138 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



June 



the season ; ami when the warm weather causes a 

 rank anil rapid growth of the straw, the sap vessels 

 are of course very tender: and more liable to be rup- 

 tured by the heat. Late sown wheat is very liable 

 to be rusted, because it comes to maturity so late in 

 the season, that the weather is oftentimes excessively 

 hot before it can be harvested. 



As to tlie means of prevention, I know of none 

 which can be relied on as specific. Preparations of 

 the seed by means of lime, salt, copperas, kc, &.C., 

 are worse than useless, being expensive, laborious, 

 and sometimes (as with arsenic) dangerous. It is 

 evident that such preparations can be of no effect in 

 preventing the superabundance of sap, nor the exces- 

 sive heat, which are the causes of rust. The land 

 should be in good condition ; that is, sufficiently but 

 not excessively rich. The seed should be sown as 

 early as it can be done safely on accoimt of the Hes- 

 sian fly, which, it is well known, is usually ready in 

 the autumn to deposit its nit, or egg, upon the very 

 early sown grain. If, when wheat is becoming rap- 

 idly rusty, the grains are more than half grown, it is 

 best to cut it immediately, unless cooler weather 

 makes it unnecessary. If cut, it should lay in swath 

 about half a day, more or less, so as to cure it a little, 

 that it may not become musty in the sheaf. After a 

 little drying in swartli, it should be raked and bound, 

 and put up into shocks, in which situation it should 

 be left until dry enough to put into the barn. It will 

 be iTiuch loss injured in the swarth and in shocks, 

 than if left standing in the field uncut, because nearly 

 all the straw will be iu the shade, the rupture of the 

 larger portion of the sap vessels by heat will be pre- 

 prevented, and the grains will be better filled out ; 

 beside, (he air in the field is always very much cooler 

 alter the grain is cut, than it was before. If the 

 grains are not fully half grown, the wheat cannot be 

 advantageously cut, as iu that ca.-e the straw withers 

 suddenly, and the grains will not fill out much, if 

 anv. J. H. H. 



Eds. Gen. Farmer : — I read, in the February num- 

 ber, the communication of Mr. Spkrry, on the sub- 

 ject of "Corn vs. Wheat;"' also that of '* A Gates 

 Farmer," on "Corn vs. Wheat — again," in which 

 he seems to doubt Mr. Spkrry's conclusions, as he 

 does not give the relative costs of manuring and 

 tillage. He also thinks corn a very exhausting crop. 

 It so happens that my farm consists of land well 

 adapted to corn, and from experience I have adopted 

 the theory, that as much clear money can be obtained 

 in twenty years from 100 acres of good corn land, as 

 from 200 acres of land devoted to wheat. 



System of Tillage. — I plow with a large plow and 

 double teams, making from 2i to four acres per day ; 

 harrow well with a large, hinge harrow ; plant from 

 20 to 25 acres per day with a machine of my own 

 make, costing but $3, and drawn by one horse : it 

 plants two rows at once, depositing am' grain at a 

 time and the grains 9 inches apart. When the corn 

 begins to sprout, I commence harrowing lengthwise 

 of the rows with my large harrow, and continue until 

 the corn begins to appear above groimd. This gives 

 the corn a decide 1 a Wantage over the weeds. I then 

 use the cultivator freely, cut the weeds once with a 

 hoe, after which I follow with tlie |ilow. To prevent 

 the land from being exhausted and save the cost of 

 manuring, I am careful to plow in all the stalks, 



which will thoroughly renovate and keep up the land 

 for any number of years. 1 had 180 acres of corn 

 last year, on some acres of which 120 bushels per 

 acre grew. I plant 250 this year. I also let 250 

 acres more, to be planted. Any communication from 

 my brother farmers, on the subject of corn raising, 

 will be interesting to mc. H. R. Jerome. — Huron 

 Co., O., April, 1«50. 



THAT MILK STORY. 



In the last Farmer I am accused by Mr. Joh>son of 

 concealing a part of the truth in relation to his 42 

 quart cow, and of misrepresenting his tin milk pail. 

 As this is the first imputation of the kind that has 

 ever been, to my knowledge, directly or indirectly 

 made against me, I trust that the editors of the Farmer 

 will give place in their columns to the followioir sim- 

 ple facts in the case, w-hich I can substantiate, if 

 necessary, by positive proof. 



In the spring of 1848, 1 requested my drover friends 

 Messrs. Woodruff &i Lawrknck, to look me np a 

 cow, in the course of their travels, that would give 

 forty quarts of milk per day. On their return they 

 averred that they had seen no such row, but that the 

 day before, at Geneva, that had been told by Mr. 

 Johnson that he had a cow on his farm iu Fayette, 

 which gave forty-two quarts of milk per day. The 

 very next day I called at Mr. J.'s larui witli a friend. 

 After showing ns the cow, Mr. J. remarked that the 

 year before she had given forty-two quarts per day, 

 but that her best yield now was only thirty-inne 

 quarts, and that the day before ho had been offi-red 

 one hundred dollars for her by two drovers at Geneva. 

 My friend then asked Mr. J. if he had ever measured 

 the milk ; to which he replied, that his ])ail held six- 

 teen quarts, which the cow had filled three times a 

 day. Allowing two quarts on each pail for froth, 

 would leave forty-two quarts for the days yield. Mr. 

 J. then, at our request, produced the pail : it was to 

 our eyes a perfect fac simile of a ten quart tin milk 

 pail, narrow at the bottom, partly covered at the top, 

 with a broad open spout, of the usual form of those 

 pails with inside strainers. My friend then told Mr. 

 J. that if his cow would give thirty quarts of milk 

 per day, he would give him two hundred dollars for 

 lier. Perhaps I need not here say that Mr. J. was a 

 little ofl'ended at this implied doubt of his veracity, as 

 he quickly and tartly replied that the cow was not 

 for sale, and that he could afford to keep as good a 

 cow as any other man. 



Should Mr. J. have the good luck to get another 

 calf from his cow, in order to convince him that I 

 think I have not deceived myself, I will bet him one 

 hundred dollars that we have a thirty (piart cow in 

 this village (Waterloo) that will give as much, or 

 more, milk in any given time, as his much famed 

 forty-two quart cow. Joseph W^kight. — tf'atcrtoo, 

 March, 1850. 



To prevent Crows from pulling Corn. — Soak 

 your seed twelve hours, in a solution of nitrate pot- 

 ash and !<ul|)hate of copper ; three ounces of each to 

 one bushel of seed. I have tried this solution two 

 years, with success. Last year my neighbors com- 

 plained much of the crows pulling their corn, while 

 I saw them walk all over my field, and not a hill 

 was pulled. C. G. I.bavi'.ns. — Rvshford, Jlllrg. 

 Co., ^r. Y., April, 1850. 



