Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-05-04

tanned by some reasons, try It, test it, and
if the result is satisfactory, adopt it. 1t
should be always remembered, that one
fact in farming, is worth dozen fine
spun theories. Some people go so far in
their notions about doctors, rs to say,
that they had rather be scientifically
killed, than unscientiicslly cured. If the
tea made from the simplest garden herb,
decocted and administered by an old
woman will cure, when the doctors scien-
tiic diagnosis of the disease and his pre-
scriptions covered up in all sorts of hard
words will kill, GltUdys take the tea.
One well established fact, is worth more,
than all the theories whether you can
understand the why's or wherefores of it
| or not. For example, the tomato seed
lying in the ground all winter, terminates
and grows in the spring just as the same
seed does, that has been preserved and
planted in q hot-bed, and at the proper
time transplanted. Yet ths volunteer vine
produced from identically the same seed,
will with almost unvaryiDg uniformity
produce little round tomato; whereas
the other will produce identically the
same tomsto, as the one from which the
seed was preserved. Who can tell why
this is sol Yet, these are the facts, and
what wise gardener will not conform bis
| gardening to these facts. But enough on
this head.
THE PROPER CULTURE OF CORN, RTo.
1t would strike US that there is little to
be said on this subject that every farmer
does not already know, and yet ninety
out of every hundred farmers have not
yet learned the importance of subsoiling.
They seem not to have learned that the
clay that lies below the surface, when
turned up TO the sun, and the action of
the air and rain, is 80 acted upon by GER
tain chemical laws, that it in a short time
becomes soil-not to mention other bene-
fetal results, which we can not stop to
point out.
OF course, the first thing to be done to
raise good crop of corn, is to plow deep
and put the ground in proper fix, by b ar.
rowing, rolling, etc. 1t is the after mode
of cultivation of which we wish to speak
The accepted mode of cultivation, and
the one almost universally adopted is, to
pillow the young corn as deep as you can,
using bull tongues in the beginning; and,
as the corn grows, substituting long SHOW
els. Now, what we mean to say is, that,
as general thing, this is q wrong mode
of culture. 1t is precisely the right
mode, however, in certain states of the
case that can infallibly be determi ned
by the farmer. The proper mode is this:
! To stir the surface only 80 deep as TO
break the crust, that will be formed by
heavy rain or by continuous dry weather.
Every farmer knows that crust is form
ed from either cause. Never break
corn root, if it is possible to avoid
it Why should you9 Do you make
anything else grow by that mode of treat
ment1 The theory of deep after-cultlva-
ton, the breaking of corn roots, etc., is
unsustained by single sound reason, as
well as overturned by facts.
If your ground has been properly broke
in the beginning, by breaking the crust
you secure all the seration, and secure ali
the benefit from rains and dews that you
possibly can by deep culture. Why not
keep alive the corn roots, then, as much
as possible9
Now, for fact or two in support of
my theory. The father of Rev. n. L.
Res, whose farm owned years ago, pre-
pared piece of ground for hemp. When
the time for sowing came, he failed to get
the seed. He planted the ground in corn
and raised nine barrels of corn to the
acre, without ever using plow or hoe in
it. Why did he do itG Because the
ground was light and frisble, and there was
no crust formed on the surface to prevent
the Gun and air from penetrating to the
roots of the corn.
A neighbor of mine, in 1858 or 1864,
like myself, had his negroes to leave him.
They were kind enough, however, to plant
the corn before leaving. He had in q
fifteen acre field, of black, coarse grained
soil, just such as never runs together,
forming a crust etc. He plowed it only
once, and that when the corn
was over the horses backs, and
there was not man in the neigh
borhood that estimated the product below
twenty barrels to the acre. OF course
the ploughing at the time it was done,
was rather an injury than benefit to the
corn.
Again, have in my possession light
one horse harrow, with which Yankee
school teacher cultivated some ten or
twelve acres of land, producing a better
crop than had been grown on the ground
in twenty years before by the ordinary
mode of culture.
These are few, only, of the facts
coming under my observation, going to
show my theory to be the right one. Of
course there are conditions of the ground
whsn the ordinary mode of cultivation
has to be adopted.
One other idea in support of my theory,
and l have done: shallow or surface cult
walton, must necessarily leave the surface
rather fat. Who that has tried fiat cul-
ture in his garden instead of ridges, does
not know that the ground keeps much
moister under the one more than the 9TH
err If there be those who have not found
out this fact let them try fat culture by
the side of ridge culture, and see in which
way their beets, parsnips, etc., grow best.
But enough, If not too much for the
present. G. E. BOUND.