1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



87 



(lerstood all through my communication ; and 

 this I fully believe can be done better out of the 

 cellar than in. Mr. C. is informed in this, as well 

 asmyformer communication, that I have "learned 

 that the caustic qualities of powerful manures 

 v.'ill prevent the germination of seeds." He in- 

 quires if I am in earnest in recommending this 

 theory ; if he will take away the word "ruinous," 

 I answer I am in earnest, and have practiced it 

 for forty years. I think my labor has not been 

 wholly vain in the corn-field , and should I be 

 permitted to slumber, as did Van Winkle, I fully 

 believe that when I awake, I shall find the barn 

 cellars occupied for a diflTerent purpose than the 

 composting of manures. 



What surprises me the most, is his first paren- 

 thesis, "And I think you, Mr. Editor, must have 

 a large share of moral courage to publish it." 

 Was Mr. C. serious, when he penned that ? Did 

 he think an editor had no other attribute than 

 courage ? and if he has other attributes, does he 

 think that the reason of his publishing my arti- 

 cle was to try his courage ? If farmers acted 

 from a sense of duty, I believe we should often 

 record our failures, for the benefit of others. I 

 hope we shall have both sides of this subject dis 

 cussed in the Farmer, as the sooner we know the 

 truth, the better. Robert Mansfield. 



West Needliam, Mass., Dec, 1858. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 CUTTING STALKS OF CORN. 



Mr. Editor : — I am pleased to have my re- 

 marks on the "cutting of corn-stalks" noticed by 

 a man so sensible as Mr. Emerson, of Hollis, 

 appears to be. Without the honor of his per- 

 sonal acquaintance, I judge him to be a man of 

 good sense, fi'om his style of writing. In years 

 gone by I have known many reliable men of Hol- 

 lis, and among others I presume I knew the fa- 

 ther of Mr. Emerson, when he attended market 

 at Salem, as many of the inhabitants of that 

 town were accustomed to, with their loads of 

 barrels ; and when these loads came together, 

 we were accustomed to look upon it as a sign of 

 rain. 



His experiment of cutting eight rows of stalks, 

 and leaving other eight rows similarly situated 

 uncut, is a perfectly fair one. And if he found, 

 as he says he did, more soft, unripe corn where 

 the stalks were not cut than where they were 

 cut, this would go far to show that it is best to 

 cut them. Another reason why it is better to 

 cut them than not, is, the stalks themselves are 

 more valuable. But the chief reason is, that 

 the corn ripens better; the ear being the object 

 for which it is grown, and not the stalk. I have 

 heard it said if the stalks were left on, the juice 

 of it would settle into the kernel and increase 

 the weight of it ; but this is theory only ; I have 

 no confidence in the fact. Essex. 



December 25, 1858. 



Grinding Feed. — "If a machine was invented 

 to grind hay," says the London Farmers^ Maga- 

 zine, "the ground article would approximate in 

 value to ungro^ind oats in producing fat and 

 muscle." Chopping hay and stalks is the pro- 

 cess that comes nearest to grinding, and relieves 

 the animal of just so much labor as it takes to do 



it. Twenty-five pounds of dry hay a day is a 

 good deal of work for the muscles of one pair of 

 jaws, if they have the whole burden of its reduc- 

 tion to small bits and powder ; this labor afl'ects 

 the whole system, like other labor, retarding the 

 animal's growth and rendering more food neces- 

 sary to supply the waste of its tissues. The same 

 reasoning applies to grinding other food for 

 stock. — Country Gentleman. 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



AGHICULTUKAIj pkogeess—mam- 

 MOTH FARM COMPANY. 



Messrs. Editors :— In the N. E. Farmer of 

 the 18th Dec. is a communication with the above 

 caption by Wilson Flagg. Notwithstanding Mr. 

 Flagg's able and well-written article, he does not 

 convince me that there is danger to the small, 

 independent farmer, growing from the formation 

 of the "Mammoth Farm Company," in V/estern 

 New York. How that operating with steam im- 

 plements on the prairies at the West, can prove 

 "destructive to the prosperity of individual farm- 

 ers" at the East, or any where else, I have not 

 the sagacity to see. The productions of the 

 West are generally the very articles which New 

 England does not produce in sufficient quanti- 

 ties for her own consumption. From the West 

 and South very few articles are transported to 

 New England which are produced in it as sur- 

 plus. The more grain, pork, cotton, sugar, mo- 

 lasses, rice, sweet potatoes and other articles of 

 warm climates, and the cheaper they come to us, 

 the better, if the raisers are remunerated. And 

 for me, I am under the least apprehension that 

 this "Mammoth Company" can monopolize the 

 farming business, in the least degree to the in- 

 jury of the small, independent farming interest 

 in the Eastern and Northern States, however it 

 may operate upon them on the prairies at the 

 West. 



The plov/ is the only "mammoth implement" 

 to which steam could be advantageously applied ; 

 that being the case, other farm operations must 

 be conducted in the usual way, as on small farnvs, 

 with horses, oxen and hand laborers. I hope, 

 for the benefit of the farmers at the West, and 

 all the consumers at the East, West, North and 

 South, that the steam plow will prove successful 

 in capsizing the surface of the indurated prairies, 

 and fully realize the expectation and confirm the 

 hopes of the "Mammoth Farm Company," in 

 plowing those stubborn prairies which require 

 so much animal power to perform. The fear of 

 injury to the small, independent farmer in the 

 Eastern and Northern States, that creates such 

 apprehensions in the mind of Mr. Flagg, I think 

 must subside, when he takes into consideration 

 the difficulty and expense of purchasing the small 

 farms, leveling the ground, clearing away the 

 rocks, straightening the brooks, draining the 

 swamps, and above all, of procuring manure to 

 enrich this chaos of gravel, clay, sand, mud and 

 other mineral matter, to make it productive. 

 For one, I would as soon invest my capital in 

 Vermont Central Railroad bonds, or go into a 

 South Sea speculation, as invest money as a stock- 

 holder in a "mammoth farm" in any part of the 

 Union. Silas Browk. 



North Wilmington, Dec, 1858. 



