon as we have time to get one
made 1t was dropped two at a time, the kernels
usually falling little distance apart in fact so
dropped as to prevent them falling together, as
far as practicable, aud Immediately covered by
means of the hoe, May 10th.
When corn ground is furrowed for planting
with one-horse plow in this manner, two desir-
able conditions are obtained, which ill-planting
with hoes does not command When ground i.
narrowed down, the coorse clods are left on top,
and it is sometimes difficult, and often tresome
labor, to draw together with the hoe fine soil
enough TO we'll cover the corn, thorough covering
beng particularly necessary where the blackbiri
crop is prevalent But by flrrowing out we get
both fine and fresh mould, in contact with ant
covering the seed
Wen, the corn was hoed close TO the plant.
only as soon as up, which is my usual practice,
and IL was cultivated four times with Sayres
cultiyator-iirst, as soon the corn blades were
broad enough to absorb their natural element from
the air; second and third times when the ground
became settled, and more or less caked on the
surface, and the last time when about half the tas-
sells had come out The crop will now only al
lude 10 by SAYING that it was large sound and sat
isiactory-as good crop as that Of '65, which
was considered the heaviest crop ever grown in
the West. Ny neighbor Morrow planted several
acres in hills, or check rows, on land adjoining,
and precisely of the same character as mine, but
with this distinct adyantage-his ground had, uu-
der my own observation, been well manured for
several years in succession, aud therefore contain
ed far more OF the elements that 20 to make cora
than my ground did. Morrow's corn was also
hoed frequently well, aud the ground well cul
tiyated. This / saw as our own corn was being
attended to, and Mr., Morrows corn, especially
part that grew on a rich, newly-plowcd soil, ap-
peared to be doing remarkably vol, the stalks Of
this part being one-thicd taller than those of
own and the stocks generally Of his corn wer,
stouter and taller than mine. So much for ap
pearances merely.
Having finished its cultivation, | thought nC
more Of the corn t one day, after one of the
deluging rains Of the last harvest time, when, feel
ing uneasy on seeing the wheat growing in the
stack, had been over to look at MOrrOw's wheat
20 aid in devising the best means TO check th,
sproutiug. We returned together through his
cora, then passed on to mine, when we came to
/ halt.
"Now,n saws Mr. NJ "whon saw YOU drilling
that corn last spring, thought YOU were doing
very useless and foolish thing but" be added
/ "you will always find me- doing the same foolisl
/ thing myself after this, for have examined YOU
corn 80 many times that | am sure you have one
third more ears 90 the same quantity Of groun,
than have" Ienquired, care the ears Of ml
corn as large as those Of yougs?' Larger, a
well as one-third more of them,n was the reply
| This induced me 10 compare the two pieces OF corr
more carefully, when we found that though hi
stalks were tie larger growth By fourth AZ leas
ON the average, the case with the corn itself wa
quite different.
Mr., Ms corn averaged only four ears to fo
stalks with check row or hill planting aud careful
cultivation. Our corn averaged four ears to thee
stalks, on poorer soil, planted in drills aud wei
cultivated. These are the comparative results il
corn, the lighter crop having the advantage Of
crop with more manure in the ground to star
with.
Permit me- Messrs Editors, to conclude witt
two reflections
L. That the longer ] live, and the more see 0
corn culture, the'stronger and more indelbe be
comes the wel-rooted conviction in my mind, tina
separate distribution Of the seed in planting is a
really essential TO growing large crops Of corn a
IN growing large cabbages, fine, thrifty trees
and for the same reason, amely--that of prevent
ing double or quadruple demand for The sam
space TO grow in, and the same elements OF growt