532 



Corn in Mason County, Illinois. — Our correspondent for Mason, 

 Mr. William McDufiFey, of San Jose, reported for October, as published, 

 " Corn light and poor in quality." Mr. J. Cochran, of Ilavana, wrote 

 to the Department, saying, "This is a very great error. The corn-crop 

 of Mason County is the best in quality ever groivn and the largest in quan- 

 tity, with a single exception." This was forwarded to Mr. McDufifey, who 

 replies, " My report is correct for an average of Mason County, notwith- 

 standing Mr. Cochran's statement. I think he has more reference to 

 corn produced in Fulton and Menard, on the bottoms of the Illinois and 

 Sangamon rivers, (which corn is marketed at Havana,) than to that in 

 Mason. Extra corn was produced in those counties on such lands this 

 year ; but I have nothing to do with that in my report. In this couuty, 

 in one and perhaps two towns, where, in a common season, no corn could 

 be raised, it was good ; but in the remaining eleven towns it is poor, 

 light, and chaffy. For the first time within my knowledge, our corn 

 inspects in Chicago ' rejected.' Heretofore, so sure as our corn went to 

 Chicago, it has inspected ' No. 1 ' or ' No. 2' always, but this season it 

 is not so. Several fields in the county produced 12 bushels to the acre, 

 but some not half of that. It was never lighter nor of so inferior a 

 quality." 



Mixed husbandry in Georgia. — A correspondent in Taylor County 

 reports that almost every farmer now plants wheat and oats, and, with 

 proper fertilization and cultivation, finds it profitable. While uuma- 

 nured land yields only 3 to 5 bushels of wheat per acre, manured yields 

 8 to 20. These wide extremes of yield are owing to different grades of 

 fertilization and culture. With 50 pounds of Peruvian guano and 20 

 bushels of cotton-seed, mixed and drilled iu rows 18 inches apart, and 

 the seed-wheat drilled in the same rows, our correspondent raised 20 

 bushels per acre of good wheat, " on land that would not produce one 

 bale of cotton to three acres." With the same treatment he raises 30 

 to 50 bushels per acre of oats. Eust-proof is the only variety he plants, 

 which readily brings in market $1 per bushel. 



Mixed husbandry superseding cotton-planting.— A correspond- 

 ent in Lincoln County, Mississippi, reports as follows : 



I make it a point to converse with every person I meet, whether white or hlack, to 

 learn what he intends to do next year in the cotton business. The answer invariably 

 is, "I intend to plaut corn, oats, and other grain, if the seed can be had ; also plenty 

 of sweet-potatoes, and but little (and many say no) cotton." Judging from the pres- 



