252 



Corn Planter — Cows vs. Horses. 



Vol. III. 



under the eye of the agricultural world, and 

 the circumstance of its having gone out of 

 notice for so long a time is, I think, any thing 

 but in its favor. A friend, having sent me 

 some of the seed from London, I feel pleasure 

 in depositing a small quantity with you for 

 distribution, and if you will place it in the 

 hands of those who will take the pleasttre of 

 doing justice in its cultivation, a considerable 

 quantity of seed may be obtained from the 

 plants that might be raised from these seeds 

 the coming season, and during their growth, 

 a fair opportunity would be afforded for obser- 

 vations, which may appear, laudatory or con- 

 demnalory, in the Cabinet, at the end of the 

 summer. May I be permitted to urge those 

 who undertake to make the experiment, to 

 keep the plants clear of weeds while grow- 

 ing. 



May I also, in my turn, ask of your readers 

 information, as to the cultivation of a plant, 

 (Lucerne) which, from its first introduction 

 to notice, has never ceased to call forth the 

 approbation of all who have been concerned 

 in its culture. I wish to learn if it has ever 

 been properly attended to in this country, and 

 what success has followed its introduction in- 

 to a climate, peculiarly adapted, one would 

 suppose, to its growth. Incarnos. 



Corn and Seed Planter. 



Fig. 33. 



This machme, recently invented by W. 

 BucKMiNSTER, Esq. of Boston, is said to be an 

 entirely new article in this country; hashcen 

 fully proved, and found to answer com- 

 pletely, for the planting of corn and lurneps. 

 On any land tolerably well prepared, one man 

 with a horse will furrow out, drop, cover and 

 press down the corn on an acre of ground in 



one hour — or ten acres in a day ; this is the 

 work of 20 men. A double machine that 

 plants two rows at one time, can be used in 

 large fields, where a man and horse are war- 

 ranted to plant three acres in one hour — rows 

 four feet apart — 30 acres in one day ! The 

 corn in this machine is covered by the falling 

 into the fiirrow of the soil that is finely pul- 

 verized by a row of cultivator teeth — no sods 

 or weeds therefore can intrude as in case of a 

 drag that has been used to haul dirt on to the 

 seed, neither is the seed ever disturbed by 

 such drag, but remains scattered along about 

 five inches in the furrow. The machine will* 

 bury the seed three inches deep if you desire 

 it — one inch is the rule for corn — one-fourth 

 of an inch for turneps — by simply turning a 

 screw you sink the corn deep, by turning it 

 back you bury more .shallow. Last summer 

 170 square rods of ground were sown with 

 ruta baga, in 18,000 hills, in 55 minutes — 

 here were 48 hours' work performed in one-r- 

 li lb. of seed only was used — the seed came up 

 very uniformly well, and was covered more 

 evenly than it could be by hand. Cotton seed 

 — beans and onions — may be equally well 

 planted with this machine. The whole ma- 

 chine is cast iron except the handles. 



Q^ Arrangements have been made for a 

 supply of the Corn Planter, which may be 

 had in a short time at the new Agricultural 

 Depository, No. 87 North Second Street, 

 Philadelphia. The machine is exceedingly 

 simple, and not likely to get out of repair, and 

 its performance as above stated will be war- 

 ranted. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Cows vs. Horses. 



An idle horse gives no milk and makes no butter. 

 Having read a communication in the last 

 number of the Cabinet signed H., on the " cost 

 of keeping an idle horse," I find the sum of 

 sixty dollars as there set down, quite within 

 the mark ; and I should not know how to ac- 

 complish it for that sum by a long slice; and 

 if H. was to take shoeing and liability to con- 

 tingencies into the account, it would consid- 

 erably swell the aggregate amount. On ex- 

 amining the subject and looking a little fur- 

 ther into it, I find that the cost of keeping 

 "one idle horse," will keep two milch cows 

 comfortably, and that each cow during the 

 year will produce, (including the calf) a clear 

 gain- of thirty dollars without any straining 

 of the point whatever. This makes sixty dol- 

 lars per annum proft from the two cows, 

 which added to the sixty dollars loss sus- 

 tainod by keeping " an idle hor.*c," in- 

 stead of the cows, at the same cost, makes 

 a difference of one hundred and twenty 



