Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-01-23
Farm and Household.


At the December meeting of the Connecti-
cut State Board Of Agriculture Mr.. Fish of
Mystic River gave his experience in raising
corn, an abstract of which is given by the
American Cultyator. Mr.. Fish commenced
by stating that the difference in tho yield in
the varieties of corn was far greater than was
supposed by farmers in general. His best
success, had occurred in planting the South
ern Dent corn, from seed raised in Chester
county, Penn. This corn had from sixteen
to twenty rows, and frequently 1900 kernels
on single ear. From this variety he had
frequently raised 200 bushels of ears to the
acre. where with other varieties he had in
former times obtained but sixty bushels Of
shelled corn per acre. The POO bushels would
give him 100 bushels OF shelled corn.
The subsoil on his farm was clay hard. pan.
lie practiced shallow blowing, not to exceed
five inches in depth. II his manure was
strawy he plowed it in, il fine he simply har-
rowed it in. He uses first the ordinary har-
row followed by a smoothing harrow. He
uses large quantities of lesched ashes, which
he obtains from Canada, where potash is
manufactured. These ashes cost him, deliv-
cred seventeen cents per bushel, and are APP
piled at the rate of 100 bushels to the acre.
Seaweed he considers more valuable than ash
es, and hence uses in large quantities.
The seed is sown in drills rather than in
hills. The drills are somewhat shallow, yet
when the seed is covered he intends to have
it two inches below the surface, never raising
the hills. The seed is dropped fifteen inches
- l., H. N,r-. Il. L. Nl,,
rows 80 feet apart. When the corn is just
up he uses smoothing harrow, while if any
sods or stones interfere with the corn he en-
ploys q boy to follow with hoe and knock
them of. He uses the smoothing harrow un-
til the corn is four inches in height then EN-
ploying the cultivntor, going over the field
but once with the hoe. The corn is thinned
out to one stalk for every fifteen inches. His
general practice is to go over the field six
times with the harrow, sometimes the corn
looking as though it were killed, yet it gen.
orally revives.
He never plows for corn until the middle
of May, sometimes not until the first of June.
One season he plowed a piece in March,
planting it in May. This field of corn suffer
cd much from the gray worm, while an i'd
joining field, planted in June, escaped all in
jury by the worm. If he were going to plant
corn for premium crop, he would pillow shall
low, even less than Ave inches, though he
would pillow deeper if seeding down. One
season, after spreading his manure upon the
sod, he plowed it under by plowing much
deeper than usual, say seven or eight inches,
From this field he got very poor crop of
corn. The next year he plowed the same
field again, turning up not only the old sod,
but also the manure applied the previous sea.
son, and which did not appear much chang
ed. He then planted the field with corn
again, securing an excellent crop. After
wards he seeded the same field to grass and
cut very good crop of hay. Grass lands he
top-dresses with leached ashes, which latter
he thinks not only furnish large percentage
of plant food but render the soil friable.
The corn is cut when the spindle begins to
wither. He cuts it close to the ground, stack
ing it in the field His cattle eat the fodder
readily. True his stalks arc very large, though
they carry large leaves. His corn fodder may
not be quite Us good as that of some of the
smaller varieties of corn, yet his large yield
of corn and leaves much more than compen-
safe for any waste in the butts which the
cows do not eat. Notwithstanding the butts
are large, the tops of the stalks, which the
cattle eat greedily, yield as much feeding ma
terial as would be carried by the whole stalk
of some of the smaller varieties.