1846. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



113 



Indian Cbm for Soiling and Fodder. 



We doubt whether the value of Indian Corn 

 is more than half known yet among tlie general- 

 ity of farmers ; and if the unparalleled droug'.it 

 throughout the country last summer should have 

 a tendency to ttrach it to them, the terrible les- 

 son mav be looked upon as a mercy rather than 

 a scourge, from a benificent Providence. Du- 

 ring the pf\st eight montlis, tiiousands of animals 

 have perished or been sacrificed for want of 

 grass or fodder to sustain them, all of which 

 might have been saved and kept in good condi- 

 tion, had each farmer sown a few acres of corn 

 for soiling and fodder. We saw last summer, on 

 a light sandy soil, a crop of corn growing, which 

 turned out six tons of excellent dry fodder per 

 acre. It was sown on the first day of July, in 

 drills three feet apart. The land was plowed 

 deep, and highly manured. This crop wa^ the 

 means of saving a superior herd of cows from 

 starvation. Henceforth, however promising the 

 grass and hay crop may be, let no farmer depend 

 entirely upon it, but let him sow a few' acres of 

 corn for summer soiling, or to be cured for win- 

 ter's use. He will then be tolerably independent 

 of a capricious season. 



When corn is tolerably advanced in its growth 

 it completely shades the ground, and the drought 

 will have little eflect upon it. A larger crop 

 may usually be grown in drills than when sown 

 broad cast; and if these drills be two or two and 

 a half feet apart, we believe it will be found bet- 

 ter than nearer, especially in a very dry season, 

 as the cultivator can be often run between the 

 rows, stirring the ground etrectually, and neu- 

 tralizing, in a measure, the efTects of dry weather. 

 We reccommend sowing at least one acre of 

 corn for fodder, for every five head of catilc kept 

 on the farm« If there be an overplus of hay it 

 is very easily disposed of. — Amer. Agricidhirigt. 



Oat Fodder for Horses. 



At a discussion had at a meeting of the Dar- 

 lington (Eng.) Farmers' Club, Dec. 8th, on the 

 best and cheapest mode of keeping draught hor- 

 ses during winter, Mr. Trotter said : 



'-1 have paid some attention to the subject of 

 keeping of draught horses during v/inter : for the 

 last three years I have adopted quite a difTcrent 

 mode to what I previously followed. My meth- 

 od formerly, was to allow my draught horses 

 each 2 bushels of oats per week, together with 1 

 bushel of beans and as much hay as they could 

 cat, generally clover hay. For the last three 

 winters I have fed them almost entirely on cut 

 oat-sheaf — cut into hali-inch chafF — which hcis 

 been a very great saving to me. 



In an oat crop of about 40 stooks per acre, 

 which might yield near 60 bushels, the feed of a 

 draught herse averages 2 sheaves per day, or 14 

 sheaves per week, which would be about a bush- 

 el and y pecks per week, if they had been 

 thrashed out, which is a saving of a peck of oats 

 per week, each horse, from what I formerly 

 gave them ; besides, I save the bushel of beans 

 per week, and the clover hay, which was a very 

 considerable item. When I first changed my 

 mode of feeding, the horses improved in condi- 

 tion Vv'ondorfully, thus showing that it suits them 

 well. When they are very hard worked, I al- 

 low them half a peck of oats at dinner time be- 

 sides the eut sheaf. 



Last winter I had only 18 acres of oats; those 

 kept 12 draft horses, besides four yeung ones oc- 

 casionally. This quantity of oats would not 

 have served me tli rough the year, had I not pur- 

 sued this system c-f feeding." — Lo7i. Ag, Ga%. 



Hints to Housekeepers. — Woolens should 

 be washed in very hot suds and not rinsed. — 

 Lukewarm water shrinks them. 



Suet keeps good all the year round, if ciiopped 

 and packed in a stone jar, and covered with mo- 

 lasses. 



When molasses is used in cooking, it is a pro- 

 digious improvement to boil and skim it before 

 you use it. It takes out the unpleasant raw taste, 

 and makes it almost as good as sugar. 



Use hard soap to wash your clothes, and soft 

 to wash your floors. Soft soap is so slippery 

 that it wastes a good deal in washing clothes. 



It is easy to have a supply of horse-radish all 

 winter. Have a quantity grated while the root 

 is in perfection, put it in bottles, fill it with vin- 

 egar, and keep it corkol tight. 



Do not wrap knive.^ and forks in woolens ; 

 wrap them in strong ] '.per. Steele is injured 

 by lying in woolenSc — .' '. Trav, 



Beonzin'o of Medals, and Ornaments of 

 Copper, &c. — Having thoroughly cleaned and 

 polished the surface of the specimen, with a 

 brush apply the common crocus powder, previ- 

 ously n?a<le into a paste with water. When dry, 

 place it in an iron ladle, or on a con.mDn fire- 

 shovel, over a clear fire for about one rninute ; and 

 when sufKciently cool, polish with a plate-brush. 

 By this process a bronze similar to that on tea- 

 urns is produced ; the shade depending upon the 

 duration of the exposure to the fire. 



By substituting finely powdered plumbago for 

 crocus povyd.er in the above process, a beautiful, 

 deep, and permanent bronze appearance is pro- 

 duced. 



English Grain and Flour Measure. — A 



friend informs us, says the Pennsylvania Inqui- 

 rer, that the English quarter of wheat is .5G0 lbs., 

 or a quarter of a ton, and is equal io eight Eng- 

 lish bushels of seventy pounds each, or nine and 

 one-eighth American bushels of sixty pounds. — 

 The English sack of flour weighs 280 lbs., and 

 seven sacks are equal to ten Arnerican barrels of 

 196 pounds each. 



