Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1881-04-29
SPEED THE PL0W."
The Cultivation Of Corn.

country sOulc VaIlAtloAS III Vic Hiah-
ner Of proceeding in the culture OF
corn. and yet so far as the main prin-
ciples are concerned there can be no
great variance. All must agree that
in order to obtain a good crop that
the soil must be fertile, or rendered so
BY the application of manure, it must
be~in good condition to receive the
seed, and the after cultivation suffl-
Gent to keep it free from weeds, and
the corn plants growing. So then the
points of variance must be upon ques-
tons of minor Importance, such as the
best kind Of soil, whether sod or old
fields; whether the blowing should be
in the fall or in the spring; whether
deep or shallow; whether manure
should be plowed in or narrowed in
upon the surface; whether manure or
special fertilizers, should be used in
the hill, &C., &c.
Now it makes probably no great
difference how these questions are set
tied it is not expected that all will
agree, for the reason that conditions
of soil and climate render it necessary
that different courses should be pur-
sued, the same rs constitutional con-
dition render the effects of the same
medicine very unlike in different in
dividuals. And because farmers do
not agree in all particulars is no evil
dence that one is right, and therefore
the other wrong. Now there may be
cases where in one kind OF soil it is
desirable to- plant corn upon a sod
we'll turned over. This will be seen
to be very desirable if the season is
very wet, because then the soil being
held by the roots of the grass keeps
the soil looser and therefore better a.
dapted to the penetration of the roots,
than field that has been cultivated
and has ne undecayed vegetable mat
ter to support it; but on the other
hand suppose the season is very dry
one, then the turned up soil resting
upon the grass roots is more suscepti-
BILE to the forces Of evaporation and SO
becomes dry to the injury of the crop,
if not to the prevention Of its coming
up. It is no uncommon thing for
these conditions to occur, hence the
foolishusss Of setting up any claim Of
superiority in that direction.
Then again, with regard to blowing
in the fall or spring; if blowing is
done in the fall, and the ground BE-
comes frozen or covered sonsw hat in
snow, so that the wind may not carry
away the fine dry particles that be-
come detached from the general mass
then, there il no doubt but that the
fall blowing serves An excellent pur-
pose; but suppose, As is frequently the
case, there is gentle freezing and thsw-
ing throughout the winter, with con-
siderable wind, the result will be that
= considerable portion ofthe finer part
of the soil will be lost by being blown
away, 80 that here again, no arbitrary
rule can be fixed that will be safe to
follow at all times. /
Still again, with regard to deep or
shallow blowing, very much depends
upon the character of the soil; one
kind of soil would not bear deep plow-
ing, while another would, or that
question might be affected by the
weather. Deep blowing might be
practiced and because the season was
wet, a crop secured that would have
been good if the blowing had been
shallow, or the reverse, and yet, under
such circumstances, a farmer would
not like to be considered unqualified
for his occupation because of the
same, nor would he feel satisfied at
having his mode of proceeding ridi-
euled.- The same points might be
considered with regard to the appli-
cation Of manure. Any farmer would
be looked upon as very foolish to pillow
his manure down into the soil if the
season was to be one of continued wet,
because the tendency of its virtue
would be downward, away from the
roots of the plants, while the reverse
would be true If the season was of con-
tinued drongth.
Farmers are obliged to meet a great
variety of conditions, and those too
that cannot be anticipated as to be
provided for, and for that. reason no
should net be- regarded unkindly by
those Of other occupations because of
occasional failures, for with all the
draw back and variable conditions that
he has to contend with, there are less
absolute failures among farmers than
any other class Of operatives. There
are comparatively few that make farm-
ing business, but that make good
living, and respond to the necessary
calls fer assistance from other classes.
w. II. Yeonans, in american Far
ner.
Soils ars divided into three classes
surface soil, sub-soil and hard pan.
The surface soil is the upper portion
and that which il turned BY the pillow
in fact, the soil that interests the far
ner most. The subsoil is below the
surfaes soil, more compact, and often
of q different color. Son,etimea the