46 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
Burning Corn for Fuel—Will it Pay ? 
From recent letters received at tlie Office of 
the American Agriculturist , and from sundry other 
sources, we learn that the farmers in some 
parts of Illinois are using their corn as fuel, in 
preference to buying coal and hauling it to their 
farms. At first, this does not seem to exhibit a 
prosperous state of agriculture—and, indeed, for 
the present it is not, for we can hardly claim 
that corn can be raised, for burning with profit. 
The present, however, is a disturbed time. While 
multitudes of men and horses are at the war, 
and other means of transportation imperfect, as 
they necessarily are in all new countries, we 
cannot view it as arguing anything against the 
profits of farming in Illinois in ordinary times, 
because corn is now selling at only 10 cents per 
bushel. And is it possible that corn can, under 
these circumstances, be a more economical fuel 
than coal? Let us see.—There are districts 
in Illinois, and further west, where shelled corn 
will sell for only 10 cents per bushel. Allowing 
the corn to weigh 60 pounds to the bushel, 12 
pounds for the weight of cobs, and 3 pounds for 
cost of shelling, we have 10 cents for 75 pounds 
in the ears. The cost of hauling to the railroad, 
where say 18 cents for 75 pounds is paid, is 
put low enough at 8 cents, if the distance is 20 
to 30 miles; but if a load of coal is brought back, 
only half this ought to be charged to the corn. 
We may then deduct 4 cents per bushel from the 
price of corn on the farm, to show how much it 
would cost, used as fuel. This is 6 cents for 75 
pounds of corn on the cob, or $1 60 per tun. 
Corn properly dried does not contain more than 
12 to 15 per cent, of water. Ordinary‘dry 
wood contains 20 per cent., or more. Therefore, 
75 pounds of corn on the cob may be considered 
as equal at least to 60 pounds dry fuel—worth 
about $2 a tun. According to analysis, this is all 
combustible, except 1 j per cent, of ashes; it con¬ 
tains 10 per cent, of oil, and the rest is starch, 
gluten, and woody fiber. Its value for fuel is 
less per pound than that of coal, but it is doubtless 
worth more than the best of wood, on account 
of its large amount of oil. It burns very readily, 
and if consumed properly, analysis would indi¬ 
cate that it must be worth at least two-thirds as 
much as coal. So that, with coal costing $3 
per ton, it is the cheaper fuel. This would 
make corn on the cob, at 18 cents per 72 pounds, 
after carting 20 miles, worth about as much as 
good hard coal, purchased at that distance from 
home, at $3 per tun. 
There are several other circumstances to be 
taken into account. When only transient fires 
are needed, the corn would answer a better pur¬ 
pose than coal, but for a steady Winter fire, the 
coal would be preferable. . Coal of poor quality 
would be relatively dearer. Then, again, the 
question turns upon the price of coal, the dis¬ 
tance of the markets for selling corn and buying- 
coal, the condition of the roads, the surplus 
team and man help, etc. All the above calcu¬ 
lations taken into accomit, it is probable that in 
some localities, and under some circumstances, 
corn on the cob may be the cheapest fuel. 
But there is another view of the question. 
Beef cattle are worth 2 cents per pound, live 
weight, at almost any point in the distant West. 
(Good, fat cattle sell in New-York, even in these 
depressed times, for about 4£ cents per pound, 
live weight. The best sell for about5 cents, and 
fib cents per pound, Jiye weight, will pay for 
driving, freight, care, shrinkage, and a profit, 
for bringing corn-fed cattle from lojva. The 
question then is, will not corn pay more than 10 
cents per bushel if used for increasing the tallow 
and weight of cattle to be sent to Eastern mar¬ 
kets? We think 60 pounds of corn will add 
more than 5 pounds to the weight of a bullock 
or steer. What say practical feeders at the 
West on this question? At the East, farmers 
feed to their beef cattle some corn, worth 50 to 
70 cents per bushel, though they scarcely realize 
more than double the net price per pound for 
beef that is obtained at home by Western farmers. 
(PRIZE article)* 
On Spring Wheat. 
THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. 
The best soil is clay loam, with a gravelly subsoil, the 
surface overlaid with vegetable mold such as prairie, 
bordering on the burr-oak openings, common at the West. 
All clay soils of the West will bring good wheat for three 
or four years without manure, but it is better not to take 
off more than two or three crops without manuring. 
Barn-yard manure made on the farm is the best general 
fertilizer for wheat. When the land is much worn, two 
bushels of lime, and three of salt to the acre, is probably 
the best and cheapest fertilizer that can be used. Plow 
in the Pall from 4 to 10 inches deep, and sow on the lime 
and salt in Spring. Fall plowing often brings from five to 
seven bushels of wheat to the acre more than Spring 
plowing. Deep plowing is the best, as it lets the frost 
deep into the soil, preparing it for a crop the coming 
season, and destroying many seeds and insects. 
SEED. 
The best varieties known in the West are the Canada 
Club, and Canada Fife. The Rio Grande is an excellent 
kind for bread, but does not yield equal to either of the 
above named varieties. A variety known as the China, 
or Australian, is being introduced and promises well; it 
resembles the Rio Grande. That the entire harvest may 
not ripen at the same time, different varieties should be 
sown. First the Club, second China, third Fife. The 
sooner wheat is sown in the Spring the surer the crop, 
and the better the grain—another reason why the land 
should be plowed in the Fall. 
SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF SEED. 
Man-.' ways are practiced. The best mode is as fol¬ 
lows : Select the best and cleanest portion of the field, 
and let it stand until thoroughly ripe ; cut and shock un¬ 
til quite dry, and thrash with a flail. (Thrashing with a 
machine often cracks the largest and best grains and de¬ 
stroys their germs.) The seed, though selected as thus 
directed, should be carefully prepared. The best way is 
to procure two barrels, two corn baskets, a wash-tub or a 
half-barrel tub, a large dipper, and a half bushel measure; 
also plenty of salt, and one ounce of blue vitriol to each 
bushel. Place the tub in a convenient place, and a bar¬ 
rel on either side. Make four to six pailfuls of strong 
brine in each barrel, with two ounces of pulverized vit¬ 
riol to the pailful. Fill the tub with brine, leaving space 
enough for one half bushel of wheat. Commence wash¬ 
ing by pouring a half bushel of wheat into the tub near 
one side, in a small stream to prevent the grain from car¬ 
rying down the lighter substances to the bottom. Skim 
off with the dipper and throw the skimmings into the 
basket placed on the right-hand barrel. Stir and skim 
until you have cleaned your seed perfectly, then pour the 
contents of the tub into the basket upon the left-hand bar¬ 
rel, and let it remain there until another washing is ready, 
when it must be thrown in a pile on the floor. Fill the 
tub from the barrels and keep good watch of the bottom 
of your barrels to see that the supply of salt and vitriol is 
constantly kept good, as otherwise the brine will soon 
become so weak that it will not float the heaviest oats. 
The vitriol acts as a preventive against smut, and the 
salt will pay its cost as a fertilizer. This work can be 
done in stormy weather, as the seed will take no harm by 
lying in the pile for a week or more. Lime may be used 
as a dryer, but should not be mixed with the wheat until 
the morning you commence sowing, as it will eat out the 
chit if left too long. When washing keep account of the 
bushels washed, measure the pile when you commence 
sowing so as to know how much it has swollen, deduct 
ieveral very good articles^ among 
the requirement’s of the oflered Prize.— 
«•--inted is, that they dwell 
little upon the a§- 
in defect 
:h upon processes c 
all kinds of gi 
vantages of Spring wheat, the best kinds, suitable soils ar 
their preparation, manuring, season of sowing, etc.— Chai 
the foul mass in the basket, and by a little figuring you 
can ascertain how much it will require to the acre to use 
the same quantity as if dry. Seed cleansed in this 
manner does not require so much to the acre as when 
sown filth and all. 
SOWING. 
Should the ground be very uneven, it should be dragged 
down with a cultivator or thirty-tooth drag, in order that 
the grain may be covered evenly. Sowing with a seed 
drill is best, for the reason that it puts all the grain in at 
the same depth, whereby it all comes up at the same time, 
and ripens more evenly than when put in with a drag or 
cultivator. But all farmers are not forehanded enough 
to purchase a drill, and some must continue the old 
way of sowing. Many inventions for sowing have been 
scattered all over the country—some very good ones. 
I know of no better method than sowing broadcast by 
hand, as high winds prevail at the sowing season, and but 
few machines can be used in the wind to advantage. 
The best method of sowing broadcast is, first to sow 
through with one hand then back with the other, always 
throwing with the wind. For instance: If the wind is 
blowing from the south go first to the east and throw with 
the right hand. Then pace off four paces or less, face 
about and sow to the west, shifting your bag and sowing 
with the left hand. The bag should be opened at the 
mouth by a hoop sewed into it; tie one lower corner to 
the mouth and sling it over the shoulder. A man can thus 
sow in any wind. 
COVERING, HARROWING-IN, BUSHING, ETC. 
A cultivator, in the form of a V, does very good work, 
but a still better one coming into use in these parts is, 
rectangular, three feet wide and eight feet long, with a 
cross-bar holding each tooth in its proper place, and fur¬ 
nished with a roller at each end. The ground should 
first be in a sufficiently dry state; as wet, clammy ground 
makes hard work for the team, and it is Left in a poor 
condition for a crop. Sow from March 20th to April 
15th, according to the lateness of the Spring. 
Cultivate across the plowing, lapping one half, or use 
a thirty or forty tooth drag with the furrows, also lapping 
one half. The common practice of cross dragging will 
uncover more grain than it will cover up, therefore the 
dragging should be all done one way. To make the work 
complete, pass over it with a heavy roller. Where a roll¬ 
er can not be had, a brush drag made in the following 
manner, answers a very good purpose : Take a straight 
pole, five or six inches through, and bore holes about 
eighteen inches apart, into which insert bushes or small 
trees 10 or 12 feet long, with as branching tops as can 
conveniently be found. Then fasten a rope 16 or 20 feet 
long from one end of the pole to the other forming a bail, 
to the center of which attach the team. One horse can 
draw the drag, and a boy ten years old can drive it, and do 
the work. The pole mashes the Jumps, and the brush 
whips the dirt into a fine state and leaves the field very 
smooth, and is better for land in a wet state than a roller. 
AFTER TREATMENT AND INSECTS. 
Very little is to be done after sowing a well cultivated 
farm. Clean out all brush or stones in the way of the reap¬ 
er. Should the weather be dry, fields that were bush¬ 
ed may require rolling. This depends on the state of the 
soil. Should it appear too light and mellow, don’t be 
afraid to put on a good heavy roller, even after the 
wheat is six inches high. When heading out, all oats and 
foul weeds should be pulled out, where it can be done 
without trampling down the wheat. A hooked knife at¬ 
tached to the end of a long pole can be used to a good 
purpose in cleaning fields, by walking through the dead 
furrows and reaching to the right and left cutting off the 
oats and foul stuff close to the ground, letting them fall in 
the grain, unless ripe enough to germinate, when they 
should be picked out and taken off. I know but little of 
insects, as nothing troubles our wheat but Chinch bugs. 
I know no remedy for these. Lime and salt may cure 
them as effectually as any thing. They evidently do not 
like the salt. Early sowing of the early varieties may be 
practiced with good success in guarding against insects 
of almost all sorts, the weevil excepted. 
THE HARVESTING 
is a very important part of wheat raising. From the time 
the wheat begins to turn, the farmer has much anxiety. 
His fields are closely watched, while he is preparing to 
perform the hardest work of the season. Every thing must 
be put in perfect order. Help must be secured, (and, what 
is also important, preparations be made to pay help). 
Wheat cut too green will shrink, and if too ripe it will 
shell. But there is little danger of making the mistake of 
cutting too green. Most wheat is cut too ripe. The ear¬ 
liest sown fields should be visited from day to day, the 
kernels examined, and as soon as the wheat is out of the 
milk, and fairly in the dough, cutting should commence. 
Wheat cut in this stage is whiter, will weigh more to the 
bushel, yield less bran, more and better flour, and sell 
better—as is well known to all who have tried the exper- 
