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Mr. J. J. Tliomas, of Macedon, X. Y., says iu a communication to the 

 Commissioner of the Patent Office, on this subject: " Corn soAm broad- 

 cast, appears to add to, rather than diminish the fertility of the soil. 

 Of three successive crops (^vithout manure), each was larger than the 

 preceding one; yielding from four to six tons per acre of dried fodder."" 

 Hence we may safely infer that a large portion of the nutriment of the 

 corn crop, previous to the formation of the grain, is drawn from the 

 atmosphere. The statement of Mr. Thomas, corresponds with my own 

 experience on this subject ; as itpon a piece of ground sowed last year 

 and this year in the above manner, the last crop is one-third heavier 

 than the first crop, and that without any manure. Enriching the soil by 

 barn-yard manure alone, can only be done to a very limited extent, un- 

 less in the vicinity of large towns. From thirty to forty loads per acre 

 are required to produce the beneficial efi'ect of one green crop plowed in 

 as above described. The difference in expense is obvious ; thirty loads, 

 including work of drawing, spreading, (fcc, would cost at least fifty 

 cents per load, or fifteen dollars per acre ; a difference in favor of green 

 crops of at least ten dollars per acre. 



The usual time for sowing wheat has been from the twenty-fifth of 

 August to the twenty-fifth of September; and sometimes later. We 

 liave found for a series of years that the first week in September is pre- 

 ferable, all things considered. If sown earlier, it is liable to become, in 

 autumn, of too luxuriant growth, and requires to be fed down with cattle 

 or horses, which often injure the crop with their weight, especially if 

 the season is wet ; lighter animals, sheep for example, eat into the roots, 

 of the young plants, and make great havoc, if left for any period. Late 

 sowing leaves the crop liable to rust ; late sowing is the only remedy 

 within my knowledge against the fly ; and so far as my experience ex- 

 tends, it is worse than no sowing at all, being labor thrown away in nine 

 cases out of ten. The fly having disappeared entirely from this part of 

 the country, we may again anticipate good crops of wheat. Smut annu- 

 ally causes much loss ; and smutty wheat often causes severe and some- 

 times fatal sickness. The remedy is simple, cheap and effectual, and it 

 should be widely known. The following preparation may be relied upon, 

 as a specific : 2 oz. blue vitriol, dissolved in hot water, (in which it will 

 dissolve much more readily) is sufficient for one bushel of wheat. Wet 

 the wheat by putting half a bushel in a basket, and dipping it in a tub 

 of water, then put it on a barn floor and pour the solution on the wheat> 



