INDIAN CORN. 375 



be used to advantage in plowing in oats, wheat and other 

 small grains, as it can be set to go in any depth desired. 



A husker has been invented, but from all reports at our 

 command, it does not fulfil its promise. A husker in con- 

 nection with a sheller has been used to some extent, but one 

 great disadvantage is that it does not separate the sound 

 and rotten corn, though it is represented to do so by means 

 of a fan attached. A good corn-sheller and a strong straw- 

 cutter will about complete the equipments of the planter. 

 It is surprising how small the quantity of stalks that is re- 

 jected by stock when run through the straw-cutter. So 

 much sugar is retained in the pith that only those portions 

 near the butt are left uneaten. When the stalks are cut 

 up the shucks and fodder are all devoured greedily. No 

 man who has attended horses or mules to any extent but 

 has observed the amount of cobs eaten by them. It is ne- 

 cessary for the stomach to be distended to favor digestion, 

 and when stalks are freely supplied they serve this purpose, 

 besides contributing no mean supply of nutrition. 



A stalk-cutter has been used to a limited extent, to be 

 driven through the standing stalks, and cut them in short 

 pieces for the benefit of future plowing. I saw one of these 

 in operation in Lake county among the rank stalks doing 

 effective service. Should the planter wish to cook the food 

 for his animals he will require a furnace, with kettles, or a 

 sheet iron box to boil it in, also a mill to grind it into meal. 

 Below we give a series of experiments to determine the re- 

 lative value of raw and cooked food, and if the farmer after 

 examining this subject, shall determine to adopt the latter 

 method, then he can select the best means of accomplishing 

 that object. Among the implements above named, the 

 double shovel deserves especial mention. To those not able 

 to supply themselves with the walking cultivator, it is in- 

 valuable, and lessons the work of the farmer at least one- 

 half. Mr. Thos. H. Bond, of Williamson county, planted 

 a large crop of corn in 1877, and no other plow ever enter- 



