THE CULTIVATOR. 
79 
CORN AND ROOTS. 
We cannot forbear to urge upon our farmers the ne¬ 
cessity of paying more attention to the cultivation of the 
two crops named at the head of this article. The severe 
lesson which so many of them have received who have 
relied on the ordinary methods of keeping their stock 
through our northern winters, should induce them to be 
on their guard against the recurrence of such calamities. 
Our domestic animals constitute a very large portion of 
the wealth of the country, and its loss should not be need¬ 
lessly hazarded. The most distressing accounts of the 
loss of cattle, sheep, and swine, in the southern counties 
of the state, and in the states of Ohio and Michigan, con¬ 
tinue to reach us, and it is evident the loss already suf¬ 
fered by farmers is immense. When the hay and straw 
failed, there was no resource; an acre of roots, or a few 
acres of corn, would in nearly every instance have avert¬ 
ed the loss of stock, and in no event could the articles 
have been useless to the farmer. 
Corn is one of the most valuable crops that can be cul¬ 
tivated by the farmer, and one that rarely fails if the 
ground is properly prepared, and a good selection of seed 
be made. In nianj^ districts of the north, early varieties 
must be chosen, or there may be a failure of its ripening; 
but where this is attended to, the crop rarely fails. The 
man who plants corn, must manure well and heavily, but 
he loses nothing by this, as corn is one of the best pre¬ 
paratory crops for those kinds of grain to which the ap¬ 
plication of fresh manures is injurious. We give to our 
readers two methods of the cultivation of this crop, the 
first practiced by D. Comstock of Raisin, Michigan, as 
described in the N. G. Farmer; and the second by Mr. 
y vveet of Tyringham, Mass., from the “ Traveller.” 
“Mr. Comstock’s soil is sandy, and he selects a clover 
ley, mowed the preceding years. On this he spreads 25 
loads of barn yard manure to the acre. From the 10th 
to the 15th of May, it is turned under by furrow, about 9 
inches deep; then about 25 loads of old ashes, scrapings 
of'the hen house, chip manure, &c. are added; after 
which it is well harrowed lengthwise of the furrows, 
marked out, and planteil with the large dent and red- 
blaze varieties of corn, in hilts two feet apart, and rows 
three and a half feet apart, with from four to seven ker¬ 
nels in a hill, so as to secure three good stalks in each 
hill after weeding. When it comes up, a handful of 
leached ashes is put on each hill to check worms and 
grubs. The cultivator is passed through it three times, 
and it is hoed twice. Last year his corn so treated, yield¬ 
ed a little over 100 bushels of shelled corn per acre. Mr. 
C. also raised in the same field, two acres of sugar beet, 
which gave 1050 bushels to the acre.” 
We venture to affirm that Mr. Comstock’s cattle have 
not this winter perished from starvation. 
Mr. Sweet’s method is as follows:—“ He spreads what 
manure he intends for the field on the surface of the green 
sward; then he plows the land into ridges about three 
feet apart in the fall—each ridge or row being made of 
two back furrows turned upon a narrow strip of sward, 
which is not disturbed. In the spring, he rolls and har¬ 
rows these ridges, and on the top of each ridge, 12 or 
14 inches apart, he plants his hills of corn, three or four 
kernels in each hill, and cultivates his corn through the 
season with the hoe, cultivator, and plow, as much as he 
deems necessary. In this method, he remarked, he was 
not troubled with weeds or drouth. In the fall, as soon 
as the corn is ripe, he gathers the ears, then pulls up the 
cornstalks, and lays them down lengthwise between the 
furrows, and then splits the ridges with his plow, and 
covers these stalks completely up. This is made his 
ridge for his second crop of corn, to be planted the suc¬ 
ceeding spring. He has raised 110 bushels of corn per 
acre, planted over these buried stalks.” 
These buried stalks may aid in producing a good crop 
of corn, but the practice is unquestionably a bad one, as 
the cornstalks if cut and fed to animals, would go far in 
wintering stock, and the manure so made, would doubt¬ 
less be as effective as the buried stalks would be. Every 
farmer may not reach 100 bushels per acre, but from 60 
to 80 may safely be calculated upon; and every farmer 
can estimate for himself, the value of the grain and the 
fodder so produced, for the feeding of animals. Corn, 
for feeding stock, should always be ground, corn and cob 
together; iri this way its value is greatly increased, and 
this meal mixed with cut straw or hay, is one of the best 
kinds of food an animal can receive. 
Roots too, have not received from the great mass of 
our farmers, particularly those, whose main dependence 
is on stock, that attention they deserve. Had every farm¬ 
er relied less on his hay, and grown only an acre of roots, 
millions of dollars now lost to the country would have 
been saved, and an incalculable amount of suffering pre¬ 
vented. It may seem absurd to some, to talk of sufferin"-, 
as applied to animals, but we consider that man as guilty 
of crime, who needlessly exposes his animals to privation 
and pain. A man has no more right to starve his stock 
than he has to starve his childj-en; his animals were not 
given him for such a purpose; and the attempt to keep 
more than can he kept well, deserves the severest repre¬ 
hension. * 
Of roots,valuable for animals, and which may be grow 
to advantage, we may name potatoes, Swedish turneps c 
ruta baga, carrots, and the sugar beet. The root cro 
most certain is the potatoe; but it rarely equals in th 
quantity of bushels produced per acre, any of the,other! 
and as there does not appear to be any material different 
in their value when fed raw, (the carrot excepted, whic 
IS the best,) some of the other should in ordinary casi 
receive attention from the farmer. The average of tl 
potatoe crop will range from 150 to 200 bushels when we 
cultivated; and the average of the turnep, carrot or beet, 
under the same circumstances, will range from 400 to 600 
bushels per acre. The potatoe crop occasionally rises to 
400 or more bushels, but not oftener, perhaps, than the 
others to 1000 bushels per acre. A large proportion of 
our meadow lands do not yield more than two tons per 
acre, and it will require at least this amount to keep a 
horse or ox for five months, fed exclusively on hay. 
Now experience proves, that from one to three pecks of 
roots, according to the age and size of the animal, will 
keep them well and thriving, a handful of dry hay or cut 
straw being daily added; hence it is certain than an acre 
of land in roots will keep four or five times as many ani¬ 
mals as one in meadow. Most farmers will admit this; 
but say they cannot cultivate roots, as it requires so much 
more labor than to make hay. Very well; but then they 
should keep no more animals than their hay will keep 
well, and have plenty of food at all times. But we have 
usually found that those who are the least familiar with 
the cultivation of roots, are the most loud in their com¬ 
plaints as to the labor; and as in most other cases, expe¬ 
rience will be found to greatly facilitate the production, 
as well as lessen the labor demanded. 
ROADS. 
There are few matters of equal importance to the 
farmer, that receive so little attention from him as the 
subject of roads. He is taxed a certain sum to be ex¬ 
pended on the highways, or he is assessed a certain num¬ 
ber of day’s works to be performed in making or repair¬ 
ing the roads, and when this sum is paid, or this tax 
worked out, he seems to think all is done that is neces¬ 
sary, or that he can do, to remedy existing evils and se¬ 
cure good roads. This is not the case: there is no one 
so much interested in good roads as the farmer, and there 
is no one who should better understand the subject than 
he. Old methmls should be discarded if better ones can 
be found, and a little calculation will be found as effectu¬ 
al as all work without forethought or proper direction. 
There are many of our roads that are most unskillfully 
and wretchedly laid out. This is particularly the case 
where the roads were made when the countries were 
new, and the character of the country or the soil, could 
not be understood. The proper location and construc¬ 
tion of a road, not unfrequently lessens the draft between 
two points, 100 per cent; and we may well believe that 
were our beasts of burden consulted in the matter, they 
would prefer a road with some slight deflections from a 
right line, or which was lengthened in a slight degree, 
to one carried directly across hill and valley, without the 
least reference to inclination or slopes, but only to straight 
lines. 
Nine-tenths of the farmers in the country, reside at 
distances of from 10 to 20 miles from their market pla¬ 
ces; and the marketing a load of grain, or other pi’O- 
ducts, will in most cases consume a day. Now if by im¬ 
provement of the roads, the farmer is able to transport 
40 bushels of wheat, where before he could carry but 20, 
or other products of the farm in proportion, it is easy to 
see what a saving of time and labor will be effected. 
There are few farms of 100 acres, which will not furnish 
from 40 to 50 loads of marketable matters in the course 
of the year, and a saving of one-third the time required 
for this purpose, which will be maile where the roads 
are good, will constitute no small item of improvement 
or profit in the farm. If to this is added the wear and 
tear of wagons, harnesses, and horses, the difference to be 
shown between good and bad roads, will not be less than 
one-half the expense of transportation. 
In the construction of roads, two methods have been 
generally adopted in the country. The first is what is 
called the turnpikiug system, in which, in most cases, the 
surface earth is drawn from the sides into the middle of 
the road, rounded off, and left for the carriage road. If, 
as country roads are generally made, this rounded partis 
only wide enough for one track, ruts will soon be made 
in this surface mold, water will penetrate, and the road 
in the spring and fall, muddy and intolerable. The oth¬ 
er method is to plow ditches by the sides to keep off sur¬ 
face water, and then have the central part of the road 
with a surface level, or but slightly inclined to the sides. 
This gives a better road track than the other, less liable 
to form into deep ruts, and preferable in other respects, 
but unless the soil and the materials of the road are good, 
this method will be found faulty and objectionable. 
To make a good road, it is necessary in the first place 
that it should be dry. In some places the soil will be 
naturally so porous that no surface or standing water can 
be found. Where this is the case, road making is easy; 
it requires nothing more than to grade or level the track, 
clearing away the surface earth or vegetable mold, and 
giving a proper inclination to the pathway. But in most 
soils, if no more than this is done, the roads will be for 
a considerable jiart of the y ear muddy, rough and uneven, 
and unfit for the transportation of loads. The making 
the bed for the road dry, is the first thing to be done on 
such soils. Drains to remove springs; ditches to allow 
the surplus water to flow off readily, and the placing the 
driest soil for the track, will be required. It is idle to 
think of a passable road in such a country of rains and 
frosts as ours, unless freedom from water is first secured. 
In the second place, the form of the road should be 
such as will give the smoothest surface. Where a road 
IS so narrow as to foi'ce all the travel upon a single track, 
it IS scarcely possible the track should remain smooth for 
any length of time; it is consequently better to have the 
crown of the road wider, and the level part suitable for 
wheels more extensive. In this way, neither horses nor 
carriages will be confined to a single part of the road, 
and a greater width will be leveled and smoothed. 
Whatever may be the nature of the road, a long scraper 
should, whenever the road is dry, and the effects of pre¬ 
vious wet weather appear in the form of ruts, be drawn 
over the road to fill the depressions and remove all ob¬ 
structions. This scraper is one of the most useful im¬ 
plements and labor saving machines, that has yet been 
invented, and no road district in the state should be with¬ 
out one. 
In the third place, having secured a dry bed for the 
road, and leveled the surface, the cheapest mode of pre¬ 
serving it in fine condition for transportation, is to give it 
a coat of gravel some eight or ten inches in thickness. 
We venture to say that one-half the work laid out on the 
roads in most of our towns, would go farther towards 
making good roads if expended in placing gravel on 
them, than is now done by the whole. Graveling in some 
places, may be impracticable from the dilficulty of pro¬ 
curing suitable materials, but such districts are rare, as 
observation will prove. It is a practice in most districts, 
to call out the work in the early part of summer, and 
expend all the labor at that time. In many districts it 
would be more to the profit of those who use the roads, 
if a part of this labor was reserved, and expended during 
the winter in transporting gravel to those points where 
the condition of the roads most require its presence, but 
to which distance may render it inconvenient to draw it 
in the summer. The work assessed in a road district 
should always be expended at the time, and in the man¬ 
ner, which will insure the most benefit to the roads. As 
the farmers, more than any other class, are interested in 
having good roads, they should direct their attention to 
their formation and preservation, and endeavor to under¬ 
stand and practice the principles necessary to this end. 
In the choice of implements and methods, old prejudices 
may be encountered, but a good road appeals so directly 
to some of the most influential principles of our natures, 
that when a part of a road is made good, there is little 
objection, usually, to a similar treatment of the remain¬ 
der. Select then a good location for the road; provide 
by drains or ditches for freedom from all water in the 
road track; cover with clean gravel to the depth of ten 
or twelve inches, and there will be a promise of a road 
over which transportation will be easy, and which will 
need little annual repair. 
DAIRYING ON THE WESTERN RESERVE. 
The following account of the products of a dairy of 
twenty-five cows, is from a letter of Geo. Heslip, Esq. 
of Gustavus, Trumbull co., Ohio, to the editors of the 
Cultivator. He may well ask—“ Can this be beat?” We 
do not recollect an instance, where the product from even 
a small number of cows, has averaged any thing like 
this. Few dairies produce over one-half as much, and 
400 lbs. is considered a large protluct in the best districts 
of this state and New-England. Mr. Heslip says: 
“As the Western Reserve is becoming somewhat no¬ 
ted for its cheese, being settled for the most part with 
New-England people, and as we say, ‘ Yorkers,’ most 
of whom are engaged in the dairy bu^ness, I give you 
below the product in 1842, from twenty-five cows, owned 
and managed by Ephraim C. Selby, Esq. of this town, as 
follows: 
13,715 lbs. Cheese, which is over 548 lbs. to a cow. 
309 “ Butter. 
3,210 “ Pork, from nine hogs. 
This is exclusive of milk, butter and cheese, used by 
the family, of which no memorandum was kept. He 
raised four calves; dried off (to fat,) three cows. Sept. 1st, 
and ceased milking Nov. 1st. His cows are all of native 
breed, and received no other feed than good field pas¬ 
ture. Can this be beat?” 
CUTTING MILDEWED WHEAT EARLY. 
We make the following extract from a communication 
in the N. E. Farmer, from Q. C. Rich of Shoreham, Vt. 
The result is in perfect accordance with numerous in¬ 
stances which have been made known to us the past year, 
and which has placed the propriety of cutting mildewed 
or rusted wheat when first attacked, beyond a doubt. In 
this case, the theory founded on the chemical or natural 
action of the juices of the plant, agrees with practice; 
and the diseased action of the vessels, and the further 
deterioration of the sap, is promptly checked by cutting 
the grain. 
“ In the fall of ’41,1 sowed I f bushels of wheat on 143 
rods. During the early part of the spring it was back¬ 
ward and thin; but it improved rapidly after the spring 
rains. When heading out, it looked finely, promising a 
large crop; but the rust struck it, as it did the wheat ge¬ 
nerally throughout the country. My neighbors, many 
of them, advised me to let it stand till it was riper, as 
the heads and most of the straw, were quite green. To 
satisfy myself as to what others had said, I turned to the 
remai4{S of those who had communicated their practice 
through the Albany Cultivator, and found they were all 
in favor of cutting forthwith after its appearance. I fol¬ 
lowed their advice, and cut all, excepting what would 
make a single bundle; this I left, to see if there would 
be any difference in the grain. After this had stood till 
the straw was ripe, I rubbed a little of it out, and it was 
so badl 3 '' shrpnk, that taking this as a sample, I would 
have let any person have all the piece produced, for five 
bushels; and yet the yield was 21 bushels. Had I let it 
stand one week longer, I presume there would not have 
been five.” 
