Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-01-04
Newport Farmers Club.


The meeting December %, was held in
the ante-room of the Masonic Hall, and .
was well attended The subject, ''The .
Corn Crop of 1869" was opened by the
President of the Club, Chas. Ide, Esq, of
Coventry.
-Nr. Lde plants usually the Goth of May
His practice is to spread his green manure,
pillow it in, and manure in the hill with
rotten manure. The past season he used
some phosphate in the hill, with but little
advantage, and should have considered
phosphate of small value had he not used
a portion of the same barrel on turnips
with great success. Mr.. Ide's land is rath-
er heavy. His corn in the fall was much
better than he expected, though not first
rate. He believes corn might be planted
earlier than the ordinary rule with adyan-
tage. Makes his hills g. feet each way.
Mr. Ide spoke of the close planting of one
of his neighbors, who was very successful
in raising premium crops. The land was
heavily MANFRED, marked out about three
feet by two, leaving three or four stalks in
hill, and the suckers removed. He re-
garded high manuring, few stalks to the
hill, and suckering essential with close
planting. With these it was successful.
n. F. Ball of Derby planted two acres
of corn on an old pasture, cropped to oats
last year without manure. Last spring he
! spread on it ten loads of manure to the
acre, and ploughed it. Used , barrels
Bradley's XII Phosphate, leaving one row
without any phosphate, for comparison.
! The result was an excellent, well ripened
crop of corn, and very large yield of
pumpkins Plants 81 feet each way, about
one inch deep. The phosphated rows av-
eraged lis lbs shelled corn, sixty rows
giving lis bushels, or 80 bushels to the
acre. The row left for comparison produc-
ed 50 lbs. of inferior quality, the difference
being 50 lbs to the row, equal to 10 bush
els per acre. The pumpkin vines in that
row were so evidently worthless at the last
hoeing that he pulled them up. Mr. Ball
remarked incidentally that he believed,
contrary to the usual impression, that
pumpkins are an exhaustive crop for the
land. Although the pumpkin itself is per-
haps mostly water, the seeds are abundant
and take much strength from the soil
N w. Gray of Coventry, plants his corn
81 by , feet. Does not plant until the
ground is warm. Corn ought to terminate
quickly, if checked and stinted in its early
growth will never be so good, any more
than a colt or calf subjected to similar
treatment. The best crop of corn he ever
made was planted June /.
Lelcis 4Jnold of Salem planted two sep
arate pieces of corn as an experiment On
one piece the manure was placed in the
hills on the other it was spread and har-
rowed in. The last was the best Mr.
Arnold uses no phosphate, and thinks far
mers can make enough manure without it
if they try. Is in favor of ploughing in
green crops, clover especially, as a fertilizer
Charles Eaton of Coventry used some
400 pounds OF phosphate on corn and tur-
nips, and thought it paid. He covered his
phosphate with dirt before planting the
seed
A young farmer whose name the report
er did not learn, gave brief account OF
his success in growing corn, using hog
manure in the hill His crop was over
sixty bushels Of shelled corn to the acre
Planted the seed directly on the manure
without hindrance to its termination.
G. Gilbert had a different experience
with hog manure, and would always cover
it with dirt before planting the seed.
T. H. HoskiRs gave an account of his at
tempt to raise hundred bushels of shelleC
corn to the acre. The land was old sod
soil light, ploughed in the fall. In thu
spring l2O bushels of ashes was spread
broad cast, and the ground well narrowed
/ 1t was then MANFRED with compost o
muck, ground bone, fish guano, salt, plas
ter, and epson salts. A small ash-shove
: full of this was placed in every hill. Th
rows were four feet apart, hills twenty inch
= es, three kernels dropped in a hill, covere,
y ga inch and thinned to two stalks at tn
u second hOeing. Two rows were left unma
IL nured, and two were manfred with table
y spoonful of Bradley's Nj Phosphate in
) hill, The unmanured came up first, tn
; phosphated one day later, and the rest dit
y not begin to show itself for week after
: The compost dried the soil so that tier
n was not moisture Sufficient to make tn
q seed terminate, some did not come up 70
e three weeks. The wire worms took abou
y one-quarter of the hills the compost seem
i ed to be congenial nest for them. The
&c did not injure the rows dressed with phos
d phate. These rows produced fine cor
"a which ripened early and evenly, and wa
% all sound. The rest was fully as well ear
E ed, but had much soft corn when cut ur
Ii averaging two weeks later The entir
!; crop on the ga of an acre left by the wir
worms was ninety baskets of ears, 20 pc
If cent of which was too soft to grind. TIL
two rows without manure were poorly ear
a. ed, but ripened WELL
~ Jesse Sept had high opinion of ashe