THE GENESEE FARAfER. 



lit 



CULTIVATION OF ARTICHOKE& 



Messrh EniTORs: — All our domestic animals will 

 eat the artichoke > agorly; horsop, cows, sheep, hogs, 

 geese and hens, all eat and get fat on it. i have 

 raised it on a stnall scale for 5ears. It never fails. 

 Jblo?s can be rai-ed from shucking pigs on this vege 

 table alone, except water. I have hud them shut up 

 wh Te they could get nothing but arlichokee lor many 

 weeks at a time, and they grew beyond all example. 



The artichoke stands cirought ai,d even'thiiig else 

 but shade, better than any oilier crop. (It does not 

 root well if too much shaded.) It grows on the 

 poorest of land, niay l>e planted at any time front 

 Octol>ertill the middle of June; and if planted early, 

 and pasture is scarce, it may be pastured till other 

 pasture comes forward. The tops nuxke better fod- 

 der than hay. It may be propagated by planting i he 

 branches when seed is scarce, either early or late, l)ut 

 if this is done as late as July or August, the plants 

 will only grow large enoug-h for .^eed; but if it is 

 done in May or June, the plants will root well. The 

 plants do not form much root till late in the fall, and 

 the ground should not be plowed after harvest, as 

 many of the shoots on which the roots grow run some 

 distance, and the plowing would cut thym off. 



If artichokes are planted ou rich ground in rows 

 about as close as corn, they will be too thick and 

 riiade the ground too much; but this may be obvia- 

 ted by catting off some of the stalks and curing them 

 for fodder. The yield of tubers will still be good — 

 five time as much as corn. If planted in poor soil, 

 they will not have much top.Jiurwill root well. The 

 hogs may be turned into the field and they will root 

 np the artichokes for themselves. Penn. 



CULTIVATION OF INDIAN COEN. 



Whatevkr difference of opinion may exist among 

 farmers in regard to the cultivation of Indian corn, 

 nearly all agree on one point, viz: that green-sward, 

 plowed eitlrer in the spring or fall, conctilutcs the 

 be.'^t foundation to commence on. 



I plow green-sward late in the spring, that is, al- 

 lowing only sufticieiit time for planting in season, 

 having previously applied all the manure. By this 

 late plowing, the grass is easier kept in subjection 

 Uian by plowing in the autumn. 



Depth of fuirow according to circumstances, the 

 nature of the soil, (fee. Plowing done, the ground 

 should be thoroughly pulverized with the harrow or 

 caltivator; I prefer the former implement, as the cul- 

 tivator too frequently tears up the seed. Plant from 

 25th of May to first of June, in this lattitude. Rows 

 three and a half feet apart, atid hills two feet in the 

 rows. Some plant three feet each way, but this does 

 not give so many hills, and although the labor of hoeing 

 mav be le.ss, I do not consider it sufficiently so to pay. 



In hoeing, u.ee the cultivator exclusively — ^thc plow 

 disturbs the roots too ranch. Hills should be made 

 flat or hollow on the top in order to catch the rain. 

 F«r a ferliiiKer I consider ashe^ as good as any thinar 

 Xwe the corn a good start. If leached, apply af- 

 a«d incorporate by harrowing. If un- 

 p?it a handful on each hill at the first hoeinff. 

 When the corn had begun to glaze on the small end 

 of the ear, cut and set up in stocks of six or eight hills 

 each to cure. • JS. S. B. 



PoUdam, JV Y. ,r<«A»4t»k 



DEVON AND DURHAM CATTLE 



In a district of country where feeding, milking and 

 working are re<|uired in the same animal, the North 

 Devon is superior to all others, being hardy, speedy, 

 and easily lirokc to work. The oxe. , wlun turned 

 out from work feed ea.«y. The cows, when dry, ac 

 quire flesh easy. As a general thing, the lievon 

 cows rank among the highest cla.^s for dairy cows, 

 their milk being very rich. 'I h<\v will stand the ex- 

 tremes of heal and coUi wo'll, and will live well on 

 rough pastures. In fact, I believe the North Devon, 

 or ilB cro^s with the Durham, is the best calculated 

 for all di^tricts of country in the United States, north 

 of 40 or 41 degrees of north latitude. 'I he DevQna 

 are very muscular, and of a unilorm color, (d:irk red,) 

 and their hoiHS an o''nameut to working cattle. 



In a di,<tnct of country where beet is high, and 

 feeding alone is requii-ed, the Durham is the best, 

 as they mature early, and grow large, where the cli- 

 !:iate and pastures are congenial to them. Animals 

 of a rapid and large growth, are less hardy and short- 

 er lived than tho^e of a medium growth or size. Ag 

 a general thing, the Durhams are not calculated to 

 milk or work, being slow, tender, and less muscular; 

 milking being by chance — only some families good. 

 They are best calculated for south of 40 or 41 de- 

 grees, where pa.«tures are more luxuriant, and climate 

 more congenial to them. B. 



Sandy Lake, Mercer Co., Pa. 



to gi<7e the coi 

 ter Vijowin'i ai 

 leacffed, n^it a 



BEANS AS A FIELD CROP. 



JIessrs P]niTORs : — I noticed in your January 

 number a communication over the signature of ' A 

 Young Farmer," requesting bean growers to give 

 facts in regard to pioducing them. I will give a 

 statement of one and one-fourth acres planted with a 

 variety known as the marrow fat bean — a large, very 

 white, and io my opinion the best variety for this lat- 

 itude. 



Dr. PKowinpand fitting land, $3.00 



1 tKi-hfl 10 qn.iit<. Bt'ed, ,3 00 



9 day;* work jylanting ami hoeing, S.OO 



8 " " pulling luvi lUresUirig,.. 8.00 



Interest on land, 6,00 



$28.00 

 Cr. 30 buflicls of beans sold .it SI .96 per bush., $£8.80 



11, tonstjean straw $6.00 per ton, 9.00 $67.80 



Xet profit, $39.80 



But few farmers comparatively know little or 

 nothing of the vabe of beati straw for fodder. It is 

 worth as mivch as the best hay per ton for cattle or 

 sheep, and the manure form a ton of it, is worth as 

 much as from two tons of hay. W. L. B. 



Brandon, Vt. 



To Kill Bugs i.\ Seed Peas. — On the day of 

 sowing, put the peas into a tub, or bari'cl ; pour on 

 hot (not boiling) water, sufficient to immerse them ; 

 let them remain about two niinute.s, or until the bugs 

 are dead; then turn them into a basket, or something 

 that will separate them from the water quickly, and 

 they can be sown without applj'ing anything to dry 

 them. This has been my practice when I have sown 

 peas for a field crop. 



The degree of heat required can be ascertained by 

 trying a few, before applying the water to the whole. 

 • Euclid, Cuyahoga Co., O. J. PEEKiNa 



