MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
chichi djjop. 
COEN CULTURE. 
Since corn is the most important of crops 
raised in the West, I will give my views 
relative to it, which 1 have acquired by 
observation, reading and practice, more 
particularly within the last ten years. 
Prior to that time I had farmed in Michi¬ 
gan, where corn was not so much a main 
crop as it is here in the Mississippi Valley. 
The belt of country where corn is raised In 
greatest perfection is not very extensive; I 
would not locate it North of forty-two de- 
groes, nor South of thirty-seven degrees, 
nor East of Indiana, nor West of Iowa. 
The territory included by these lines may 
j ustly bo said to be the great natural corn¬ 
field of America. Within these lines the 
farmer may calculate upon his corn Crop 
with general certainty, provided he man¬ 
ages well and cultivates thoroughly. The 
universal object aimed at by all undoubt¬ 
edly is to produce the greatest amount with 
the least expenditure. About all fanners 
have their notions relative to corn culture 
—each his hobby which he adheres to with 
tenacity, notwithstanding some produce 
uniformly good crops, while others as uni¬ 
formly produce poor crops—that, too, where 
the natural condition of soil was appar¬ 
ently equal. 
This fact is quite clearly indicated by a 
comparison of the general average, which 
will fall short of forty bushels per acre, 
even in this favored region, while I have 
known of some instances where seventy 
bushels per acre were raised for a series of 
years in succession. The cause of this gain 
of thirty bushels per acre by some and the 
loss of It by others, is a matter of too much 
importance to be overlooked. Like causes 
will produce like effects, even in the treat¬ 
ment of a corn crop. And here I will give 
a few general rules, which I have known to 
give the best results for different seasons 
and under different circumstances, although 
it is not expected that these rules can be 
followed every season by all; yet he who 
can follow them closest will be best pleased 
with results: 
Select a deep, rich, warm soil; plow deep 
in autumu or early spring; drag thoroughly 
in spring, as early as season and condition 
of soil will permit; then plow well with 
corn plows; drag again; then lay off into 
perfect rows, four feet each way; plant 
with a two-horse planter, three grains to 
the hill; roll immediately with a heavy 
roller. As soon thereafter as the corn be¬ 
gins to show above ground, drag well; with¬ 
in a week or so drag again; then put in 
your teams and corn plows, and keep them 
going until the corn gets so large that it 
drives you out of the field. C. 
-- 
COEN FODDEE. 
Tiiere was more corn sown for fodder 
during the past year, in this section, than 
ever before-. The latter part of the season 
being cold and wot, was unfavorable for the 
crop, and many failures occurred. Having 
met with varied success and failure during 
the past five years, I find certain require¬ 
ments necessary to obtain a good crop of 
corn fodder. The first requisite is manure, 
and it it is not already in the soil, it must 
be placed there. Corn is a gross feeder, and 
raw manure applied to the roots will not 
hurt it. Neve) 1 sow broadcast, unless upon 
a rich soil, without first giving a heavy sur¬ 
face coating of manure. Upon a poor soil, 
we have always obtained a heavy crop, by 
the following process: 
We furrow out the ground, as for planting 
potatoes, making the furrows three foot 
apart. We fill these furrows about half full 
of stable manure, then scatter the corn, by 
hand, upon the manure (at the rate of t wo 
and a-half bushels per acre), following with 
n one-horse, three-toothed cultivator, which 
mixes the manure with the soil, and covers 
the seed. The ground is left loose; the ma¬ 
nure is right where the roots can find it, 
giving the young plants a good, st rong start. 
Cultivato between the drills as soon as the 
corn is up, and the crop will soon shade the 
ground and take care of itself. As to varie¬ 
ty, we prefer the large-growing sweet corn, 
such as Stowell’s Evergreen. 
Cutting and Cui'ing.—Finding that cut¬ 
ting sowed corn with a common corn cutter 
was slow work, we tried a brand-new grain 
cradle, and soon smashed it up. The corn 
was so heavy that, if the cradle had been 
stout enough, it would have been hard work. 
Taking an old cradle, we cut off the scythe 
and fingers to about one-half their former 
length, and found it to be just the thing. 
With this, the crop is easily laid in swiVbs. 
We bind it up in bundles as soon as wilted, 
and let it cure in the shock. It comes out 
as bright, green-colored, and sweet-scented 
as when first cut. The bundles must be 
well set up in shocks that will shed the rain, 
and left in the field until perfectly cured. 
It takes a long time for the large, juicy 
stalks to dry; but sown early and cut in 
bloom, it will have ample time to cure. Cut 
in September, it may be put. iu the barn at 
your leisure, after the other farm crops have 
been secured, any time iu November. 
It is only fun to run the stalks through a 
Gale’s Copper-strip Cutting Machine, and 
all kinds of stock relish it and thrive upon 
it. Horses and colts are very fond of it. 
The limit to the amount one can raise Is the 
amount of manure that can be devoted to 
It.—A. G. Tillingiiast. 
-- 
FIELD NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Making Corn without Hoeing.—After 
twenty years experience in the culture of 
corn, 1 am prepared to say that the hoe can 
be set aside as soon as replanting and thin¬ 
ning is over. In order to do this, the land 
must bo well broken and pulverized before 
the corn is planted. The distance between 
rows should be from live to six and a-half 
feet, and from two to three and a-half feet 
iu the drill, according to productiveness of 
land. The corn should bo dropped, after 
going twice in the same furrow, with an 
eight-inch shovel. When the corn is cov¬ 
ered, it should be four inchoB below the sur¬ 
face. The first plowing, put just enough 
dirt to the corn to (ill the furrow liulf full; 
second plowing, the furrow can be filled. 
This leaves the corn level, and the ground 
is not too high for you to dirt t he corn with 
plow the third or last time, lie careful not 
to break or disturb the corn roots the last 
two plowing*. Corn planted and cultiva¬ 
ted in this way will stand a drouth much 
better, and the blades will not turn yellow, 
as they always will do when the roots are 
broken.—w. n. c. 
Yellow Pryor and Missouri Broad 
Leaf Tobacco.—The editor of the Rural 
World answers a correspondent, who asks 
in reference to 1kc6e varieties of tobacco, as 
follows:—The Yellow Pryor is the lightest 
and brightest, and generally brings the 
highest price of the two. Those lots that 
have brought tho high prices named were 
generally grown on thin, fine conditioned 
laud, receiving special care In growing, cur¬ 
ing, handling, &c. Tho YolM^Fryor is 
very generally cultivated, and in Franklin 
Co., Mo.—one of the most successful tobacco 
districts — is the favorite. What is lost 
in weight, is made up in quality. The Cuba 
or Havana is cultivated by some; iB very 
fine but light; produces a small crop, brings 
the very highest prices, but the seed deteri¬ 
orates very soon. The price per pound 
would be iu favor of the Cuba, but the re¬ 
turn per acre in favor of the Pryor. 
Wild Clover. — Please find inclosed a 
specimen of clover found growing wild here. 
Please give the name; also, tell me if it has 
any value, or lias ever been cultivated. — A 
Subscriber, Palestine , Crawford Co., 111. 
We think it is Trifolium xtvlonijcrum, or 
buffalo clover, which is a native of Illinois. 
But you should send leaves as well as the dry 
heads to aid us iu determining the species. 
We do not think that this, or either of the 
two other wild species of tho West and 
South, have ever been cultivated. 
Sorghum for Soiling.—I wish to inquire 
the value of sorghum as fodder for soiling. 
What time to sow, quantity per acre, and 
how to sow seed, if in drill. I have rj-e for 
early feed, then clover, and then I would 
like to sow sorghum, iT better than oorn. I 
am keeping from thirty to forty milch 
cows, and run the milk to the city. I find 
I can keep my supply more even by soiling, 
and can double the stock that I can keep on 
pastime.—J. f. c. 
“How Much will Wheat Lose in 
Grinding?’’—Bo asks P. A. Spike, and 
adds:—" I am inclined to think some of us 
farmers who take gristB to mill, get badly 
sold thereby.” We have heard good millers 
say that wheat loses from two to three 
pounds per bushel by grinding; but the 
wheat of some farmers, as they take it to 
mill, will lose five pounds or more by prop¬ 
erly screening it before it is fit to grind. 
A Deadly Grass,—One remarkable fact 
connected with Queensland botany is, that 
a grass, which grows locally abundant in 
the more Nort hern portions of the colony, 
Arlsttda hygromctrlca , is fatal to sheep, by 
reason of its long sharp tripartite awns get¬ 
ting entangled in the wool and ultimately 
piercing the skin and penetrating to the 
viscera of the thorax and abdomen. 
WHAT CONSTITUTES A THOROUGH- 
BRED HOG 1 
In reply to F. D. Curtis, relative to what 
constitutes a thorough-bred hog, may I not 
ask him if the fact that the first and sec¬ 
ond cross between a Chester White and a 
Poland China produced in the first place 
nine white pigs, and in the second fire white 
pigs and three spotted ones, all having the 
form and characteristics of the Chester 
White, don’t prove pretty conclusively that 
the Chester White is a thorough-bred, 
“capable of transmitting its form, charac¬ 
teristics and all of its peculiarities to its 
offspring without change? ” If such a fact 
don’t establish the point claimed, i. e., that 
the Chester White is a thorough-bred, will 
my good friend Craris tell me what consti¬ 
tutes a thorough-bred hog? 
His reference to Paschal Morris as au¬ 
thority relative to the Chester White hog 
with upright oars, proves but little, when 
we lake into consideration tho fact that 
Thomas Wood, G. B. Hickman, James 
You.vo and N. P. Boyer of Chester Co., 
Pa., II. P. Court of Michigan, and L. W 
Stuart of Iowa, the latter taking the sec¬ 
ond premium at the Chicago Swine Exhibi¬ 
tion, and all other well-known breeders of 
pure Chester White hogs, all breed Cheater 
Whites with ears pointed down, and none 
with ears erect. 
Tho taking of Morris as authority on 
Chester Whites, is about on a par with tak¬ 
ing Harris as authority relative to the Po¬ 
land China hog. Take “ Harrison the Pig,” 
and read his description of the “ Magic 
llog,” and then read what he says in his 
“Walks and Talks on tho Farm,” about 
what he saw at tho Chicago 8wine Exhibi¬ 
tion, and one will conclude that bis “ On the 
Pig” is not of much “authority," so far as 
the Polaud China pig is concerned. So far 
as the Chester White is concerned, it is 
enough for me to know, that not a single 
breeder, of any note, breeds at this time 
Chester White hogs with upright ears, Mor¬ 
ris to the contrary notwithstanding. 
Lysandeii W. Babbitt. 
Council Bluffs, Iowa. 
-♦♦♦- 
THUMPS IN HOGS. 
I noticed in the Rurai- New-Yorker of 
Feb. 17th, an Ohioan's plans to cure thumps 
in hogs. He is partly correct in saying it is 
lung disease, but it Is caused by M ind get¬ 
ting in t he cavity of the stomach outside of 
the entrails, which wind compresses the 
lungs so that they cannot expand enough 
for the animal to breathe easily—hence the 
“thumps.” For when they inhale the air 
to inflate the lungs, that compresses the air 
in the cavity of the stomach, and ns it can¬ 
not be compressed enough to allow a full 
inflation of the lungs, the re-action of the 
wind in the cavity compresses the lungs be¬ 
fore they are half inflated, and forces out 
the air inhaled, with a thump. If not rem¬ 
edied, the wind accumulates iu the cavity 
till it is so full the lungs cannot expand by 
inhalation, and death is inevitable. 
So, having given the cause and action of 
the thumps, I will now givo you a remedy 
that has never failtxl with me or my neigh¬ 
bors (which is more easily applied than the 
Ohioan’s), which is simply to catch the hog 
affected with the thumps, and take the lit¬ 
tle blade of a jjocket knife and pierce a hole 
through file sides of the hog to the hollow 
between the last two ribs. Be sure you 
stick the knife clear through, and not far 
enough to touch the intestines. As soon as 
the opening is made you will discover tho 
wind coming out freely, the lungs are re¬ 
lieved of the pressure behind them, and the 
hog is cured. 1 have tried this often, and 
have never failed at any stage of the dis¬ 
ease. James H. Wentworth. 
Shady Grove, Fla. 
-- 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
Quinsy in Swine.—A veterinarian writeB 
the Iowa Homestead that the quinsy is 
caused by exposure to sudden changes of 
atmosphere, and that if the animal has been 
under the debilitating influence of bad food, 
impure water or filthy inclosures, mortifi¬ 
cation frequently sets in, and death results 
in a few hours. Ho recommends the fol¬ 
lowing treatment: 
“ When the disease begins with general 
feverishness and hurried breathing, give 
from one to four drops of aconitum, in a 
tablespoonful of water, every two hours. 
When, in addition to the above symptoms, 
the throat is swelled, give belladonna in the 
same quantity, and alternately with the 
aconitum, every two hours. If the tongue 
becomes red and swollen, give in place of 
the aconite what will stand on the half of a 
pea of mercurius iod. Should the throat 
turn purple and mortification threatens to 
set in, or great weakness supervene, givo 
from one to four drops of arsenicum, in 
place of mercurius. The mercurius iods 
should be of the first centesimal trituration, 
and the other medicines should be of the 
first decimal dilution. They may be ob¬ 
tained of any homeopathic physiciau.” 
Jersey Red Hog.—Can any of your New 
Jersey correspondents give the public any 
information, through your columns, con¬ 
cerning the origin, history and character of 
the family of hogs known as Jersey Reds ? 
If so, they will oblige many breeders of 
swine by doing so at an early date.— Frank 
D. Curtis, Charlton , N. Y. 
NOTES FROM THE WEST. 
Slieep and Wool.—The few wool growers 
who kept up their flocks “on principle,” 
through the last four discouraging years, are 
now jolly over the situation. Such persist¬ 
ent Hock-masters as Thos. Gokkv of Port¬ 
age, Calvin Caswell of Erie, and W.w. F. 
Greer of Lake—all of Ohio, have their dish 
right side up for this shower of porridge. 
1 have a letter from a large wool grower 
in Illinois, who kept up his fine flock in Ohio, 
until patience ceased to be a virtue, and 
then took them Weft, which says:—" 1 have 
just returned from a ride on horseback 
through Vermillion Co., Ind„ Vermillion, 
Edgar. Douglass and Piatt counties, HI., in 
search'd stock slieep, and have to report 
that there are, at most, literally no sheep of 
any kind to be fouud in all those counties, 
which, four years ago, were among the larg¬ 
est wool producing counties in tho State, 
All along my route of travel, I could hear of 
where there had been flocks of from live 
hundred to several thousand, but three or 
four years ago, but all are invariably known 
to have been fed for mutton arid shipped to 
market. I leant from one of the principal 
buyers of Bloomington, that there was not 
more than one-fifth the amount of wool 
purchased in that market, from McLean 
county, the past year, that there was three 
years ago.” 
For the past four years, up to last season, 
the dairymen of the west have had the 
better of the wool growers. Last year was 
hard on the dairymen, and now many of 
them arc desirous of going out of the dairy 
business and into wool-growing. To do this 
will require a sacrifice at both ends of tho 
change, since they cannot well dispose of 
their cows, and sheep are few and dear, and 
the change would be like that hazardous 
one of swapping horses in the middle of a 
stream. 
'I’he Porte Business, for the past sea¬ 
son, has been as bad, or worse, than the dairy 
business, with a not average of less than 
?f).. r >0 per hundred weight, whereas, in pre¬ 
ceding years, 1 he average has been §9 to $10 
per hundred. The quality of the pork 
packed this season has been very good. In 
Cincinnati, from Nov. 1 to March 1, there 
were packed an aggregate of ltfi,000,000 lbs. 
The average net weight of hogs was “.'ll lbs.; 
average of leaf-lard per bog, over 20}^ lbs. 
Cincinnati is the Jhnn-hurg of Ohio. 
Saw-Log's. —The winter has been quite 
favorable for getting out timber, and the 
result is the largest crop of saw-logs I ever 
saw in this region have been congregated at 
all thu mills iu the country. The mills 
which run by steam maj- go through these 
immense quantities of logs, but the water 
mills will be stalled, unless there is more 
than the usual flow of water to work them 
off. In the burnt districts of the pine 
woods of Michigan, Ac., the lumber busi¬ 
ness has been verj* active, in order to save 
as much as possible of the dead timber before 
it becomes worm-eaten. The consequence 
of all these tilings will be a plenty of all 
sorts of sawed lumber iu these regions. 
Coal in Indiana. — 1 recently made a 
tour through the state of Indiana, and was 
much interested in the late discoveries of 
excellent'quantities of bituminous coals in 
Parke, Clay, and other counties of that 
State. The black coal of Parke county is 
of a superior quality for the manufacture of 
iron and steel, which is a great desideratum 
in the industrial economy of Indiana. There 
are also abundance of coals for fuel and for 
the manufacture of gas. These discoveries 
are giving new life to the solid manufactures 
of the TIoosier State. s, d. n. 
