108 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
trample them under foot or hammer the young 
buds to bits, with something like the old “ clod 
beetlethe object being to bruise them, which 
is better than cutting them with a sharp instru¬ 
ment ; as every gardener knows that clean 
wounds heal more readily than contused ones. 
If this be continued with the thistles, the rlii- 
zoma or subterranean stem will gradually die. 
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For the American Agriculturist. 
Mixing Soils. 
I had a piece of ground which had become re¬ 
duced by a succession of crops, so that it pro¬ 
duced only five hundred pounds of hay to the 
acre. I wished to dig a cellar under my barn, 
and concluded to try an experiment with the 
earth which was taken out. I measured off one 
acre of the field above mentioned, and drew the 
earth from the cellar upon it, covering the piece 
to the depth of two or three inches when it was 
evenly spread. This was turned under the same 
Autumn, to the depth of six inches. The next 
Spring it was harrowed thoroughly, and one half 
planted to potatoes, and the other half sown 
to oats. The result was one hundred and twen¬ 
ty five bushels of potatoes, of as fine a quality as 
I ever raised, and thirty bushels of oats. I again 
plowed It in the Autumn, going two inches 
deeper than the previous plowing. In the 
Spring I thoroughly mixed and pulverized the 
soil, and sowed to wheat, and seeded to clover 
and timothy grass. I had a stout growth of 
straw, but owing to the weevils, the yield was 
but 15 bushels of wheat. I have since cut two 
tuns of hay to the acre for two years. I think 
the four crops have well paid me for the trouble 
of trying the experiment, and the result has been, 
thus far, quite as good as though I had applied 
thirty loads of manure to the land. The soil 
was clayey; the earth applied was a yellow loam. 
1 think the mixing of soils, as clay upon sand, 
or sand upon clay, will prove of great benefit 
where the materials for making an abundance 
of manure are scarce. A. A. Pierce. 
Caledonia Co„ Vt . 
--OB-*— - 
A Cheap Corn Coverer. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Last season I used an implement for covering 
corn, which worked so well and saved so much 
labor, that I send a description, which may 
benefit others. [Description not quite clear. -Ed.] 
Make a very light frame, similar to a shovel- 
plow ; set the stock and beam at right angles. 
Instead of a shovel, have a piece of iron about 
6 inches square fastened to the stock. When 
using, hitch it to a horse, and as he walks in the 
furrow, after the com has been dropped, press 
the coverer into the mellow earth, and it will 
gather sufficient to cover the grains nicely. Lift 
it over the grains of corn in each hill. With 
this implement a man and boy can plant from 
six to eight acres per day. It may be used on 
quite rough ground, and will do better work 
than can be done with a hoe, in the most care¬ 
ful hands. J. A. Pollock. 
Huntington Co., Pa. 
Early Germination of Seed Corn. 
The Republican of Princeton, Ill., gives an 
experiment of Dr. Chamberlin, which goes to 
show that, by the use of chloride of lime and 
copperas, much time may be saved in the germi¬ 
nation of corn. In his office, Dr. C. had four 
boxes, in one of which the com was planted 
without soaking, and the seed had not germi¬ 
nated ; in the second, the seed was soaked in 
warm water, and had just commenced to ger¬ 
minate ; in the third, the seed was soaked in a 
solution of lime, and the green blades were just 
peeping from the ground; in the fourth, the seed 
was soaked in a solution of chloride of lime and 
copperas, equal parts, and the blades were near¬ 
ly three inches above the ground. All the seeds 
were taken from the same ear, were planted at the 
same time, in the same quality of soil, and had 
an equal share of light and heat. The copper¬ 
as will keep the birds and worms from eating 
the seed. One pound each of chloride of lime 
and copperas will soak seed enough for 20 acres. 
Fig. 1. 
Rock and Stump Extractor. 
Whatever may be thought of underground farm¬ 
ing, as draining has been somewhat facetiously 
styled, there is but one opinion as to the desir¬ 
ableness of improving the surface. The stumps 
and rocks which are in the way of the plow, of 
the mower,and of the growing plants themselves, 
are unanimously voted a nuisance. On many 
good farms, at least ten per cent of the surface 
is thus occupied and useless for cultivation. If 
this amount be thought too high, let a man meas¬ 
ure off ten feet square on a moderately stony 
field, and count the stones measuring on an aver¬ 
age six inches square: forty such stones would 
cover one tenth of the surface, and their remov¬ 
al from such a plot would add at the rate of one 
acre to every ten. Stones of that size are easily 
got along with; the boys can draw them off; 
but for the heavy holders, some mechanical con¬ 
trivance is necessary, of which quite a number 
have been patented within a few years. One of 
these is here shown. It appears to be well 
adapted for the purpose, though not having seen 
it in actual operation, we are not able to decide 
Fig. 2. 
upon it fully. It is a combination of the wheel 
and axle with the pully, in such a manner that 
by its use, it is said, two men can take out a rock 
weighing four to five tuns, without digging. 
When in use, (see Fig. 1,) the triangular frame is 
placed with its center over one side of the rock 
to be lifted, so that when raised, the rock is 
swung clear of its bed, and can be readily load¬ 
ed upon the stone boat. It can also be used for 
raising heavy stones to their place when build¬ 
ing a wall. Fig. 2 is an imperfect representa- 
tatiou of the ma nner of moving it from one rock 
to another. The wheels by which it is worked 
in lifting, as shown in Fig. 1, serve as running 
gear in its transportation. It is styled Lynn’s 
patent. The price is about $70. We are in¬ 
formed that a horse power attachment can be 
affixed for about $10 extra. 
How to Raise Sugar Beets. 
A correspondent asks light upon this subject. 
First we want a well prepared soil, deep, fria¬ 
ble, and rich, if we mean to get a crop econom¬ 
ically. This root is hardy, and will indeed grow 
upon almost any soil, but it pays abundantly 
for generous treatment. For field culture, we 
prefer an old field planted one or two years, to 
green sward. A corn stubble makes a very good 
beet field. We first spread the manure upon 
the surface and plow it under. Any stable ma¬ 
nure will answer, but the finer it is the better. 
A compost prepared from the sty or the privy 
is just the thing for this crop. Marine manures 
—composts into which sea -weed and marsh 
mud enter—are also excellent. In plowing, some 
regard must be had to the present depth of the 
surface soil. It will be well to bring up an inch 
or two of subsoil, even if we go down a foot after 
it. The ground should be plowed in narrow fur¬ 
rows, six or eight inches wide, so as to make the 
soil as loose as possible. It is of great advan¬ 
tage, where the soil is not more than six or eight 
inches deep, to follow with a subsoil plow. 
As to the quantity of manure, it must depond 
somewhat upon the past treatment and fertility 
of the land. A field that will yield forty bush¬ 
els of com to the acre, should have at least fif¬ 
teen cords to the acre. In planting, we prefer 
to use concentrated manures with the seed. 
If lumps are left after plowing, the surface 
should be harrowed or cultivated until it is in 
fine tilth. In planting, we put the drills at two 
feet apart, and plant with a drilling machine 
that drops the seed at intervals of a foot. As the 
seed husks are very hard, they should be soaked 
in warm water for two or three days before 
they are planted. The drills in field culture 
should be two to two and a half feet apart. We 
have sometimes put them at eighteen inches, but 
it is quite too near for convenient tillage, and 
the roots do not grow so large as when they 
have more room. They are easily cultivated 
with horse power at two feet. In cultivating, 
the plants should be thinned out to one in a 
place at the second hoeing. As the plant is of 
marine origin, we have found salt an excellent 
element in the composts used, or for top dressing 
after the seed is sown. The tillage should be 
frequent and thorough, so as to keep all weeds 
under until the leaves shade the ground. 
In the latter part of August and September, a 
few of the bottom leaves may be removed from 
each plant for feeding cattle. The crop should 
be gathered before the hard frosts, as the crowns 
are liable to be injured. The yield is from five 
to fifteen hundred bushels to the acre, according 
to the skill of the cultivator, and the favorable¬ 
ness of the season. The sugar beet is regarded 
by many as the most profitable root that can be 
raised for milch cows. * 
Self-Fastening Door-Catch. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
I have just read Mr. Baker’s plan, for a door- 
catch, in the Feb. No., and will give you mine, 
which is cheaper, and less liable to get out of 
order. My stable door fastens with an out-side 
