SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
223 
IRON CLASPS VS. ROPES, FOR COTTON 
Bales. 
The New Orleans Picayune reports ; 
The burning of the cotton bales came off at the Metai- 
rie Race Course on Saturday evening, in presence of 
quiteannmber of people. The object, as our readers 
doubtless know in advance, was to test the superiority 
of the iron tie over the ordinary hemp tie, for the securi- 
ty ©f Cotton bales -against destruction by fire. The re- 
sult was a triumphant vindication of the superior merit 
of the iron t'e. The expense of the experiment, which 
was a very interesting one, was borne by Mr. Passman, 
inventor and owner of the iron tie. 
Four bales of cotton were subjected to the test, to wit: 
one bale of ordinary packing, from a country press, bound 
in rope; a similar bale bound in. iron; one small com- 
pressed bale bound in rope, and a similar bale bound in 
iron. All were placed on properly erected piles of pitch- 
pine sticks, filled in with chips and shavings, in order 
that the fire when started, might be fierce and rapid. 
At half-past 5 o’clock, the fire was fairly and equally 
applied to the windward side of the bales. In fifteen min- 
utes, most of the ropes of the two rope-bound bales had 
parted, allowing the cotton to break out and burn rapidly 
in many parts. By this time, the bagging of the two iron 
bound bales was pretty well burnt off; but the iron 
bands remaining firm, no impression had been made 
upon the cotton but an outside churring, of no depth to 
speak of. 
At 6 o’clock, the rope-bound bales had fallen down or 
spead out, in loose masses, with the fiames burning freely 
in many places. At this time, the iron-bound bales re- 
sembled bales of black moss more than anything else, the 
bagging being all burnt off, and the outer, cotton charred. 
They remained firm on their supports, the air circulating 
freely on all sides of them. Only where the fire was hot- 
test and longest applied, did there appear to be distension 
or material injury to the cotton. 
At a quarter-past six, the outer fire having all burnt 
away, the iron-bound bales showed very little damage, 
whilst the loose and out-spread masses of cotton which 
had been rope-bound bales continued burning rapidly, 
with the appearance of soon being entirely destroyed. 
The result of this experiment, we think, commends Mr. 
Fassman’s iron tie to the serious consideration of all in- 
terested in the cotton trade. , 
[See, also, the letter of our esteemed correspondent. Dr. 
Philips, in present number.] 
PRESERVING WHEAT IN THE SOUTH. 
Mr. Editor: — 1 ‘have been concerned in a Wheat 
Mill for the last twenty years, and to the best of my judg- 
ment one-fourth of the entire crop of wheat is lost every 
year by bad management, and one-half of the balance 
more or less injured from the same cause. I will give you 
my practice on the preservation of wheat. Wheat should 
not be cut too green, neither should it be too ripe — if so, 
there will be considerable loss by gathering and shatter- 
ing out. Wheat should be bound up when cut in small 
bundles and well shocked in small stocks to dry. At the 
expiration of eight or ten days at most haul it in and 
thrash it out and expose it to the sun till dry. Wheat 
packed in houses to lay any time before thrashing is lia- 
ble to get abused by rats and white weevils. Wheat 
when well sunned should be put up in barrels or boxes 
not too much in a place. If put up in large quantities it 
is subject to heat and the black weevil. I am told to 
spread it on the floor does very well. Never put covers 
over wheat thinking to keep out rats for you can’t doit — 
they are certain to cut in and abuse your wheat. The 
best and cheapest plan to prevent injury by rats, is to 
leave the boxes containing the wheat entirely open ; and 
keep a good supply of Cats about the premises and allow 
them free access to the granaries. Wheat injured by 
rats, weevils or heating, spoils the flavor of the flour, 
and is a great loss to all concerned, by which the consu- 
mer suffers the most. Every six weeks at most, I run 
my wheat through the smutter to give it air and cleanse 
it of the insects that accumulate in it, A good fan will 
answer the same purpose if the slatting bottom is lined 
with screen wire to convey the wheat from the fan, the 
insects will fall through and of course will be separated 
from the wheat. In 1852 at the time my Mills were de- 
stroyed by high water, I followed this practice and had 
as good flour from wheat three years old as the day it 
was cut. 
Amos W. Osborne, 
[in Chester (S. C.) Standard. 
COTTON SEED CRUSHER — MANNER OF Ap- 
plying Seed as manure. 
Editor Southern Cultivator — I see in the June num- 
ber of the Cultivator^ inquiry made respecting Cotton 
Seed Crushers, by “M. H. B ,” of Cedar Town, Ga, I 
will say to him, to you, and all other persons that use cot- 
ton seed as manure, that every person that has land and 
cotton seed to apply as manure, has a natural and effec- 
tive seed crusher, the best that was ever invented, viz : 
Mother Earth. 
I will state what has been my practice and experience 
for the last ten years. I keep my seed well housed, dry 
and sound, until about one month before I wish to plant 
my corn; I then haul them out in the farm ; put them in 
coRvenient piles, 20 bushels per acre, lap off for drilled 
corn, rows 5 1-2 feet apart, with a long rooter plow, fal- 
low in that with a common shovel plow, so as to open a 
good furrow ; sow the seed regularly all along in the 
furrow or row; then throw two furrows on each side of 
that with as good a one-horse turning plow as I can com- 
mand, which makes a nice bed of fonr furrows on the 
seed, in one month’s time, they are effectually crushed, or 
spoiled, so they will not come up, if you should, in plant- 
ing your corn, stir a few of them up near enough to the 
surface. When the time comes to plant, I open the bed 
with a short rooter plow, so as not to stir up, if any, but 
little of the seed. When the ground[is in good order, &c., 
I cover with a board of good length well hollowed out, 
otherwise I cover by running one rooter furrow so as to 
fill up the one in which the corn is deposited. My ex- 
perience is, that- my corn thus manured fires less during 
drouth than corn having no manure at all, and I always 
get an ear in proportion to the stalk ; whereas, under the 
old plan of rotting or heating the seed before they were 
applied, I usually made a good stalk, but rarely ever get 
ears in proportion, for the reason that the strength of the 
seed were measurably gone before they were applied, 
and consequently their strength was exhausted before it 
could mature the ear. 
The result of my whole experience is, that I have real- 
ized at least fifty per cent, more in the production under 
the plan of putting them in as above, than under the old, 
or rotting plan. 
The above process will do as well for cotton as corn, 
but as the cotton rows are much narrower, the quantity 
should be increased in proportion. My experience is, 
that it is much more profitable to apply seed to corn- and 
other manures to cotton, for the reason (if no other) that 
the young cotton plants die out, usually, very bad where 
it is manured with the seed. 
Thomas F. McGehee. 
Meriwether County, Ga., June, 1859. 
