The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-06-09
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED BY ALBERT CHAPMAN


Corn Culture.
Willis we do not believe in growing
corn in New England as principal crop,
TIA, |, IS crop to sell off this farm, we dc
believe it should be grown upon every
farm as forage crop for home coDsump.
ton there is no crop, not excepting our
great staple, grass, which pays better il
rightly managed. How best to manage
the crop is question that We do not us.
sumo to decide, but we may with perfect
safety assert that the plan commonly
pursued with it among us is about as bad
or rather As poor, Que as eau well be
devised We contrive to expend Two Of
three times az much manual labor on the
crop as we ought. aud our labor is much
OF it so i'll directed that it ubSolutely does
more hurt than good. We do not pro.
pose at this time ~ review our system oil
culture, but to give somewhat in detail
the method pursued with the crop b.,
some Of the most successful cultivators
elsewhere.
Mr.. Joseph Harris, the author Of the
very valuable and popular series of pei ers
in the American Agriculturalist. known
as Walks aud Talks on the Farm" aud
a most thorough practical farmer, raises
very heavy crops Of corn, and at very
large profit. His syStcm Of culture IL
somewhat peculiar to himself, as is pretty
nearly every ting else he does, The
fundamental principle upon which he
bases all his operations is that any crop
that is worth tllipg at all, is worth and
entitled to thorough tillsge, His next
position is that it costs no more to till an
acre Of land in high condition than one iu
low condition, while it pays much larger
pru6t. OF course, attracted by these
principles, he manures heavily, plows
deeply and works his surface soil into the
finest possible condition. We write from
a somewhat imperfect recollection of q
conversational statement made some two
years ago, and we cannot undertake to be
positive about some Of tho minor details
of his practice. In planting he uses the
drill and puts his rows three and three
quarters ieet apart. He plants a small
northern variety and seeds very heavily,
we think he says two bushels per acre.
As soon as the corn begins to appear
above ground, he puts on the Thomas
smoothing harrow and goes it all over
with that, and repeats the operation some.
times twice, if the weather is favorable.
When it is no longer practicable to use
the broadsweep harrow, the cultivator or
horse hoe is set to work between the rows.
and kept going every few days until the
corn gets so large that it is impracticsble
to CONTINUE the practice; up to this time
no hand planting or hoeing is done. II
later 10 the season weeds start, men 20
through the fields and chop them down
with hoes.
1t will be seen that under this treat.
ment there must be an enormous growth
of corn fodder upon the ground, but the
fodder is not the only thing sought or
realized by this system, He gets in ad.
dition large yield of corn-sound corn.
1t always has been a prevailing idea tha,
in order to get sound corn it is necessary
to thin with an uuspairing hand, We
know many corn growers whose one ides
in regard to corn growing is that il
thinning. One OF this class r. need
several gears in the Lsh'' -as been iol
our lt,ie Geld Of. ..ofgoipg through
sea,on. and corn several times esc.
a,oure expressing his sincere regret.
q" 'olIy 10 letting 30 much stand. Or
me other hand. Mr.. Alexander Hyde. o
Lee. Mass. no is one of the best author
titles on all agricultural topics. told US
several years ago, that he had been sew
eral times on viewing committees wbel
the CORP crop came prominently uude
consideration, and be had never seen ,
prize awarded for "big crop" wher,
,hick planting was not the practice.
Mr.. Harris theory is that the amour
Of corn that may he left Standing iu th'
rows depends wholly upon the strength
Of the SOIL and that the thinning is only
necessary where the soil is only sufficient
ly rich TO carry partial crop. One o
our neiqbhors had small piece of corr
last year Oh plat Of very good grounC
near bis barn. We heard the rernarl
made several times that if it had beef
properly thinned i. would have been
very large crop. We took occasion t
examined it closely and we found man
more ears TO the square rod than coul
possibly have grown from the number 0
stalks that the advocates Of thinuin
would haye left, and there was no surplu
ofscft corn. That there were some stalk
that did not produce ears does not prov
anything since there were more than a
abundance OF stalks, according to tn
thinning theory, did produce ears, an
good ears too.
We cannot help thinking that the usu;
treatment Of our fodder corn is erroneou
Corn, unlike grass, should be well m,
tured before being cut, and should |
pretty well cured before hcing fed GU
We do not propose TO discuss the subje'
at this time further than to say that "
believe that the theory of Mr.. Harris
regard to putting in and tilling the ere
is as applicable to that intended for 70,
der as that intended for grain. "
would not grow corn for either purpo
in distinction from the other, but for Dol
at once, We believe in the doctrine tn
manure and labor should be expended u
on the same crop and not too wide
difused, aud that, of the two, manure
cheaper than labor One acre of Co
produced under this system will be bett
than two under that too commonly pra
ticed, and will pay much better,-S
Adams Advertiser.