184r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat, 
than most farmers •would put it. As I have said, 
accurate experiments to test their digestibility are 
still lacking. The proportions assumed are such 
as seem probable from experiments with other 
food. It will be noticed that the value is almost 
entirely in the carbohydrates, there being extreme¬ 
ly little of albuminoids and fats, the most import¬ 
ant ingredients. Analysis and experience both in¬ 
dicate that fed alone they would barely keep an 
animal from starving. But fed with other materials 
to furnish what they lack, they must be valuable. 
It would be very foolish to make a pair of boots 
all of neck or split leather; but with good materi¬ 
als for soles and fronts, the poor leather will do for 
backs and linings, and it will be far better economy 
to put it there than to throw it away. A great many 
farmers practically recognize this principle in feed¬ 
ing corn and cobs together. 
"Western Corn Shelled vs. Eastern with Cobs. 
No. 2 was a good fair specimen of eight-rowed 
New England Yellow corn, grown in 1877, on the 
farm of Mr. C. Sage, of Middletown, Conn. The 
ears May 1, 1878, gave 161 lbs. =(>/#) cobs per 100 
lbs., which is probably a fair average for well cured 
corn of that kind. The composition was just about 
equal to the average of the samples of eastern corn, 
Nos. 1 to 7 in the table. Nos. 10 and 14 were taken 
at the same time from the store of Messrs. Coles & 
Atkins, Middletown. No. 10 weighed 534 lbs. per 
measured bushel; cost 621 cts. per bushel of 56 lbs. ; 
was pronounced a very good specimen of Western 
Yellow com, and agrees in composition with the 
average of the three samples of that kind. No. 14 
weighed 54 lbs; cost 70 cts. for 56 lbs., and was 
likewise a very good quality of Southern White. 
100 lbs. of ears of Mr. Sage’s corn, and 100 lbs. of 
each of the others shelled would compare as below, 
,-Digestible.- 
Albu- Carbo- F ■ . 
minoids. hydrates, i-i ' 
TKn Hi# IjOS, 
3.4 
Lbs. 
N.E.Yellow Corn 83% lba.,7.0 
N.E.YellowCobsl 6?4 “ .1 
N.E.Yellow Ears 100 “ 7.2 
W. Yellow Corn 100 '• 7.4 
Bouthern White 100 “ 7.5 
That is to say, by the above figures, 100 lbs. of 
Lbs. 
52.8 
7.1 
59.9 
67.8 
67.1 
3.5 
3.0 
3.1 
Nitro¬ 
gen. 
Ratio. 
1:89 
1:71.0 
1:92 
1:10 
1:10 
Valu¬ 
ation. 
$ .93 
.07 
1.00 
1.05 
1.06 
Mr. Sage’s corn in the ear, with 83r lbs. of corn and 
16} lbs. cobs, contained a trifle less nutritive mat¬ 
ter than 100 lbs. of the Western Yellow com, for 
which his neighbors were paying 51.07, or the 
Southern White which cost $1.25. 
The Varieties of Durra or Sorghum. 
In February, 1877, we gave an engraving of one 
of the common forms of Sorghum vulgare , and a 
rather full account of the plant and its uses. Many 
common names have been given it, and it was 
suggested that “ Durra ” be adopted for the plant, 
as it is brief, and the name by which it is generally 
known throughout the East. In November last, 
the Drooping Sorghum was figured and described ; 
this, though it has been regarded by some botan¬ 
ists as a distinct species, and called Sorghum cernu- 
um, appears to differ from the other only in the 
nodding cluster of grain, which, instead of being 
erect like the other, when ripe points directly down¬ 
wards, the stalk just below the cluster being bent 
at a sharp curve. This is the grain that has been 
sent out under the deceptive and absurd name of 
“Pampas Rice.” These are but two forms of a 
plant that has been used to some extent in the 
Southern States for forage, as it allows of repeated 
cuttings, and in the aggregate yields a large amount 
in a season. Its grain affords the principal food of 
many Eastern people, as in Syria, where, as in Nu¬ 
bia, there is scarcely any other grain cultivated; it 
is extensively grown in parts of India, and in 
Northern China, where it is cheaper than, and 
largely takes the place of rice. The cultivation of 
Durra for its grain has not been attempted to much 
extent in this country—at least not in the older 
states. While abundantly productive, the grain is 
not very nutritious as compared with other grains, 
though it has been commended as a cheaply pro¬ 
duced food for animals. The grain has been ex¬ 
perimented with to some extent on the Pacific 
Coast. Though the people there have the finest 
wheat in the world, a change, even to a less nutri¬ 
tious flour, is pleasing, and that from Durra is ac¬ 
ceptable as a variety, just as Buckwheat flour is 
often used. A plant that has been so many centu¬ 
ries in cultivation under a variety of conditions, 
will naturally present numerous varieties, just as 
Indian corn and other cereals have done. Califor¬ 
nia being in direct communication with eastern 
countries, will, as a matter of course, receive their 
products; several forms of the Durra have al- 
Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
VARIETIES OF DURRA. 
ready been introduced there, and we may ex¬ 
pect others to come. Mr. William H. Carson, 
seedsman, of this city, has sent us heads of three 
well marked varieties received from California, 
which he offers to those who wish to test their 
value. While the heads of these have a strong 
general resemblance to those of the two forms we 
have figured, the grain is quite different in size and 
appearance. One of these comes labelled as the 
Brown Egyptian Corn; this has very large 
heads which curve over like those of the Drooping 
Sorghum, figured in November last; the grain is 
not so large as in that, and is of a light chestnut 
color. It is stated that this variety in California 
has yielded 200 bushels of cleaned grain to the acre. 
WTiite Egyptian Corn. —This variety also has 
drooping heads, which are broad in proportion to 
their length, and very productive of seed, a pound 
of clean seed is reported to have been obtained 
from a single head. The seed is slightly larger 
than in the foregoing and of a dull white. 
China Corn is the name given to a third variety ; 
this has long, narrow and erect heads, smallerthan 
in either of the others, while the grain is larger, 
and of a clear pure white, presenting an attract¬ 
ive appearance ; indeed, so white are they, that the 
heads look as if they had been bleached. To show 
the relative size of the seeds, a few grains each are 
given of the exact real size, in the engraving, fig. 
1 being the Brown, fig. 2, the White Egyptian, and 
fig. 3, the China Corn. These two white varieties 
are said to make a very fine flour, which, when 
thoroughly bolted, is used for making muffins and 
other cakes that are made very light and eaten hot, 
and the flour is highly praised by those who have 
eaten it thus cooked. The whole ripe grain is 
cooked like rice, and it is also eaten before it is 
ripe, prepared after the manner of green corn, when 
it is said to resemble chestnuts in flavor; the two 
last named varieties being preferred for this purpose. 
A Cat’s Paw Knot.— To prevent the end of 
a rope from unraveling the strands may be fastened 
in a manner known to sailors as a “cat’s paw.” 
This is done as follows : One strand is bent down 
as at figure 1, the second strand is bent over the 
first, the third is bent over the second one and 
then passed under the first one, which locks the 
whole and makes it a tight knot, as seen at figure 
2. The ends of halters, hay ropes, and other ropes 
used about a farm, should always be thus secured. 
Concentrated Foods. 
— — 
Concentrated foods for cattle may now be pur¬ 
chased in the markets at moderate prices. For 
many years past the large amount of cotton seed 
yearly produced has been either in great part 
wasted, or has been sent abroad to enrich the farms 
of our foreign rivals. An entire cargo of 900 tons 
of cotton-seed meal left our shores recently, and 
the shipment of smaller quantities is of daily occur¬ 
rence. We have use at home for every ton of this 
meal, which can be procured now at a price very 
little more than that of corn meal or bran. At this 
price it is a very cheap food, and well worth atten¬ 
tion for its value in enriching the manure. Palm-nut 
meal is another rich concentrated food, especially 
for fattening animals, and for cows kept for but¬ 
ter. A sample recently tested gave 13 per cent of 
fat, and in feeding it the cream was notably in¬ 
creased in quantity. As in the case of all concen¬ 
trated articles, these foods should be used with 
caution, and at first only small rations should be 
given, one pound at a feed, for instance, gradually 
increasing up to the safe limit of two qts. for a cow 
and four to six qts. for a fattening animal. When 
mixed with corn meal or bran, it should be in the 
proportion of one-eightli to on e-fourtli. It will be 
found economical, when prices are low’, to stimulate 
production in an intelligent manner, reducing the 
cost of the product and enlarging the demand by 
supplying it at reasonable rates, and to this end 
there is hardly a better way than by using cheap 
concentrated food in judicious proportions. 
The Kentucky Coffee-Tree. 
BY PROF. C. S. SARGENT, DIRECTOR OF THE ARNOLD 
ARBORETUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 
——o- 
In studying the claims of some of our American 
Trees to more general consideration at the hands 
of those planters who plant for profit rather than 
for ornament, my attention has been directed to 
the Kentucky Coffee-Tree (Gymnodadus Canadensis). 
That a tree may be entitled to consideration as a 
subject for general planting, it is requisite: 1. 
That it should grow spontaneously over a large 
area of country, thus proving its strong constitu¬ 
tion and power to thrive under various conditions 
of climate. 2. That it should grow rapidly and 
without requiring peculiar or nice treatment and 
cultivation. 3. That its products should be spe¬ 
cially suited to some important employment. Let 
us see whether the Gymnocladus possesses any 
claims to these qualities. Of its power of adapting 
itself to very different climatic conditions, there 
can be no question. Few trees range over a wider 
area of the United States. It grows from Canada 
and Western New York to Wisconsin, and south to 
Kentucky and Tennessee. It extends across the 
Missouri into Nebraska; is common in Missouri 
and Arkansas, and not rare in Kansas and the In¬ 
dian Territory. It is not found in New England, 
where, however, it is perfectly hardy, nor in the 
Atlantic or Gulf States. The Kentucky Coffee-Tree 
grows always in rich, strong soil, generally along 
river valleys, and reaches, probably, its largest size 
in that of the Lower Ohio. It is not a particularly 
fast growing tree, nor does it increase more slowdy 
than other North American trees, while it produces 
a wood equally strong and heavy. The finest 
specimen I have ever seen (and it is one of the 
handsomest trees it has been my good fortune to 
behold anywhere), stands by an old historic man¬ 
sion on the left bank of the Hudson, nearly oppo¬ 
site the City of Newburgh. This tree was procured 
from a nursery, and planted where it now stands in 
1825. It is now eighty-eight feet high, with a 
trunk which girts ten feet, at three feet from the 
ground, and well below the point where the stem 
forks into the main divisions. Supposing that the 
date, 18:25, has been correctly recorded, and that 
its stem was two inches in diameter at that time, it 
has increased thirty-eight inches in fifty-four years, 
or an average of nearly three-quarters of an 
inch a year for the whole period. But as this 
specimen, no doubt, received extra care for 
many years after it was planted, its growth 
has probably been exceptionally rapid and vigor- 
