142 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat, 
Corn for Fodder 
Every farmer who keeps cows, who makes 
hay and has less than he can use to advantage, 
or who on any account wishes to increase 
either his summer or winter fodder, ought to 
sow corn. The most preferable sorts for this 
purpose are the largest kinds of sw*et corn, and 
next, the large Southern or Western varieties. 
The seed is usually soaked and sowed rather 
late in the season, broadcast. It is much bet¬ 
ter to sow in drills. The land should be in high 
condition, and a liberal dressing of good stable- 
or other ammoniacal manure is advantageous. 
Turn light furrows with a one-horse plow, 
3 feet apart; scatter the seed, so that about 
10 kernels will fall in a foot. This is done very 
easily and rapidly. Cover with a sharp-toothed 
harrow, or a harrow turned bottom side up. It 
is no disadvantage if the seed be scattered con- 
siderably. After the corn comes up, cultivate 
at least twice; and after this, before cutting for 
curing, go through and pull auy large weeds 
which may have started, as these may impart 
a had flavor to the milk, when fed to cows. 
The crop is not an exhausting one, although 
a weight of four tons of dried fodder is some¬ 
times taken from an acre. No seed ripens, hence 
the draft upon the mineral ingredients of the 
soil is not great. This affords a most excellent 
green fodder during the heat of August and 
September, when grass often fails; and when 
dried, gives an article nearly if not fully equal to 
good meadow hay, especially as fodder for cows. 
Have Cattle any Right in the Highway? 
A correspondent writes to the American Agri¬ 
culturist: “When the subject of excluding 
stock from pasturing in the streets came up for 
discussion in our Farmers’ Club, it was claimed 
by certain trespassers that the roadway belongs 
to the town or county, and that therefore all the 
inhabitants have a right to feed their cattle in 
them. But it was shrewdly replied to this, that 
if so, then the town or county must make half 
of the fences on the lines, and the people must 
be perpetually taxed for the purpose. At this, 
the trespassers and their friends shrugged their 
shoulders. Moreover, the Chairman, being well 
versed in the law, rose up and said, ‘ The com¬ 
mon law of England, (which is also our law,) 
settles this matter very justly and plainly when 
it says: ‘ The king himself has no right to the 
highway, except for purposes of travel and re¬ 
pairs; also, that the trees and stones, except 
such as are needed for repairs, with all other 
minerals, and the grass, belong to him through 
whose land the highway passes.’ Here the 
matter ended for that evening. But still the nui¬ 
sance of street cattle is not yet abated with us.” 
How to Choose a Cow. 
There is always some risk in buying a cow, of 
whose previous character and history we know 
nothing, for there are no infallible signs of ex¬ 
cellence. A rough, scrawny, coarse, ill-shapen 
cow is often a noble milker. Yet there are a 
few points generally agreed upon by experi¬ 
enced farmers, which it is well to consider be¬ 
fore purchasing. A small boned head and light 
horns are better than large. Long legs make too 
wide a gap betwixt udder and milk pail, and 
long-legged cows are seldom quiet feeders, but 
wander about too much. A slender rather than 
a thick neck, a straight back, wide ribs and 
broad brisket, are to be sought for. The body 
of the cow should be large in proportion to 
head, neck, and legs, though not excessively 
large; and the hind quarters if large out of pro¬ 
portion indicate good milking qualities. Medi¬ 
um sized cows, all things considered, prove the 
best milkers for the amount of feed they con¬ 
sume. The color of the hair has probably noth¬ 
ing to do with the milking qualities, and good 
looks should be regarded but little in purchas¬ 
ing dairy animals. As to the color of the skin, 
a bright yellow, approaching that of gold coins, 
creamy color within the ears—this and good 
rich milk are very apt to go together; and 
withal a soft flexible hide, loose over the ribs 
and rump, is also to be sought. The ud¬ 
der should be large, soft, and full of veins, which 
ramify over it, with full-sized milk veins stretch¬ 
ing forward along the belly, and the teats be 
large and not crowded together. Test the cow’s 
disposition and inquire about it. Irritable and 
nervous cows are unpleasant to handle, and al¬ 
most always scanty milkers. Something can be 
ascertained from the looks and motions. Large, 
mild eyes, easy quiet motions when driven, and 
gentleness when handled, indicate good nature. 
What the butchers term “ good handling” is 
an important quality in a milch cow, for it in¬ 
dicates not only good milking properties, but 
easy fattening, when service in the dairy is over. 
Irrigation with Sewerage Water. 
Few of our farmers appreciate the value of li¬ 
quid manure. The occasionally published re¬ 
sults of the use of sewerage water for this pur¬ 
pose, are opening the eyes of others to its im¬ 
portance. This is one of the ways in which the 
city may pay the immense debt it owes the 
country. Near Edinburgh, Scotland, certain 
parties wishing to turn an honest penny, have 
cut dykes by which they can flood the land at 
pleasure with this sffwerage water from the 
town. An American farmer traveling in Eng¬ 
land, writes of one particular farm as follows: 
“ These fields, which were formerly barren 
wastes, merely the clean, dry sands thrown up 
by the sea in former times, have been so arranged 
that they may be flooded by this stream. The 
expense of the operation was great—about $100 
per acre—and the annual cost of flooding is also 
four or five dollars to the acre beside; but the 
crops of hay are so frequent and enormous, (ten 
cuttings being made in a season,) that some 
parts of the meadow rent for $100 a year per 
acre, and none less than $75 dollars!” Prof. 
Johnston estimates the fertilizing value per an¬ 
num, of the sewerage of a town of one thou¬ 
sand inhabitants, as equal to a quantity of gu¬ 
ano which would cost thirteen hundred dollars. 
We should very much like to see the waste 
water of our cities turned to some good account; 
but throughout the country, much might be rea¬ 
lized by turning streams, at suitable times, over 
meadows and pastures. Everybody knows 
how rich our bottom lands become from the an¬ 
nual floods of the creeks and rivers which run 
through them. Why may not other lands be 
fertilized by dirty water on purpose? For in¬ 
stance, when a farm lies on a gentle slope, even 
a small brook can be made to do a great deal 
of service. If the stream comes in from the hill 
above, cut a channel for it, skirting the upper 
sides of the farm, and carry it along on the up¬ 
per line as far as possible. At suitable intervals, 
dig out small channels, on the lower side of the 
stream, through which the water can be let on 
to the fields at will, (gates having been made at 
the openings). There may be a series of mead¬ 
ows flooded from the same source. Those who 
have tried a plan like this, say that a single 
year’s flooding will increase the growth of grass 
equal to a top-dressing of thirty loads of dung. 
The,muddiest streams are best, as they carry 
suspended a good deal of the fertile matter ot 
the land through which they have flowed. We 
all know that wherever road-washings can be 
brought in, they are found very enriching, Yet 
clear water is beneficial, simply as water, and 
because it holds valuable substances in solution. 
Home-Made Poudrette. 
Mr. John Marston, Bucks Co., Pa., who has 
been familiar with the manufacture of poudrette 
on a large scale for many years, prepares it for 
his own use in the following manner: His 
vault is built of stone, 8 by 4 feet square and 
four feet deep, the bottom laid in stone and 
the whole cemented over. The privy is 4 by 
31 feet; leaving 4i feet of the vault outside 
of the house. This portion is covered by two 
slanting doors placed so as to shed rain. With¬ 
in these doors is placed a heap of fine coal ash¬ 
es and a shovel. The coal ashes can be thrown 
over the droppings every few days with but 
very little trouble. Mr. M. finds the coal ashes 
to act as an excellent absorbent, and he pre- 
A Prairie Farmer Advocates Shallow 
Breaking. 
A farmer of Christian Co., Ill., writes, object¬ 
ing to the letter of J. Weldon, on page 74, 
March No. of the American Agriculturist , not be¬ 
cause it is not true, but lest farmers who may 
be thinking of moving out upon the prairies 
might be scared. He says Mr. Welden “ makes 
it appear as though a man must bring team 
enough to break the sod a foot deep.” This is a 
wrong inference, for our correspondent express¬ 
ly advised to have neighbors put their teams 
together for this work. The advantages enu¬ 
merated by.him were, it will be remembered: 
getting the ground into good tilth at once; 
securing heavy crops of corn (70 to 80 bushels 
to the acre), and a lasting, advantage to the 
land. Let us contrast these with the advan¬ 
tages of using a light team and plowing as 
shallow as is possible or convenient. There 
is a saving of labor, so large a team not being 
needed; securing more quickly the rotting of the 
sod, if the plowing be done at the right season; 
and the ability to do more breaking during the 
season adapted to breaking, (which is no advan¬ 
tage, because the breaking may be done at any 
season if it be 8 inches to a foot deep.) 
The benefits of heavy crops and lasting good 
to the land, ought not to be lost sight of even 
by the pioneer whose only reliance is one pair 
of oxen and a horse to do his work. Such a 
man, if he be a reader of the Agriculturist , goes 
upon his prairie farm with the ideas of both of 
these pioneers. He knows that if he can break 
8 to 12 inches deep he is nearly sure of a first 
rate crop of corn. He knows that with his 
own team he can only break very shallow, and 
that the crop of sod corn got from the land will 
hardly pay for sowing and gathering. He 
knows that during the early part of summer all 
he can break shallow may be sowed to wheat 
in the fall or spring, and that the soil may be 
subsequently deepened, without using such a 
heavy team as is necessary in breaking deep. 
