378 
AMERICAN AG-RICT^LTURIST, 
[SeptembeJi, 
veins. This peculiarity of the calyx, which is 
referred to in its common names, enables the 
plant to be readily identified. The numerous 
seeds are quite small, kidney-shaped and rough. 
From the strong growth of the root, the plant is 
very difficult to extirpate.it when once establish¬ 
ed, and the complaints we have from the locali¬ 
ties infested by it, are of a character to induce 
us to put farmers w'ell on their guard against it. 
Cutting and Curing Corn, Sowed for 
Fodder. 
The curing of corn stalks, that is those which 
bear grain, cannot be done until the corn is well 
glazed, and then the manner of treatment must 
be primarily adapted to securing the corn in 
the best condition. Corn sowed for fodder, 
however, should be cut when the grain is barely 
out of the watery state and beginning to be 
inilkjq that is when the stalk has attained its 
full growth, but has not yet become dry and 
hard. The manner of cutting depends much on 
the size of the stalks. When they are of ordinary 
length and size, say 3 to 5 feet high, they may 
best be cut with a reaping machine, stopping 
every time a gavel is cut and lifting it off. If 
too heavy for this, they must be cut by hand. 
A strong man can swing a cradle, and cut a 
moderate swath. If this cannot be done, it is 
better to cut up wdth a sickle, or corn-cutter, 
laying the stalks in gavels, than to cut with a 
common, or a bush scythe. The use of the 
grass scythe is no doubt the easiest way to cut 
the corn, but it necessitates picking up the stalks 
almost one by one, which is very laborious. 
If the weather be pleasant, spread out the 
gavels to the sun, and turn them over before the 
dew falls. After a few day’s sunning, bind in 
small sheaves, and set up in close round stooks, 
binding the tops with several bands, to make 
them pointed to turn the rain well. When 
there is a fair prospect of two or three da 3 's of 
pleasant weather, remove the bands from the 
tops of the stooks, and set the bundles in long- 
shocks. In this way they will drj’- out very fast. 
Before a storm comes on, they should be put 
again in round stooks, or secured in the barn. 
A long time is required to cure stalks fit for 
stacking. When a farmer has plenty of barn 
room, it is an excellent practice to lay poles or 
rails from beam to beam, and set the stalks ail 
over them on the but ends. In this wmy the air 
can circulate near every sheaf, and none of the 
stalks will spoil. Those farmers who have hay 
caps, can cover the stooks with them, and thus 
secure the stalks wmll in the field, until they are 
cured enough to be stacked, or put in the barn. 
New Suggestion for Hay Caps. 
A certain man, a Yankee of course, has dream¬ 
ed of an independent fortune and world-wide 
notoriety, after having brought out a wooden 
hay cap, made in the following manner: The 
huts of wide shingle.s, two or more feet long, 
are nailed to sticks about li inches square, so 
as to form a roof like a barn with a ridge pole 
in it. The upper side of the miniature ridge 
pole is beveled each way from the middle, so as 
to give the shingles the right pitch. The ridge 
poles are about four feet long; and the edges of 
the shingles are lapped one on the other, as the 
huts are nailed to the ridge pole. Such a roof 
will cover a cock of large size, or a shock of 
wheat, keeping it dry through any storm. The 
only question is, whether they will not be too 
costly, and inconvenient to handle. Where 
shingles can be sawed cheaply, a few can be 
made to test their practicability. Thin boards 
of basswood, whitewood, or pine, not more than 
one fourth of an inch thick, would subserve 
quite as good purpose as wide shingles. They 
could be carried to and from the field in a 
wagon; and packed in a small compass in a 
“nest,” like wooden bowls. It would be neces¬ 
sary to make the tops of the cocks so, that the 
wooden cskps would fit well, and not be blown 
oflF, even by high winds. We would be glad 
to hear of a few being made where lumber is 
cheap, and the result reported for the benefit 
of others. At times, where there is but little to 
do, such caps might be made and painted with 
coal tar, to prevent the shingles shrinking and 
swelling by the action of showers and sunshine. 
--•-I-- ■ ——-- 
Practical Advantages of Drilling Wheat. 
Among the advantages of drilling in wfinter 
wheat over broadcast sowing, are the saving of 
labor, the saving of seed, and securing more 
abundant crops. Whether the grain is sowed 
broadcast, or drilled, the ground should re¬ 
ceive the same thorough preparation previous, 
to distributing the seed. If drilled in, one man 
will complete the operation, by simply going 
over the ground once. If sowed broadcast, the 
ground must be harrowed twice after the seed 
is sowed. This, in addition to the time con¬ 
sumed in sowing the seed by hand, will require 
about three times longer than is necessary to 
drill it in. Moreover, the drill, if properly made 
and adjusted, will deposit every kernel at a uni¬ 
form depth; whereas, the harrow covers some 
of the seed too deep, some not deep enough, 
and some not at all; and if the soil be deep and 
mellow, the feet of teams w'ill press a consider¬ 
able portion of it quite too deep. 
Another advantage in drilling in the seed is, 
as soon as an acre or two is plowed, the grain 
may be put in immediately, thus finishing the 
work as fast as the ground is plowed. When 
grain is sowed broadcast, it is much more con¬ 
venient, and rather important, to have the entire 
field plowed before sowing, so as to be able to 
harrow both ways. When a farmer has a drill, 
he can plow an acre, then harrow it, and drill 
in the seed all in one da}', while the soil is fresh, 
which is the best condition to hasten the germi¬ 
nation of the grain. Ho thus finishes his work 
as he progresses, and is always ready for 
temporary interruptions by storms of rain, 
which are often attended with more or less in¬ 
jury to the crop. Such delays, especially with 
spring grain, are often fiital to a good crop. 
No man can sow wheat broadcast as evenly 
as a good drill will distribute it. But as a man 
when sowing by hand will vary his steps, and 
the force applied at every cast of the seed, and 
as the wind will often blow the grain from its 
course, it becomes necessary to sow much more 
seed per acre, to secure as thick a stand of 
plants, as when it is deposited with a drill. 
Why Wheat Winter Kills- 
When the soil freezes, it is greatly expanded; 
and the expansion is all upwards, because the 
unfrozen earth below will not yield to the frozen 
stratum; and there is no vacant space to be fil¬ 
led by the lateral enlargement. For this reason 
the surface of the soil is often elevated two, 
three, or more inches higher than it stands 
when the ground is not frozen. The writer 
once had two sticks of timber resting with their 
ends on the. sills of one of his out-buildings, and 
the middle of each was supported by posts set 
in the ground where frost could not reach them. 
In very cold weather, the entire building would 
be raised by the freezing of the earth beneath 
the foundation, so that a plank, li inch thick, 
could be put under the timbers, on the top of 
the posts. If the position of shallow-rooted 
trees, where the ground freezes deeply, be com¬ 
pared with horizontal marks on a building that 
the frost does not lift, it will often be seen that 
they stand from one to two inches higher, when 
the soil is thus frozen, than when free from 
frost. As tlie roots of such trees lie nearly in a. 
horizontal position, they rise and settle back 
with the lifting and settling of the soil. Thus 
it is with sod ground. The roots of the grass 
form such a tangled mat near the surface of the 
ground, that tlie entire layer of turf settles back 
in a body, keeping the roots in their true position. 
The injury to the wheat plant arising from 
the freezing and thawing of the soil, is usually 
the most serious obstacle that farmers meet 
with in our wheat growing regions. By the 
alternate freezing and thawing of the surface of 
the soil, the stools of wheat are lifted and sepa¬ 
rated from their hold upon the soil. The deep 
roots which penetrate below the reach of shal¬ 
low frosts are broken oif, and the earth is more or 
less loosened from the others. Here we per¬ 
ceive the disadvantage of depositing the seed 
too deep. The roots originating from the seed, 
being far below the surface of the ground, 
when the plant is lifted by the expansion 
of the soil, the stem will be likely to be 
separated somewhere between the surface of 
the ground and the roots. The plants then soon 
die. Wlien the roots strike downward, their 
hold in the soil is loosened ; and as they do not 
settle back to their original position when, the 
ground thaws, the plants are soon worked up¬ 
wards, until they are raised almost clear of the 
soil, as if they had been pulled up by hand. 
Every practical wheat grower is familiar with all 
these disadvantages in raising winter wheat. 
With spring grain, none of these things occur. 
In order therefore, to prevent in a great de¬ 
gree, or entirely, any injury to the wheat plant 
from freezing and thawing of the soil, two 
things are essential. The first is, thorough 
drainage, where the soil is at all inclined to be 
too wet. Dry soils are affected but little by freez¬ 
ing ; but when a soil is saturated with water, it 
often heaves several inches above its usual hight. 
This process so disturbs the roots of wheat, that 
they have no more hold on the soil, than if just 
transplanted. Hence, they are apt soon to die. 
The next important thing is, to prepare the 
soil, as has been previously directed, by keeping 
a thin stratum of the richest soft on the surface, 
and by depositing the seed at a uniform depth 
of not over two inches over the entire field, so 
that the primary roots, those starting from tlie 
seed, and those other roots which start from 
above the seed, will all spread out nearly in a 
horizontal direction, interlocking with each 
other, and thus forming a tangled mat like a 
sward, that will rise and settle back to its proper 
position, when the soil freezes and thaws, with¬ 
out losing its hold upon the soil. 
This is aimed at when wheat is put in with 
an ordinary drill; and, for the most part, the 
end sought is secui'ed, if the soil be of a uniform 
quality and condition, so that the teeth will run 
at a given depth. But when the soil is mellow 
in some places, and hard in others, some drills 
will deposit the seed in the mellow places too 
deep, so that putting in with a drill will have 
