300 



THE FARMERS CABINET. 



VOL. I. 



Important to Farmers. 



The Now York Sun, on the authority of 

 an esteemed correspondent, gives the subjoined 

 information, believing that it must be \ugh\y 

 useful to farmers, and would perhaps prove a 

 benefit to the corn market generally, were it 

 adopted. Hundreds of thousands of bushels of 

 corn are annually destroyed by the birds, (par- 

 ticularly the black bird and crow,) wliich 

 might be preserved by a very simple method. 

 The birds pull it up the moment it appears 

 above ground, and eat the seed. In order to 

 prevent this destruction, the farmer should 

 first soak tlie seed well in salt water, until 

 the chit is just on the eve of bursting through, 

 then turn it into a vessel of tar, made soft by 

 warming, and stir thorough!}'-, until every 

 grain is well coated, when it may be separated 

 for planting. Work in some pounded plaster, 

 when planting, and this seed the birds vvill 

 not disturb; it will come up rank and fine, 

 and pay weli for the trouble. If the corn is 

 not soaked well before coating with tar, it will 

 not be apt to come up, as the tar will naturally 

 prevent the necessary moisture from penetrat- 

 ing through it. This has been tried by 

 farmers who never could get a good crop of 

 corn in any other way, and found it to succeed 

 admirably.— Farmer and Gardener. 



Tenacity of tUc Apple Tree for Life. 



A medical gentleman, who has recently 

 made a tour through several of the western 

 states, related to us the following singular 

 instance, illustrative of the power of the 

 apple tree to support life out of the ground. 



In the month of Octr., 1835, Mr. Alex. 

 M'Cny, living near Columbus, Ohio, bought of 

 a nurseryman on Long Island, 100 apple 

 trees; they were then packed up, shipped 

 via the great Erie canal and the lakes, to 

 Cleaveland, Ohio. On arriving at that point, 

 the canal being frozen up, the trees remained 

 there until the latter end of March, 188G, 

 when they were sent to Coliunbuft, Ohio, by 

 the canal : they reached the latter place in the 

 month of April, followiog. As it was pre- 

 sumed that the trees, which had now been out 

 of the ground six months, were all dead, or 

 their vital powers so far destroyed as to ren- 

 der their vegetating not only doubtful, but, as 

 was supposed, hopeless, the owner refused to 

 receive them. In this situation they reman ied 

 till May, when the agent of the canal for- 

 warded them to their proprietor, who planted 

 them out in his cornfield, rich limestone land, 

 and tended them with his corn. At the period 

 of planting, which was seven months from the 

 time of their being taken up, the trees were 

 partially in leaf, and notwithstanding all of 

 these disadvantageous circumstances, 98 of 

 them lived, only 2 of tho hundred dying. 



Lime) Ashes and Plaster for Corn> 



Our readers will find below an account of 

 a large crop of corn raised by Mr. Semmes, 

 of Maryland, the past season. The whole 

 process pursued in the improvement of this 

 land is not detailed, but we are led to under- 

 stand, that the great product is in a consider- 

 able degree to be ascribed to the use of a mi.\- 

 ture of plaster and leached ashes. Having 

 ascertained the benefical effects of this ma- 

 nure by repeated experiments, we feel our- 

 selves well warranted in recommending the 

 use of it to such of our readers as can procure 

 it. Let leached ashes and plaster be mixed, 

 in the proportion of two bushels of ashes to 

 one of plaster, and let a small handful of the 

 mixture be dropped in each hill of corn, either 

 befi^re or after tho corn is dropped, and co- 

 vered with if, and the elTect will be surprising, 

 especially if a few rows are left in the field to 

 which the manure is not applied, the difl^er- 

 ence will be visible and great throughout the 

 season, and we doubt whether this mode of 

 manuring corn in the hill, is not the cheapest, 

 in proportion to the profit, of any which can 

 be applied. We beg our readers to make 

 the experiment, and satisfy themselves. We 

 have found unleached ashes equally good, 

 when mixed with plaster in the same propor- 

 tion. We have also found a similar applica- 

 tion of slacked lime to each hill, highly ad- 

 vantageous, and would therefore recommend 

 it, especially to those who cannot procure 

 the plaster. The following is the account 

 referred to. 



Extract from the Journal of a Gentleman -who 

 traveled for Agricultural information. 



ISov. l.<;^ 1834.— Visited Mr. John Sem- 

 mes, of St. Mary's county, Maryland, who 

 informs us that his great crop of corn aver- 

 aged upwards of twenty-five barrels the acre. 

 Respectable judges of the county were ap- 

 pointed to ascertain the quantity of corn, and 

 afler having accurately surveyed one acre, 

 the corn was gathered and measured. The 

 farm is uncommonly hilly. 



Process. — He prepares his ground by clo- 

 ver, the ground laid off from five by two and 

 a half to three feet. The corn then dropped, 

 three grains in the check, followed by persons 

 who drop on the corn, or even if they are in 

 advance of the corn-droppers, a handful of 

 two-thirds slacked ashes, and one-third plaster, 

 mixed before it is dropped. Should the corn 

 not come up regularly, he drops one or two 

 seeds more, as may be necessary. He gathers 

 his seed corn from the field before gathering 

 the crop, so as to have a choice of ears. He 

 plants from the 1st to the 10th of April, and 

 ploughs four inches deep. — Tennessee 

 Farmer. 



