36 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
CHINESE SUGAR-CANE-CSORGHUM SACCHARATUM.) 
Extracts fkom Correspondence of the American Agriculturist. 
No. 1.—What the Children think of it.— “ . . . My children spoiled half my plot 
o! Sorgiho Sucre,’ before I knew it. They cut down the stalks to get at the solid pith, 
which they sucked as eagerly as they would the nicest stick of sugar-candy.—E. P.” 
No. 2.—What the Cattle think of it.— “ ... In a former number of the Agricul¬ 
turist your correspondent, I. II., said his cattle wouldn't eat the Chinese Sugar Cane. 1 
oan’t understand that for mine were crazy after it, and they even broke out of a first- 
rate pasture to get at it.I put before them a lot of the canes mixed with corn¬ 
stalks, and they nosed over the heap and selected all the canes and eat them before 
tasting the corn-stalks.—II. L.” 
No. 3.—Cheap Advice offered.—“ Ed. Agriculturist ... I was preparing to make a 
nice thing out of this new sugar-cane seed. ... If you had kept still I could have sold 
my seed at last year’s price, viz. half a dollar an ounce ; but your offer of seed free, 
has taken the wind out of my sails completely. ... As you have cut me out here, can’t 
you give me a lift in another way ? You know I have had much experience in sugar- 
making. refining, &c. Suppose you recommend those intending to set up mills here at 
the North, to employ me to aid them. I will write a letter of ‘ advice,’ giving full 
details, for $35, or I will make visits for ‘ consultation ’ at $25 per day-If you can 
send me any business of this kind I will divide the profits-giving you say $5 on every 
$25.... You will of course consider this confidential.” 
We will—unless Congress should pass a law compelling us to ‘ testify.’— Ed. 
No. 4 . —Wanted for other Purposes than for Sugar Making. —“ . . . Don’t for¬ 
get to send me some of the new sugar-cane in the enclosed envelope. I went in for 
$10 worth of the Chinese potatoe (dioscorea batatas,) and now I want the Chinese 
canes for the vines to run up on. Don’t fail to send me the best seed you can, for 1 
want canes strong enough to ‘ hold on’ to the yams and keep them from ‘going home 
to China,’ as pictured in your Dec. No.—R S.” 
No 5.—The Perfect Stalk.—“ . . . Can you not give us a cut, showing the gene 
ral form and appearance of the new sugar-cane, as it grew on your place 1 By so doing, 
you will oblige— Many Readers. ’ 
See next page.— Ed. 
A RELIC OE BARBARISM. 
We see still sad evidences of cruelty to 
beasts as we ride through the farming dis¬ 
tricts at this inclement season of the year. 
It is not beating horses over the head, or 
oxen across the ribs with a sled stake, 
but foddering them with corn-stalks at a 
stack-yard, with the temperature at zero. 
And this piece of inhumanity is often the re¬ 
sult of pure heedlessness and ignorance. 
We saw, last week, a civilized human be¬ 
ing throwing corn fodder over the fence to 
his animals. They had no shelter, night or 
day, though the snow lay upon the frozen 
earth, and the keen wind sent a shiver 
through his bones as if the fork-tines had 
penetrated his flesh. He cannot bear such 
weather himself, but he somehow thinks 
cattle are not made of flesh and blood, and 
do not feel uncomfortable with a frozen bed, 
and frozen food, given to them in a freezing 
atmosphere. 
Every beast before him has his back-bone 
arched, and his feet drawn up under him, 
and shivers ; but he takes it as an indication 
of comfort. He does not believe that an ox 
has the same animal nature as a man, and 
needs protection as much, in or'der to thrive. 
To what slow tortures are multitudes of 
beasts put at this season through the igno¬ 
rance of their owners ! 
And this piece of barbarism is as wasteful 
as it is cruel. It takes a third more fodder 
to winter a cow in this way, and with all the 
tood she can eat, she comes out poor in the 
spring, and brings a lean calf. Either en¬ 
large your barns or diminish your stock. 
Let not this barbarous practice of wintering 
your cattle at the stack-yard any longer dis¬ 
grace the American farm. 
OREGON CORN—“ WLAND0T ” OUTDONE. 
For a year or two past, we have heard 
some tall stories of the doings of a species 
of soft corn, for which the lucky holders 
have been desirous of realizing “ only a pen¬ 
ny a kernel.” It has not ripened well, nor 
is it likely to in our northern latitudes, how¬ 
ever well it may do “Down South.” The 
chief merit claimed for it, however, is, not 
that it is so soft that it need not be ground 
into meal—as it cannot well be before feed¬ 
ing—but that it is such a wonderful produ¬ 
cer. A single kernel planted will send up 
two, three, four and more stalks, and each 
stalk will produce ever so many ears. But 
the Wyandot has had its day, if a correspond¬ 
ent of the Pacific Christian Advocate is to be 
credited. In a recent number of that paper, 
Mr. P. M. Starr writes that Mr. Charles 
Bales, residing near Mary’s Run, in Benton 
County, Oregon Territory, planted one grain 
of corn the past season, which produced five 
stalks, yielding eight ears. These ears con¬ 
tained respectively, 496, 481, 454, 429, 416, 
350, 321 and 292 grains of good, sound, well- 
ripened corn, making in all three thousand 
two hundred thirty-nine, in one season, from 
only one grain planted. If Mr. Bales asks 
and receives only one cent a kernel for the 
seed, his single kernel will yield him $32 39. 
Not bad farming that. 
COTTON TEN DOLLA RS A POUND. 
Whoever heard of such a price, even for 
Sea-Island, in its best condition ? We have, 
for a much poorer article. We kept Thanks¬ 
giving in the land of Steady Habits, and of 
course had to call on our friend and cor 
respondent, Timothy Bunker Esq. Mrs. 
Bunker, it is well known, is a notable house¬ 
wife, as might be inferred from the fact thai 
her daughter Sally took a premium on bread 
at the’ fair. She remarked while at tea 
“ that there was nothing like a little manage¬ 
ment on the part of a housekeeper to make 
both ends of the year meet. You see our 
house is getting to be a little old, and the 
windows shake a little, in these windy days. 
A sight of cold air creeps in at the cracks, 
and it is almost impossible to keep warm 
with a rousing fire. The last time I was 
over to the store I bought a pound of cotton 
battings, and with a knife I have stuffed 
every crack about the doors and windows. 
Once the curtains used to blow about, and 
the tassels, almost as bad as if they were 
out of doors. But now you can not see a 
bit of motion when the wind blows a tem¬ 
pest. 
Now, you see, I calculate, that it takes 
eight cords of wood to keep our fires a going 
during the winter, ana this pound of cotton 
