VOL. XXI.no. 13. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



91 



ON HARVESTING CORN. 

 To iho Editor of the Mass. Plowman : 



Seeing a request in the last nninber of the 

 Ploughman for those who were Hcquainted with the 

 modern method of hftrvesting corn, to give the re- 

 sult of their experience showing the superiority 

 if an.v) over the old fashioned way of topping the 

 tallis, I thouglit T would have the presumption ti. 

 5ay a few words upon the subject. Having tried 

 3ach way for fifteen years past, give me a decided 

 areference for cutting up the corn, by the roots, so 

 soon as the corn is well glazed, which is generally 

 nrhcn the leaves and husks begin to turn. 



Generally speaking, corn will do to cut up by 

 he middle of September, soiTielimes before, at 

 .Thich time the fodder possesses most of its plea- 

 mnt and nutricious qualities. I general/y cut from 

 ix to eight hills to the bundle, taking two rows at 

 time, taking good care to lay the butt ends of the 

 talks even when I lay them down, thereby render- 

 ng them much more sun to withstand the winds. 

 lay two rows of bundles withtheir butts opposite, 

 ometimes four rows. I then put five bundles in a 

 took by standing one perfectly erect, then putting 

 jie other four bracing or a little leaning at right 

 ingles against the middle one. They will be very 

 afe when done in this way and not hurt or mould i 

 nd will readily cure if the weather be good, if not 

 hey will also be " safe in a storm." I have had 

 hem withstand the severest gales done in this 

 I consider the corn equally heavy when 

 helled, harvested in this way as when allowed to 

 tand out with the tops off, till the under foliage and 

 utts are almost and oftentimes wholly rendered use- 

 ess as fodder. A man can secure an acre of corn 

 n the stook in this wny as soon as he can an acre 

 f stalks, and if the fodder is properly taken care 

 f the cattle will eat the greater part of the stalks 

 r butts, especially if cut with a straw cutter. Corn 

 ut up in this way can be got to the barn more 

 eadily and stowed away upon scaffolds, or put in 

 tables with ease, and remain a long time without 

 njury to the corn or fodder. I have taken some 

 hree or four acres in at a time to clean a field for 

 lowing or putting in cattle. I, till within the two 

 ■ast years have resided upon Connecticut river, 

 rhere great attention is paid to the raising of corn 

 nd the " modern method" is the prevailing one 

 nd much preferred by all that try it. Some have 

 dopted the method of leaving one hill uncut and 

 ying as many around as a man can gather in his 

 rms at a time, and tying the top with suckers to 

 he standing hill, taking care to keep a straight line 

 Df the stooks. But this method is by no means a 

 ood one to preserve the fodder, as it leaves it very 

 luch exposed. But when harvested by the above 

 nethod it has a quicker chance to dry the ears, if 

 he corn bo late. I am always particular to turn 

 he top of the stooks down to where I tie them, 

 fhich renders them impervious to water and makes 

 hem stand firmer. I have frequently filled a shed 

 iO by 20 feet on the scafTold as close as it could be 

 towed or stood up — as also underneath on the 

 [round floor, and not have it harm ; I am, however 

 10 advocate for doing thus except when circum- 

 tances demand it. 



If it be desirable to sow the land, the bundles 

 :an be drawn oflf with a sled and stood upon grass 

 fround or otherwise. If stowage is an object, yon 

 •.an make the fodder take much less room by bind- 

 ng some half dozen bundles when you are husking 

 nto one. The time taken to unbind the corn and 

 )ind up the stalks is well paid for, by saving ail the 



corn in the bundle and rendering the stalks quicker 

 slowed 11 way, and more easily and better got at in 

 foddering time. 



AN ANDOVER FARMER. 



P. S. In short I consider the neiv method by far 

 the most expeditious of any— as well as preferable 

 ill every particular. 



Rtmnrlis. — There can be no doubt that the fod- ! 

 der from the corn cut up in the fore part of Sep- 

 tember and put in shooks, is worth a vast deal more 

 than it is when allowed to stand out through a part 

 of October. All the improvement that we then 

 need is to cut up the fodder so short that the cattle 

 can get it into their mouths. 



This season is so wet and the coi;n is so back- 

 ward, we expect to hear that much of it is nipped 

 by September frosts. 



We advise those who have not cut their stalks, 

 and whose ciun is not ripe to cut up the whole to- 

 gether and put it in .'ihooks where frosts will not do 

 it much injury. — Ed. Plowman. 



From the Maine Farmer. 



WHAT CROPS WILL DO WELL AFTER 

 RUTA BAGA ? 



In the July No. of your paper, under the inquiry 

 " Is Barley a suitable crop to follow potatoes?" 

 The call was made for more facts in regard to the 

 question of rotntion. To ime remark there made, I 

 purpose to speak at the present sitting. " Indian 

 corn does not do well after Riita Baga." Allow 

 me to introduce the subject by asking what crop 

 does do well after Ruta Baga "7 



I have given some attention to rotation and noted 

 effects till I have resolved that Ruta Baga are from 

 this time forward '■rotated,^ out of my catalogue. 



The latest facts I have to record, and such as I 

 shall shno up on this occasion are simply as fol- 

 lows, and simply told. In June, 1840, I plowed 

 half an acre of exhausted mowing land, and in the 

 fall gave it a dressing of about 40 loads of yard 

 manure, and plowed it in. It is a dry, slaty soil, in- 

 clining to the South. In the spring of '41 my 

 intention was to make the most of it with a crop of 

 roots. We commenced operations at the south end 

 of the piece, and planted ten or more rows of early 

 potatoes. — Next in order we planted 1-8 of an acre 

 of Sugar Beets ; then a piece of carrots, then 1-8 

 of an acre of Ruta Bagas ; and finished the piece 

 with Christie potatoes. The whole received ample 

 justice from the hoe, with some plaster and ashes. 



The drought affected the crop severely. The 

 potatoes gave us a yield at the rate of more than 

 500 bushels per acre ; the Ruta Bagas not more 

 than half of the rate of the potatoes, the Beets not 

 one fourth of that rate, and the carrot seed nearly 

 all failing, its part in the matter stood nearly at 0. 

 The present season I sowed the piece with Flax. 

 The ground was well prepared for the seed, and 

 after sowing was roiled smooth. I find my in- 

 terest in sowing flax every year, as much as in rais- 

 ing wheat, and in this instance I expected a fine 

 crop. But, IMr Editor, I am disappointed. I have 

 been cheated. 1 accuse no man of being an acces- 

 sory to the mischief: but these rascally roots that 

 you have been "cracking up" for so many years, 

 have treated me, in this case, as they ever have me 

 and my neighbors. Soon after the flax came up, 

 it told a tale that should forever put to silence the 

 advocates of ruta bagas. That I might not be 

 obliged to testify alone in this case, I called some 

 of my neighbors to view it at different times. All 



wore surprised at such results. The potato ground 

 at each extreme, and where the carrots were sown 

 in the middle of the piece, alike threw up a luxu- 

 riant crop, while the intermediate spaces, occupied 

 before with the beets and ruta bagas appear uni- 

 formly sickly and pale, the flax at any time no 

 more than one half the size of the other, till the 

 larger had attained the height of four feet. I have 

 hitherto been an advocate for beets, considering 

 them wortli something after they were grown; but 

 in this case they cost more than twenty times as 

 much as they were worth. 



This is a case in evidence against ruta bagas 

 plain enough in point, but not more so than others 

 that might be cited in this vicinity. There may 

 be cases in which a farmer may find his interest in 

 raising ruta baga. But in my humble opinion it is 

 only with such locations as unavoidably receive 

 the wash from buildings, and where the most ex- 

 hausting crop may be taken with impunity. 

 Yours, trulv, 



C. CHAMBERLAIN. 



Sloop a little. — The following story related by 

 Dr. Franklin in a letter to Dr. Mather, has been 

 often told, and is well worth telling again : 



" The last time I saw your father (says Dr. Frank- 

 lin,) was in 1724. In taking my leave, he showed 

 me a shorter way out of the house, through a nar- 

 row passage, which was crossed by a beam over 

 head. We were still talking as I withdrew, he ac- 

 companying me behind, and I turning towards him, 

 he said hastily, ' Stoop! stoop!' I did not under- 

 stand him till I felt my head hit against the beam. 

 He was a man who never missed an occasion of 

 giving instruction, and upon this he said to me, 

 'You are young, and have the world before you: 

 stoop a little as you go through it, and you will 

 avoid many hard tliumps,' This advice, thus beat 

 into my head, has frequently been of use to me ; 

 and I often think of it when I see pride mortified 

 and misfortunes brought upon people by carrying 

 their heads too high." 



Caution against Poisons. — Housekeepers should 

 be cautious about using glazed earthen vessels for 

 holding confections, either preserved in acids or 

 liable to undergo acetious fermentation. The lead 

 used in the process of glazing is deadly poison. 

 It is disengaged by the action of the acids, and dif- 

 fuses itself through the entire contents of the ves- 

 sel from which it is corroded. Many persons, not 

 aware of this fact, preserve pickles and sweetmeats 

 in glazed earthen jars, and from the deleterious 

 change which the confections undergo in conse- 

 quence, lose their health, if not their lives, without 

 ever suspecting the cause. Stone or glass jars 

 should be used. — Selected. 



Slander. — "My dear friend, that woman has 

 been talking about you so again ! She has been 

 telling the awfulest lies you ever heard: why she 

 railed away at you for a whole hour!" 



" And vou heard it all, did you?" 



" Yes."' 



" Well, after this just bear in mind that it takes 

 two to make a slander ; one to tell it and one to 

 listen to it." — Selected. 



By a recent act of Congress, the value of the 

 pound sterling is fixed in our currency at four dol- 

 lars and eightyfour cents. 



