200 



THE ILLESOIS FAKMEK. 



July 



From the Chicago Tribune. 



The Farm and Garden. 



Cultivation of Corn— Old vs. New Mode of Plant- 

 ing and Cultivating— Iron Rollers— New Plant- 

 ers Needed. 



Champaign, Ills., June 2, 1862. 



There can be no doubt that corn will ever con- 

 tinue the great leading crop of the prairies. No 

 other grain of the same value for feed can be 

 grown, at bo cheap a rate and harvested at so 

 convenient a season, nor secured from the weath- 

 er for so long a time, at so little cost. Whatever 

 ■will tend to lessen the cost of production, will 

 therefore prove advantageous, and the corn crop 

 at the reduction of one or two cents on the bush- 

 el will in the aggregate amount to several hun- 

 dred thousand dollars per annum. We have, on 

 previous occasion, discussed this matter, but it 

 will do no harm to give it another hearing just 

 now, when the subject of planting is fresh in the 

 minds of every farmer. 



The first point of importance where a saving 

 ..can be made is in the planting. The most pop- 

 ular mode at present is to use a check-row plan- 

 ter, and as Brown's planter is the principal one 

 used for this purpose, we will base our calcula- 

 tion upon that. 



COST ©P PKEPARINQ AND PLANTING FIFTY ACRES. 



Plowing 50 acres at $1 $50 oo 



4 days narrowing at $2 g OO 



2 days laying off one way '...'.'.'. 4 00 



3 days planting, 2 hands, at $3 '. 9 qC 



4 days rolling g qq 



$79 00 

 Total cost per acre, $1 58, or an average of 

 five and a half cents a bushel on a crop of thirty 

 bushels, which is about the average of well cul- 

 tivated crops. 



COST OF 8AMB WITH HAND PLANTERS. 



f;^'°f .• $50 00 



4 days harrowing g Oq 



4 days laying off both ways .'."'..'.'"'* 8 00 



6 days planting, 1 hand '. ' "' g qq 



4 days rolling ''\ g qq 



$80 00 

 Against the hand planter one dollar, but this 

 can readily be set off against the difference in 

 cost of planters. On the other hand the team 

 can be made to do part of the work. Two hands 

 with hand planters will plant as much as two, 

 with a two horse planter, which require two men. 

 In one case the land id laid off one way, and in 

 the other both ways. 



COST OF THE SAME BY HAND. 



Plowing..... 15^,00 



•i days laying off one way 4 00 



6 days dropping 6 00 



b days harrowing 12 00 



4 days rolling g 00 



$80 00 



THE SAME NOT CHECK-ROWED. 



Plowing $50 00 



3 days planting, one hand and team '. 6 00 



4 days rolling g 00 



$64 00 

 A saving of fifteen fo sixteen dollars, or about 

 one cent on the bushel. We are satisfied that a 

 still ereater reduction can be made- The roller 

 that we use has six sections, of thirteen inches 

 each, making six feet and a half. Add another 

 section and we have seven and a half feet, the 

 wi iih of two rows. Now attach the planting 

 apparatus to the roller frame, just in front of the 

 roller, and the planting and rolling can be done 

 at the same time. 



Plowing $50 00 



4 days rolling and planting 8 00 



$58 00 

 Making a saving of six, twenty-one, and twen- 

 ty-two dollars an acre over the above plans. 



COST PER ACRE OF EACH PLAN. 



Ist plan at $1 58 per acre $15 80 



2d plan at $1 60 per acr« 16 00 



3d plan at $1 60 per acre 16 00 



4th plan at $1 28 per acre 12 80 



5th plan at $1 16 per acre 11 60 



WHICH MODE IS THE BEST. 



We say without any hesitation that the fifth 

 method is the best, the fourth next, and the 

 check-rowing the least valuable, though most ex- 

 pensive of all. 



Many farmers, in fact the majority, dispense 

 with the use of the roller, while a few use iron 

 rollers, and others those made of wood. We have 

 seen but one good pattern of an iron roller. 

 Those made in Chicago and Boston are expensive 

 heavy, clumsy things, perfect hocge killers, and 

 none of them are worth the freight from Chicago 

 to this place. We would not haul one of them 

 from the depot to our farm for it, for the only 

 use we could put them to would be the frame for 

 firewood, and the iron for old junk. The reason 

 that iron rollers have not more generally come 

 Into use, is the fault of the makers in patt. The 

 party making the one we have used for the past 

 three years, has, we understand, gone into other 

 business, and we are not aware that they are 

 now to be had, but others can be made after the 

 same pattern. The point of manufacture select- 

 ed was a bad one. Had Chicago been selected 

 a different result would have been reached. Thus 

 much injustice to the form of the iron roller, 

 which has been the main cause of its slow intro- 

 duotion among corn-growers. 



THE PLANTER SHOULD FOLLOW THE PLOW. 



A roller of seven and a half feet with planter 

 attached would plant at least sixteen acres a day 

 or fifty acres in three days, with one team and 

 hand to drive. Eight other teams would do the 

 plowing, thus with nine teams one hundred acres 

 of corn can be planted in a week, in the best 

 possible manner; or one team, could with an hour 

 at the close of the day, plant what had been 



