NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



117 



the eve of consigning him to the plough, where he 

 might work barefoot, wlien, by mere accident, an 

 officer in our service, lately returned from Mexico, 

 was passing, and being made acquainted with the 

 difficulty, applied a complete remedy by the follow- 

 ing simple process : He took a cord about the size 

 of a common bed-cord, put it in the moutli of the 

 horse like a bit, and tied it tightly on the top of the 

 animal's head, passing his left ear under tlie string, 

 not painfully tight, but tight enough to keep the car 

 down, and the cord in its place. This done, he pat- 

 ted the hurse gently on the side of the head, and 

 commanded him to follow, and instantly the horse 

 obeyed, peri'ectly subdued, and as gentle as a well- 

 trained dog, suffering his feet to bo lifted with entire 

 impunity, and acting in all respects like an old 

 stager. That simple string thus tied, made him at 

 ouce as docile and obedient as any one could desire. 

 The gentleman who furnished this exceedingly simple 

 means of subduing a very dangerous jn-opensity, inti- 

 mated that it is practised in Mexico and South Amer- 

 ica in the management of wild horses. Bo this as 

 it may, he deserves the thanks of all owners of such 

 horses, and especially the thanks of those Avhose 

 business it may be to shoe or groom the animals. — 

 SekcCcd. 



UTILITY OF INDIAN CORN. 



But what gives to Indian corn its great impor- 

 tance, is the actual amount of nutritive matter wliich 

 it contains. It is said to be third in this respect, 

 wheat and rice containing a somewhat greater 

 amount, though many place maize second onlj' to 

 wheat. We have the analysis of Indian corn, which 

 may be given as follows : — 



Silica 38.4.5 



Potassa, 19.5 1 



Phos. of lime, 17.17 



Phos. of Magnesia, 13.83 



Phos. of Potassa 2.2i 



Carbonate of Lime, 2.50 



Carb. of Magnesia 2.1G 



Sulph. of Lime and ^lagnesia, 79 



Silica, mechanically found, 1.70 



Ahimina and loss, 1.65 — 100 



making in all one hundred parts. In other words, 

 we may say, on the authority of Dr. Dana, of Low- 

 ell, there arc in it, of 



Fat-forming principles, gums, &c., 88.43 

 Flesh-forming principles, gluten, &c., 1.26 



"Water, 9.00 



Salts, 1.31 — 100 



A glance will show how greatlj- the fat-forming 

 principles predominate in the one hundred parts. 

 There is hai'dly any grain which yields so much for 

 the support of animal life. The difficulties and con- 

 tingencies of raising wheat in the eastern parts of 

 Massachusetts have discouraged its cultivation, so that 

 we may say that Indian corn is by far the most profit- 

 able crop, esjiccially as, when the offid is properly 

 managed, there is no grain which restores so much to 

 the ground. It is a fact, too, that it may bo cultivated 

 longer in succession than any otlicr grain ; and if 

 kept dry, it may be preserved for an indelinite jieriod 

 without injury. The case and rapidity with which 

 it recovers from a drought is truly remarkable. 

 Many predicted, during the last summer, that the 

 corn crop would be destroyed. The leaves were 

 badly curled, and there was every indication that tlie 

 crop would greatly suffer. Every one remembers 

 how speedy was its recovery, and how rapid its 

 growth after the change of weather. 



As a fattener for cattle, swine, and poultry, wc 

 may say that Indian corn is unrivalled in utility. 



The analysis of Dr. Dana, as given above, is sufficient 

 to show, at once, liow important it is for sucli pur- 

 poses. As a food for man, it is extensively used, 

 though by some thought to be too stimulating. — 

 Flint's Essaij in Essex Ag. Transactions, 



A HINT ON A PRACTICAL SUBJECT. 



I have always felt a deep interest in the discus- 

 sions of " Deojj vs. Shallow i'loughing," which have 

 of late been had in your useful paper. I cannot 

 bring myself to believe that any practical farmer 

 would seriously advocate the system of shallow 

 ploughing, where wheat and corn arc the staple 

 crops. It is, to me, such an absurd theory, that I 

 ascribe the opinion to theoretical farmers alone. 



Twenty years' experience, upon a variety of soils, 

 has taught me that all land should be ploughed 

 deep ; in the wet se.ison, the rains stand less on the 

 top of the ground, to the injury of the growing crop ; 

 in the dry season, the roots strike deeper and suffer 

 less from the drought ; for that the roots of wheat 

 or corn reach to tlic depth of the deepest ploughing 

 will be manifoet to cuiy observer. In ploughing poor 

 soils deep for the first time, a top dressing is neces- 

 sary to give the crop a vigorous start, when the roots 

 will soon reach as far as the ground has been stirred. 

 Your correspondent, " J. A.," says — " Suppose you 

 plough six inches, when your soil is but two, you 

 have now mixed four inches of clay or sand with 

 two of soil, consequently, you have now a predom- 

 inance of those inferior elements over the productive 

 soil, and deterioration of land is the inevitable con- 

 sequence." How is this possible? Are we to be 

 told that the roots of the plants will not penetrate 

 four inches of loose earth ? And if tlicy do, where 

 is the deterioration in either the land or the crop ? 

 All know that land is injured by being exposed 

 nakrd to the frosts of Avinter, or the heats of sum- 

 mer. Does it not then naturally follow, that the 

 deeper it is ploughed, the less proportion of the soil 

 is exposed upon the surface to be injured in this 

 way r 



" Plough deep, while sluggards sleep. 

 And you'll have corn to sell and keep." 



Leeshurg, V.\., 1849. W. 



— Dollar Newspaper. 



GET THE BEST IMPLEMENTS. 



Mu. EniTOR : There is a species of mojigiel econ- 

 omy practised liy some farmers, which cannot be too 

 severely deprecated. If they are under tlie neces- 

 sity of purchasing a plough, scythe, rake, hoc, or 

 cultivator, instead of searching out the best and most 

 perfectly finislied, they inquire for a cheap or me- 

 dium-priced article, in order to ecoiiomize their ca.s];. 



Now, my experience in purchasing farming imi)lc- 

 ments indicates exactly an opposite course. I inquire 

 for the best, and purchase it. I would no more 

 spend my money for a cheap plough, or lian-ow, or a 

 cheap wagon — which are always much the dearest 

 in the end — than I would fir a cheap school teacher, 

 or a chea]) minister. IJuy only tlie best articles; 

 this is the true economy, and all will find it so. 

 — Germantoicn Telegraph. 



VALUE OF BONE DUST. 



In speaking of tlic value of bone dust as n ma- 

 nure. Professor (Jray says, that "one bushel to a 

 load of yard manure increases its value, as deter- 

 mined by experiment, one half" He estimates that 

 it is " eight or ten times as valuable as cow dung, 

 and the (quantity of salts is sixty-six times that con- 

 tained in an equal quantity of that substance." 



