202 
exactness, we will let him convey to the reader all the particulars, with- 
out condensation. He says: 
Soon as the ground becomes a little warm I plow, and then, selecting a place where 
the ground is sandy, I dig holes about 20 inches in diameter and 14 to 16 inches deep. 
Have the holes about 6 feet apart each way. Leave them open a day or two to allow 
the ground to warm at the bottom; then put into each hole nearly a half-bushel or 
manure—fresh horse-manure preferred. Stamp down the manure, cover it with the 
dirt dug ont, about 24 inches deep, and pat down with the hoe. The hill will now be 
quite dishing, say 4 inches or more. Now I place near my melon-patch a cask, into 
which I put a small wheelbarrow load of fresh cow-dropping and a.couple of shovel- 
fuls of night-soil. Into this cask I put the soap-suds and keep it full. If the weatheris 
dry I occasionally moisten the hills from the cask; evening is the best time. About the 
20th of May I cut up a thin, tough sod and place it, grass side down, in an old tin-pan, 
and sprinkle about half an inch in depth of fine sandy loam uponit. On this I put my 
seeds, very thick; then put upon these another sod, as large as the pan, grass side up. 
Upon this I pour a teakettle-full of boiting-hot water and set the pan near a stove, 
where it will keep warm. Each morning I pour on a little more hot water. In about 
three days the seeds will have sprouts about half an inchlong. Now remove the upper 
sod, shake the pan a little, and the seeds will rise from the fine dirt put upon the 
lower sod. Put twelve or fifteen seeds in each hill after slightly scratching the dirt. 
Handle the seeds carefully, so as not to break the sprouts. Cover about three-quarters of an 
inch with dirt. By taking this course your vines will in two weeks be as far advanced 
as they would be in four or five planted in the usual way. Let the weeds grow in 
and about the hill as a protection from bugs and worms. The vines will grow 
rapidly, and of course somewhat tall and spindling. If the weather is dry, moisten 
from the cask two or three times a week, always at evening. This will keep the manure 
moist and in a state of fermentation, causing considerable heat. When the vines 
have grown about four inches high remove the longest weeds and perhaps some of 
the vines, and fill in with dirt nearly up to the leaves. By and by, in a moist day, 
remove the weeds from the hill, leaving them growing around the borders. Thin out 
the vines to five or six, leaving some for the worms. Keep the dirt well up to the 
leaves. Your hill will now be nearly level. Finally, thin out to three or four of the 
most thrifty vines. Remember the cask. Take away the old dirt with your fingers and 
add fresh dirt two or three times a week. © The hill will soon become crowning. Make 
asmall ditch around the hills, say two inches deep, and fill this occasionally with 
suds from the cask. After the vines nearly cover the ground, and the melons are well 
set and of pretty good size, cut off the ends of the vines. In this way the melons will 
grow much larger. I raise as large and fine melons here in Amboy, Oswego County, 
(on the eastern border of Lake Ontario,) as I ever saw on Long Island or anywhere 
else. It of course demands labor and care; but let any one try this plan and he 
will find his efforts amply rewarded. I follow the same rule with cucumbers as with 
melons. 
WHEAT AND CORN PRODUCTS OF CASS CouNTY, lowA.—The seere- 
tary of the Cass County Agricultural Society reports: 
The Arnautka wheat is a bard, flinty variety. It has been raised in this county two 
years; is a prolific yielder, but of inferior quality, being so hard that it is impossible to 
make choice flour out of it. It is only worth 75 cents per bushel in this market, where 
wheat like the Oran from $1 to $1.10 per bushel. Our best wheat is Australian and 
soft Siberian. The Australian is a soft, choice wheat, and yielded as high as 40 bushels 
per acre last season. This is a good wheat county. Of the crop of 1872, up to present 
date, there have been shipped from this point, Atlantic, over 200,000 bushels, at an 
average price of $1 per bushel. Of cornthere are cribbed in this place 100,000 bushels ; 
50,000 bushels have been shipped, and only a small part is in as yet. All has been 
bought at 15 cents per bushel. It is now worth 17 cents. 
EXHAUSTED SOILS RENOVATED WITH COTTON-STALKS.—Our Cor- 
respondent in Murray County, Georgia, writes: 
The raising of corn, wheat, and stock for the use of the farm, and, beyond that, eot- 
ton, is certainly the true policy for the farmers of this county. Cotton pays better 
than any other crop, but not well enough to justify one in raising it altogether and 
buying his own provisions. An expériment came under my observation which proves 
that cotton, so far from exhausting the soil, is a great renovator when properly man- 
aged. My son-in-law took two acres of old, worn-out, completely exhausted land, four 
years ago, and planted it in cotton. Each winter, after the stalks had become tender, 
he took a stick and beat them in pieces; then run a long bull-tongue plow, as deep as 
