148 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



KOV. 10,1841. 



CROP OF CORN-STALKS. 



Permit me to iiieiilioii an experiment made liy 

 (iiyaelf at Washington, on the subject of fodder. — 

 Noticing the statement made in the French poriodi- 

 cnls, Ihiil the stalks of corn (maize) contained one 

 half ns much saccharine matter as cane, and know- 

 ing that my ancestors made their molasses during 

 tlic revolutionary war from these stalks, I Hoived 

 four and a half bushels of common corn, broadcast, 

 and harrowed in the same. This labor was easily 

 performed by a single man with a team (includ- 

 ing the plowing) in a day. Having soaked tlie 

 corn in saltpetre water, it took a rapid start, over- 

 topped the weeds, and covered the ground with a 

 forest of stalks. When fairly tasselled, I cut the 

 same, which I fed to cattle, horses and hogs, both 

 green and dry. If fed to swine alter being cured. 

 It was cut and fermented with chop or bran. Be- 

 ing anxious to ascertain the quantity, I inPasured 

 a few square feet of the stoutest. I found I had .'5 

 lbs. of green fodder per square foot; this may not 

 seem incredible, and it is probably less than what 

 would grow in rich lands at the West ; if, however, 

 we consider there are 4;5,5t)0 square feel in an acre, 

 we shall obtain "217,800 lbs., equal to 108 l-i tons 

 of green fodder ! 



I cut the first crop the early part of July, 

 and plowed and sowed the same land again, and 

 took a second crop two thirds as large, and even 

 tried a third on the same land, but it did not reach 

 over ten inches before the frost seized it. Persons 

 who have only u small patch of ground may try 

 this experiment to advantage, and fill their barns 

 with fodder. 



In curing stalks, it is recommended to place tlie 

 small end upon the ground, with the butts upward, 

 to guard against the absorption of moisture from 

 the wet ground. Whoever will try the experiment 

 of cutting flowers, and putting some on damp flan- 

 nel, or into water, and hanging up others in the 

 sun, will see the advantage of curing fodder in the 

 way I have mentioned. Should any fear the stalks 

 would not stand upon the small end, a few rows 

 could bo left to support the remainder. — Won. H. 

 L. EllawortK 



FKNCING AT THR WEST. 

 The usual mode of fencing at the West is to 

 make a P'irginia or worm fence. This is made 

 eight rails high, with a stake and a rider, equalling 

 ten rails to a paunel. This construction loses of 

 course much ground in the anglis, which furnish 

 a nursery for weeds to endanger the fence by con- 

 flagration from the annual prairie fires ; much is 

 lost in timber by not taking a straight line, and the 

 fize of the rails of a Virginia fence is much heavi- 

 er than is required for post and rail fences. Late 

 improvements in boring posts and sliurponiiig rails, 

 have greatly reduced the kind of fence adopted at 

 the East, where the wants of society have convert- 

 ed the woodlands into prairies. Transportation of 

 fencing materials is rarely carted so HJiort a dis- 

 tance at the East as is nrcessary for the western 

 settler at present. Posts can bo cut and split (the 

 wood taken standing, the value of which is nonii- 

 n\\, where heavy timber can be bought at $4 or $5 

 per acre,) for M cents per one hundred ; rails can 

 be split for 02 1-2 cents per one hundred. Not 

 only is one half to two thirds the timber saved by 

 adopting post and rail fence, but in carting (a ge- 

 rious item,) the same advantage is gained. A sav- 

 ing la effected by throwing up a mound, by run- 

 ning the eommon plow on both sides of the fence ; 



with longer mould-boards it is believed that a ditch board or table, and the seed after being steeped, U 

 18 inches deep, making an elevation from the bot- be dropped through the sieve thereon, and mixe( 



torn ef 2 12 to feet, may be made in this man 

 ner. Two planks placed at an angle of 18 to 20 

 degrees, and 12 feet long, will answer the pur- 

 pose. One plank should run straight in the fur- 

 row made by the plow ; the other should be wider, 

 say 12 to IC inches, placed at the above angle ; 

 a brace in the rear will suffice; handles can be 

 attached to guide and press the pcraper. The fol- 

 lowing directions are given in laying out the ditch- 

 es: Measure off eight feet three inches, plow the 

 two parallel furrows at this distance, throwing the 

 furrows both on to the eight feet three inches; 

 plow two furrows <mi eoch side, then take the scra- 

 per and thus proceed : first plow and scrape until 

 the embankment is completed, which will be in six 

 rounds, that is, six passages on each side; on a 

 section line, two horses would easily make one 

 mile of ditch per day; the angle of the ditch may 

 be about 40 degrees ; the angle should be such as 

 the other side of the bank will readily turn over. 

 One horse succeeded perfectly in my experiment 

 at Washington with the new ditcher. I hope oth- 

 ers will be profited by my improvements, if such 

 they shall be deemed to be. — Ibid. 



ON SMU r IN WHEAT. 

 To the Editor of the Mark-lane Express: 



Sir Smut in wheat is most probably occasion- 

 ed by the attack of a small worm or grub, produc- 

 ed in the dung used for manuring the ground. It 

 seizes on the root of the wheat when the plant is 

 starting into ear, and by feeding on the sap ves- 

 sels which convey nourishment to the ear, and 

 thereby extracting the juice requisite for perfect- 

 ing the grain, causes the production of smul. And 

 this mischief extends to such of the grains in the 

 ear as immediately derive their nourishment from 

 the particular vessels in the root, which have been 

 exhausted or impoverished by the worm. 



The use of the pickle or preparation hereafter 

 described, has been found an etTectual remedy for 

 preventing this evil ; its ingredients rendering the 

 seed wheat so nauseous as to deter the worm from 

 attacking the root. Anil it must also be remarked 

 that it is equally efficacious in preventing the fly 

 from injuring young turnips by feeding on the seed 

 leaf; for if the turnip seed be also prepared or 

 pickled agreeably to the following instructions, 

 the fly will make no attack on it — the seed-leaf in 

 some measure partaking of the offensive nature of 

 the preparation. The quantity of the following in- 

 gredients may be suited to the purpose of the 

 grower : but the due proportion of each ingredient 

 must be carefully observed: 



or rubbed so as to have as thick a coating as pos 

 Bible. 



It may be remarked, that good old dry wheat an 

 swcrs better for seed thus preparedi, than nev 

 wheat. I am, sir, yours, &.C. 



An Ahndal Sdbscribkr. 



From the Vermont Cbiunicle 



A VERMONT OAT CROP. 

 Mr Tracy — I noticed in your paper an accouD- 

 of Gov. Hill's oat crop this season ; and if any nDai 

 had produced more, he was invited to cooimunicati 

 the fact. 



I will give you a brief etate.iient of my oat crop* 

 on the same number of acres, (four.) Ah he gavi' 

 his manner of cultivation, I will give mine, aa they ' 

 differ in soino respects. . 



Our lands were under about equal state of cul 

 tivation, to begin with. In the season of 1839, mji '■ 

 land was plowed up in the sward. In the moDtl' 

 of May, 1640, it was plowed and thoroughly harrow- f| 

 ed ; then twenty loads of good manure were spreaca ' 

 to the acre, and all plowed in to tlie depth of foon 

 inches, and harrowed down smooth. Then th«< 

 four acres were planted to potatoes; and I bar 

 vested 977 bushels from the lot. In the spring o« " 

 1841, the laud was plowed once, and I sowed 10 

 busheli of oats upon the four acres. The oatJ* 

 stood up remarkably well ; but few lodged ; and I'P 

 think the cause was, that we had no rain to limbei<r 

 or burthen the stalk after the oata began to fiU'P' 

 Tlie piece was reaped, and the oats bound in ver 

 large bundles — so large that it was difficult in 

 many instances to stook twelve bundles in a stook 

 I had them stooked in that manner for the purpos* 

 of counting correctly ; and the result wa^five huttf 

 drtd and eighlyeiglU slouks, of twelve bundles ta 

 the stook. 



If New Hampshire has beaten Vermont on oatfl 

 this year, let us know it, and we will try them nex« 

 season. DRANCEti JUNE. 



Brandon, Vt., Oct. 4, 1841. 



.Vo/f by the Editor of the Chronicle.— Gov. HWVi 

 crop from four acres was 27.5 stooks, 12 bundles 1 ' 

 the stook — rather more than half the number 

 .Mr June's. We should like to know the numln 

 of bushels in each. 



Remark.i of Got: Hill upon the above. 



We acknowledge Mr June's crop of oats to b* 

 as much larger than ours as the soil of VermonV 

 which makes the Green Mountain boys the great- 

 est agricultural producers of the Union in propor- 



Copperus, 3 oz. ; train oil, i quarts ; oil of tur- ,jg,, ^^ population, is better than that soil of Ne*> 



pcntino, 1-2 pint; old chamber ley, 1 gallon; bal 

 sam of sulphur, 3 oz. ; nitre, 3 oz.; bullock's gall, 

 1 quart. Bruise and squeeze therein 12 heads of 

 garlic, nnd add as much soot as will make it thick 

 and ropy. When all arc mited, pour in two quarts 

 of bay salt 



The longer these ingredients are mixed before 

 being used, the better; indeed they must stand for 

 a week before the pickle is used, as their initnediuto 

 application would defeat the intended object. 



The seed wheat or turnip seed must be steeped 

 in this liquor six or eight hours, then taken out and 

 thickly coated with the following composition : 



Ashes, I peck; soot, 1-2 peck; lime, 1-2 peck; 

 brimstone in powder, 1 lb. All mixed well to- 

 gether, sifted through a fine sieve to cover a flat 



Hampshire eastward of the Connecticut river. 



We have threshed four loads of our oat cro^ 

 and we find the product ninety bushels, making at 

 the rate of not quito seventy bushels to the acre. 

 Our crop might have been somewhat larger if dou- 

 ble the quantity of seed had been put upon the 

 ground, and the oaU had stood up firmly. Of this, al- 

 though there was no severe rain to lay them, there 

 would have been great doubt — for the rank stalkt 

 fell aa it was where the pile of manure had rested 

 the previous year. Besides, we encountered here, 

 us we believe, one of the severest droughts ever 

 known ; and we have reason to think the drought 

 this year did little or no injury to Mr June's crop in 

 Brandon. 



The quantity of the Brandon crop of oats would 



