The rapid growth of corn plants, when the heat, light, and moisture, as well as the soil are favorable, is truly wonderful.  A deep, rich, mellow soil, in which the roots can freely extend to a great distance in depth and laterally, is what the corn-grower should provide for his crop.  The perviousness of river bottoms contributes largely to their productiveness of this cereal.  A compact clay, which excludes alike air, water, and roots, forbidding all chemical changes, is not the soil for Indian corn.

When farmers sell corn soon after it is ripe, there is considerable gain in not keeping it long to dry and shrink in weight.  Corn grown by Mr. Salisbury, which was ripe by the 18th October, then contained 37 per cent. of water, which is 25 per cent. more than old corn from the crib will yield.  The mean of man experiments tried by the writer has been a loss of 20 per cent. in moisture between new and old corn.  The butts of cornstalks contain the most water, and husks or shucks the least, when fully matured and not dried.  The latter have about 30 per cent, of dry matter when chemically desiccated.

COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF THE LEAVES AT DIFFERENT STAGES.

July 19.    Aug. 2.    Aug. 23.    Aug. 30.    Oct. 18. 
Carbonic acid     5.40       2.850      0.65       3.50       4.050
Silicia          13.50      19.850     34.90      36.27      58.650
Sulphuric acid    2.16       1.995      4.92       5.84       4.881
Phosphates       21.60      16.250     17.00      13.50       5.850
Lime               .69       4.035      2.00       3.88       4.510
Magnesia           .37       2.980      1.59       2.30       0.865
Potash            9.98      11.675     10.85       9.15       7.333
Soda             34.39      29.580     21.23      22.13       8.520
Chlorine          4.55       6.020      3.06       1.63       2.664
Organic acids     5.50       2.400      3.38       2.05       2.200
-----      ------     ------     -----      ------
98.14      97.750     98.187     99.83      99.334

The above figures disclose several interesting facts.  It will be seen that the increase of silica or flint in the leaf is steadily progressive from 131/2 per cent. at July 19, to 58.65 at October 18.

Flint is substantially the bone earth of all grasses.  If one were to analyse the bones of a calf when a day old, again when thirty days of age, and when a year old, the increase of phosphate of lime in its skeleton would be similar to that witnessed in the leaves and stems of maize.  In the early stages of the growth of corn, its leaves abound in phosphates; but after the seeds begin to form, the phosphates leave the tissues of the plant in other parts, and concentrate in and around the germs in the seeds.  On the 23rd of August, the ash of the whole stalk contained 191/2 per cent. of phosphates; and on the 18th of October, only 15.15 per cent.  In forming the cobs of this plant, considerable potash is drawn from the stalk, as it decreases from 35.54