AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
265 
I 860 .] 
in better season and with less labor than if left 
standing in the field. It is less apt to become 
moldy, or to be soaked by water. If the farmer 
wishes to prepare his corn-field for a fall crop— 
say of wheat or rye—it can be easier and sooner 
cleaned by this method than by the other. 
Then, as to the fodder. It is very slow work 
to top the stalks one by one, then to gather up 
and bind and carry them by hand to the wagon 
or cart at the outside of the cornfield. And if 
they are left on the ground until the crop is gath¬ 
ered, they are worth no more for fodder than the 
butts themselves. Whereas, if gathered as we 
recommend, and cured under cover or on poles in 
an airy loft, they will remain succulent and sweet 
all winter. It must be a very fastidious cow 
that will not eat up every inch of such stalks, if 
they are cut up with a straw-cutter and properly 
fed out. So, on a review of our reasons, we shall 
still adhere to the practice we have recommended. 
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How to Harvest Broom. Corn. 
In a former number of the Agriculturist we 
published an article on the Dwarf Broom Corn, 
from a correspondent who considered the difficul¬ 
ty of harvesting the stalks, a great objection to its 
culture. It is essential that the stalk be cut at or 
just above the highest joint, that being the only 
part used for manufacture, and the leaf so en¬ 
velopes the stem that the joint can not be seen, 
which renders it difficult to cut at the right place. 
If cut below the joint, the leaves must after¬ 
wards be stripped off by hand, which is a tedious 
process. Mr. E. B. Good, who has cultivated 
this variety several years past, gives the follow¬ 
ing directions, which may be of service to those 
who received the premium seeds from this office 
the present season, and to others experimenting 
with the article. 
The brush should be harvested as soon as the 
seed is hardened, and before severe frosts come 
on. In gathering, grasp the brush in one hand, 
and the top leaf in the other, and give a rapid 
jerk, separating the hands, right and left, which 
will break off the stalk at the first joint, leaving 
four to six inches attached to the brush. This 
makes it necessary for the manufacturers to tie 
the brooms very close to the brush, but, Mr. G. 
says, Dwarf Broom Corn harvested in this man¬ 
ner, is worked up by the trade in his neighbor¬ 
hood with equal facility to thatwith longer stalks. 
In all respects except that noted above, the 
stalks should be treated exactly like the old 
faskv^ned tall-growing kind. 
Russell’s Flexible Harrow. 
Every cultivator knows that in raising grain, 
very much depends upon reducing the seed bed 
to a fine tilth, and that thorough harrowing is es¬ 
sential, particularly in tenacious clayey soils. 
When land is level and free from stones or other 
obstructions, this is easily accomplished with an 
implement of the ordinary construction, but 
thousands of acres devoted to grain are uneven 
and rough with stumps, roots, and stones. 
Many forms of the harrow have been devised to 
be used on such fields, the object being to make 
it flexible, to adapt itself to the inequalites pre¬ 
sented so as to work the whole surface. 
The most recent we have seen, is that invented 
by Mr. John Russell, illustrated above. The figure 
represents a square harrow made by joining four 
smaller triangular ones, A, A, A, A. These are 
hinged together with iron at B, B, and near the 
outer corners as shown in the cut, and are al¬ 
lowed to play freely to conform to the varying 
surface. 
The implement is drawn by the chain, C, at¬ 
tached to the two corners as seen in the figure, 
by which arrangement it takes a wedge form. A 
shield of iron, not shown in the cut, is placed 
over the opening behind the draft chain, which 
turns aside the weeds and stubble, and prevents 
their clogging around the hinge. It is simple, 
and looks as if well adapted for its object. We 
have not seen it in operation, and cannot state 
the price. The proprietor will probably make it 
known by advertisement in the appropriate col¬ 
umns. 
- —.» » !»■ . - • 
Implement for Picking Fruit. 
The old fashioned method of gathering fruit by 
sending the most active youths - up into the tree 
to rattle them down 
by vigorous shaking, 
might answer, per¬ 
haps, when apples 
formed the bulk of 
the crop and they 
were mostly fit only 
to manufacture into 
cider. The bruises 
and gashes receiv¬ 
ed were part of the 
process of making 
the pulp fit for the press. But an amateur fruit 
grower would no sooner permit such rudeness with 
his Bartletts, Virgalieus or other choice fruits, 
than the good housewife woqkl give her china 
tea cups for play things to the children. It is no 
small labor to pick such fruit by hand, particu 
larly the specimens hanging at the ends of the 
limbs, which are often the finest, and various 
implements have been devised to facilitate the 
work. The fruit ladder described in the follow¬ 
ing article is very convenient, but this must be 
often moved about from tree to tree and there is 
also the trouble of mounting the ladder to reach 
the higher branches. The device illustrated at 
the head of this article is one of the handiest 
contrivances we have seen. It consists of a 
small cloth bag, sowed to a hoop of stout iron 
wire, which is fastened to a pole long enough to 
reach the fruit. Upon the end of the pole, and 
immediately over the bag, is an iron prong, hav 
ing an angle formed as shown in the cut. The 
edges that meet to form the angle may be made 
sharp, to cut the stem of the fruit. This, however, 
is hardly desirable, as there might be danger of 
wounding the shoots of the tree. The stem is 
easily broken by taking it between the prongs and 
giving it a gentle twist. The whole picking ap¬ 
paratus may be fastened to an iron socket, which 
will admit poles of different lengths, according to 
the size of the trees. The manner of using this 
instrument is obvious. The operator breaks or 
twists off three or four specimens, lowers and 
empties the bag and proceeds with the work. 
This apparatus can be made at a trifling cost by 
any blacksmith, and it will soon pay for itself, 
where there is choice fruit to gather. All fruit 
intended for keeping any length of time should 
be picked carefully, as every bruise will very 
soon induce decay. 
----- >-*» -- 
Convenient Fruit Ladder. 
The figure below shows the pattern of a lad¬ 
der, which will be found more convenient for 
gathering fruit, 
than the ordi¬ 
nary kind. It 
may be made 
of any desired 
length.say from 
8 to 20 feet. 
The lower end 
is spread wide 
to give it a 
firm support. 
Several of the 
bottom rounds 
are connected 
by a center 
piece, else the 
weight upon a single long round might break it. 
The upper round is a roller, which turns as the 
two upright braces are moved towards or from 
the bottom of the ladder. These upright sup¬ 
ports are bolted loosely to the roller, which ad¬ 
mits of their lower ends being brought near 
each other, or widely spread, to afford a broad 
base. When not in use, or when carried about, 
the props are tied to the side-pieces or rounds of 
the ladder, and the whole is so light, as to be 
easily moved. We have seen neat painted ones 
of different lengths on sale at the agricultural 
stores, at 25 cents per foot in length, but any 
person, handy with a saw and an auger, can 
easily make one for himself. The one here 
sketched, is 8 feet in hight, 21 feet wide at the 
bottom, and 1 foot at the top, with pine side 
pieces, 21 inches wide by 1 inch thick. The up¬ 
rights are of the same material, 11 inches by I 
inch. The rounds are of oak, and the whole is 
very light. Larger ones should have hard wpo<] 
sides and uprights. 
