1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



415 



often unwilling to dispose of their bntter at the 

 price offered, it was frequently agreed that more 

 should be paid if others got more at St. Albans. 

 The home trade was thus gradually transferred to 

 St. Albans, and Tuesday became market day. As 

 many as four hundred, seldom less than two hun- 

 dred, farmers' teams are now in town on that day, 

 with both butter and cheese. 



WE BHOTHERS BBO^WM". 



BY HIRAM RICH. 



We sing no songs of camps or kings, 



We write no love-lora story ; 

 We lead no conqueriig column on, 

 Yet we uphoFi its glory. 

 High, brolher-t, high. 

 The btinnera fly and fly — 

 We brothers bro wn — 

 We two bare hands. 



In many a port the hatches fall, 



The ship is full and ready — 

 The criiven reef is j ast a-lee. 

 Look lively, lads and steady. 

 Sway, brothers), sway. 

 Haul and DeUy, belay — 

 We brothers brown — 

 We two bare hands. 



In forests deep, awaiting us. 



The keels to be arc growing — • 

 The sea has never sa Is enough, 

 The winds are ever bloving. 

 Swing, brothers, swing. 

 The axes ring and ring— 

 We brothers brown — 

 We two bare hands. 



The prairies roll and bloom and lure 



As were ihe world one meadow; 

 The clouds are only looms tha' drop 

 Their ripplin« w^fts of thadow. 

 Sow, brothers, sow. 

 The grain will grow and grow — 

 We brothers b.own — 

 We two bare hands. 



The sea is kind ; throw net and line, 



It cannot we'l deny us, — 

 There's always netd upon the land — 

 The winds ivcr; madj to try us. 

 Pull, brotbers, pull. 

 Our nets are full and fall, — 

 We bro^h rs brown — 

 We two bare hands. 



We sow and pull, we swing and away, 



We whirl the whe^l of Labor, 

 We brini< the d^iy when king and king, 

 Will be but man aid neighoor. 

 Sing, brotnevs, sing. 

 Our song shall ring and ring, 

 We brothers brown — 

 We two bire hands. 



For the N'ew England Farmer, 

 THE ILLINOIS CORN CROP. 



BT JOHN DAVIS. 



Ploughing for corn usually begins after the 

 spring small grains are in, — say from the 

 middle to the last of April, in Central Illinois. 

 It is mostly done with two horses, to a 

 common cast-steel, twelve or fourteen-inch 

 plough, by a man or boy walking in the far- 

 row, holding the h tndles and drivmg the team. 

 It is not uncommon to see three horses driven 

 abreast to a plough cutting fourteen to sixteen 

 inches. 



Much of the ploughing is done, also, by 

 gang-ploughs, attached to a pair of wh-els, 

 turning two farrows, and drawn by four horses. 

 The driver sits on a seat above the ploughs, 

 managing them by means of a lever, and 

 driving the team with two or four lines. This 

 manner of ploughing is coming much into use 

 and produces good results. Some of the gang 

 ploughs are so arranged that one plough may 

 be placed behind the other, thus forming a 

 trench or subsoil arrangement. This is a very 

 valuable ft ature, as it is impossible to work 

 our Illinois prairies too deeply. 



After corn ground is broken, it is usually 

 well harrowed, and then marked off with a 

 three -runnered sled or marker, into rows not 

 quite four feet apart. The planting is done 

 by a man and a boy, with two horses and a 

 two-rowed coin planter, traveiiing at right 

 angles to the libove-mentloued marks. The 

 furrows for the corn are opened by a pair of 

 sharp steel-shod runners, under the weight of 

 the boy who sits on the low front seat and 

 works the dropping lever. The corn is cov- 

 ered by a pair of wooden wheels which carry 

 the driver and the principal ws-ight of the nii- 

 chiue. The boy dismounts at the end of the 

 row, to arrange the stake which measures the 

 width of the rows and guides the driver on hid 

 next return trip. The machine is turned by 

 the driver and team, the boy re-mounts and 

 two more rows are planted. Twelve to fif- 

 teen acres are thus planted, in the best man- 

 ner, in a single day. 



Double or two-bladed shovel ploughs, single 

 shovels and turning ploughs drawn by one 

 horse, are mostly used in cultivation. There 

 are devices for coupling two ploughs together, 

 of each of the above sorts, either with or 

 without wheels, to be drawn by two horses. 

 Some of these devices are very excellent, do- 

 ing good work economically. 



Tuere are many patent cultivators also, 

 drawn by a pair of horses, managed by a man 

 or boy either on foot or riding. These usu- 

 ally have four blades, or ploughs of various 

 shapes, making four furrows at a single 

 through. 



In good mellow soils, promptly attended to, 

 these cultivators are valuable, but in negligent, 

 careless h:mds, much bad woikis done. Soils, 

 compacted by rains and becoming weedy, need 

 careful ploughing to throw the dirt into the 

 hills, to cover the weeds, before they get too 

 Lirge. If this is not done at the proper time 

 the crop is seriously damaged, as it would be 

 impossible to clean out by hand hoeing the 

 large crops generally planted. Tbe hand hoe 

 is never u.-ed. and where the crop is properly 

 managed is never needed. 



I will here say that ploughing is usually 

 done better by men on foot, than by persons 

 riding. This is es'pecially the case if the 

 ploughman is disinterested "hired help." 



If the corn crop is designed for cattle feed 

 it is cut, during September and October, just 



