rta 
330 
MAY 24 
ute tliis peculiarity. The hair on the fore¬ 
head of bulls is often very much curled, and 
it is rather to be admired than otherwise for 
the sake of its picturosqtjcueas, as well as 
that it indicates other important qualities. 
The meat produced by t hese cattle is c.xccl- 
| lent, aud not to be surpassed in texture and 
quality. The milking properties of this stock 
is said to be excellent, and all attempts to 
improve it by crosses have failed. 
A few errors on went in popular descriptions 
of the Pembrokeshire cattle will have to be 
corrected. For instance, You att says that a 
“few have white faces, or a little white 
abgut the tail and udders,” and that the 
“ Pembrokeshire cow is Usually black, with 
occasionally a dark brown or, less frequently, 
a white face, or a white line along the back.” 
Mr. W. C. L. Martin commits similar 
blunders. No white is admis,sable, except, 
perhaps, on the udder. Any other marking’s 
of white obviously denote strange blood. 
Even a white udder is not to be admired, and 
is exceptional. A coat ol brownish color is 
not uncommon ; indeed a brown tinge many 
breeders consider an indication of aptitude to 
fatten and as denoting rapid growth in their 
young stoek. It is necessary to state, how¬ 
ever, that tills brown is of a very peculiar 
hue, and the slighest tendency to red must 
be emphatically condemned. 
cfpdd ajrop. 
CORN IN ILLINOIS. 
W. C. Flagg, Superintendent of the Ex¬ 
perimental Farm of the Illinois Industrial 
University furnishes us the following report 
of experiments with the different varieties of 
corn there, which is of especial interest to 
coni growers and worthy space in our col¬ 
umns as a matter of record. The report says: 
Experiments were made with thirty-live 
varieties of corn, kindly furnished by J. B. 
Phinney, Esq., of Champaign county—a gen¬ 
tleman who has given this subject a great 
deal of attention, and has made experiments 
with most of the leading varieties. 
The ground upon which the corn was 
planted has been in cultivation about twenty 
years, without manure, and is of good quali¬ 
ty, though a little variable in its different 
parts. It was planted in corn in 1871, it was 
plowed about six inches deep, on the 25th of 
April, 1872, and on the Iflth of May, rolled 
and marked four by four feet. It was planted 
by hand, four grains to t he lull, and covered 
with t he hoe. One-eighth of an acre of each 
variety—live rows, sixteen rods Jong -were 
planted, except of the Black Purple, of which 
there was but one row, or one-fortieth of an 
acre. 
The corn was harrowed, May 25th, with 
Bakewell’s corn harrow, east and west; May 
30th, with the same implement, north and 
south. June 12th, it was plowed with a 
double-shovel plow, east aud west; June 26th, 
with the same plow, north and south ; July 
5th, east and west; and July l'Jth, north and 
south. 
The following is a list of the varieties 
planted, with remarks by Mr. Phinney and 
others: 
I— Flint Varieties. Not desirable for our 
W estern markets. 
1. Sanford. Late variety to ripen in Wis¬ 
consin, according to Prof. Daniels. 
II— White Varieties. 
2. Areola. From J. McCann of Douglass 
county; yielded 110 bushels per acre in 
1S70, and 80 bushels iu 1871. 
3. Butler county (Ohio). From Tuscola. 
4. Cooley's Burly. Received in 1872, from 
C. C. Cooley, Adams county, Ohib ; also, 
distributed by the Department of Agri¬ 
culture ; gave a poor yield at Wisconsin 
Agricultural College. 
5. Davidson ’h Ohio. From Champaign 
county fair, 1871. 
6. Early Small White. From Champaign 
county. 
7. Early White. From Tolono. 
8. Mammoth White. From Baltliis Cory- 
don, Indiana ; almost a humbug. 
9. Warder. Small, very early hominy 
corn, maturing August 15 ; has yielded 80 
bushels per acre, in Ohio, but not over 45 
with Mr. Phinuey. 
10. White (large). From Champaign county. 
11. WhiteHirer. From Tuscola. 
HI—Yellow Varieties. 
13. Banker’8 No. 1. From Ohio ; matures 
Sept. 10. 
13. Banker’s No. 2. From Ohio ; matures 
Sept. 15. 
14. Chester County (Penn.) From L. S. 
Pennington. 
15. Early Premium. Matures August 15. 
MOOFSE’S BUBAL NEW-Y0RKE8. 
16. Fayette county (Ohio). Very early; 
from Champaign county fair. 
17. QoUra, Very late variety, from Ken¬ 
tucky. 
18. II. C. Baufman. From Champaign 
county fair. 
19. Lancaster rowdy (Penn). From L. S. 
Pennington, Sterling; succeeded with 
him in 1871. 
20. Mammoth Yellow. From S. R. Bailey, 
Lima Ohio, 1872. 
21. McElvery. Second premium Cham¬ 
paign county fair, 
22. Mixed Ten. Grown by Mr. Phinney 
from a mixture of the kernels of the fol¬ 
lowing ten varieties:—Thomas, Goltra, 
Banker’s No. 1, Powell’s Early, Douglas, 
Nebraska, Premium Ohio, Petit, Terwil- 
liger, Hundred Day Dent. The yield from 
this mixture was the best on Mr. Pliin- 
uey's farm iu 1871. 
23. Ohio Premium. From Champaign 
county fair. 
24. Pickle. From Tuscola. 
25. Powell’s Early. Matures September 10, 
26. Reeves. From Tolono ; very early. 
27. Roderick. From Tuscola. 
28. Thomas. Five or six years from Ohio. 
29. Unknown. From Clermont county, 
Ohio. 
IV— Brown and Calico Varieties. 
30. Master. From Ohio, 1870. 
81. Large, Strander. An old variety ; me¬ 
dium in earliness. 
32. Lillie Strander, Very early. 
83. Roan. From Ohio. 
34. Strawberry or Calico. Formerly a 
great favorite ; early and prolific. 
V— Red Varieties. 
3.5. Black I’urple. From Fulton county, 
1871. 
Of these varieties, Mr. Phinney, with his 
present experience, preferred the following, 
all yellow :—Banker’s No. 1, Banker’s No. 2, 
(•ultra, Powell’s Early, and Thomas. 
The following table shows the maturity, 
August 2d, and the yield of ears, weighed as 
gathered, November 9th and following days, 
reduced to bushels per acre, of seventy 
pounds to the bushel: 
Mnturlty, Aiimist 2, of i HukIi. 
tunnels, 
Mlks, 
ntaliu } per 
ac. 
J I’T.I NT V ARIICTUSB. 
?. ban ford. 
out 
late 
short 
44,l| 
jj -White V arletuss, 
2. Areola.. . 
out 
late 
tall 
79.4 
It. Butler ciuinty. 
late 
lute 
medium 
74.2 
i. Cooley’* Early. 
out 
uie<J J in low 
70.3 
it. I )! 1 V ilWnll 8 Ohio.. 
Into 
lute 
medium 
0.1.1 
li. Early Small Wlilto our. 
out 
low 
42.2 
*. Murly White... 
out. 
lued'ru low 
01.7 
8. Mammoth White.. 
late 
IIOllO 
medium 
14.4 
y. Warder. 
out 
out 
medium 
43..') 
JO. While (lal ire). 
Into 
none 
medium 
03.2 
II. White River . 
Into 
none 
medium 
00.2 
ill Via.i.mv Varieties. 
12. Ranker'll No. 1. 
in t m! ’w it one 
medium 
02.8 
1,1. Hunker'* No. 2 — 
out 
lut« 
medium 
lift. 1 
li. Chester County.... 
out 
med'm medium 
33.7 
iu. Early Premium... 
OUt 
out 
medium 
52,8 
in. KuyeMe county.... 
out 
out 
low 
411.0 
17, ilo.tru. 
late 
IlOtlil 
medium 
01.7 
is. 11. C. Riumrnn — 
out 
out 
medium 
33.1 
10. Lancaster county. 
ollt 
med.ni low 
4H.K 
20, .Mammoth Yellow out. 
med’m low 
33.3 
21, Me I'll very .. 
out 
med'm tail 
70.0 
2",’. Miked Ten. 
out 
out 
tall 
60.0 
22. Ohio Premium — 
out, 
out 
medium 
OH. 4 
24. Piuklr. 
out 
lute 
tall 
011.1 
2ft. Powell'.-, Marly- 
out 
out 
medium 
01.7 
20. Reeves. 
out 
out 
medium 
01.7 
21. Roderick. 
out 
mod'm tall 
03.1 
2S. Thomas. 
out 
out 
medium 
03.1 
21*. 1 n known . 
late 
lute 
medium 
53.3 
IV—Brown and Calico Varieties. 
.10. Master. 
out. 
mi'd’in medium 
01.4 
ill. Larjfe Strander.,, • 
out 
med’m medium 
00.3 
12, Little Strander— 
out 
out 
low 
43.3 
3.1. Roan . . 
med’m lute 
tall 
60.8 
■H. Strawberry. 
53.7 
V-Ued Varieties.. 
,'l.i. Hlack Purjdo. 
out 
med’m tall 
80.0 
The heaviest yield, it will be observed, is 
from the Black Purple, which gave eighty 7 
bushels to the acre. Next comes the Aroolu, 
a wiiile variety, with 79.4 bushels to the acre, 
and next to this the McElvery, a yellow sort, 
which yielded seventy-six bushels, The av¬ 
erage bushels to the acre are as follows : 
Flint. 
44. 
White. 
02.1 
Voliow. 
. 13 
50.8 
Brown, etc... 
. 5 
53. 
Red. 
80. 
Total,. . . 
.35 
56.2 
The variation iu yield from different varie¬ 
ties is very considerable. One of the yellow 
varieties produced bub forty bushels to the 
acre, or only one-half the maximum yield, 
showing that the variety planted is no small 
factor in the product. 
• - ♦-*-♦ - 
FIELD NOTES. 
Sowing Corn .—In answer to your corres¬ 
pondent at Rahway, N. J., as to best way to 
sow corn for soiling purposes, I would state 
that the met hod adopted in this section is to 
drill about three bushels per acre with a 
grain drill. Mr. J. MoRKRDKRhas forseveral 
years past, drilled his com both ways with 
good success, as in t hat way the seed is dis¬ 
tributed over the ground inoreeveuJy. 1 saw 
last year a large crop of fodder grown from 
corn put in the sixth of July; if had quite 
large nubbins on the stalks. 1 tliink sweet 
corn is the best to sow fur fodder, as the cat¬ 
tle will cal it all uu clean and it keeps them 
fat. But Mr. C. J. Townsend, and others, 
prefer the Western Dent to any other kind.— 
H. C., Starkey , A. J. 
yfann d:conoinn. 
THE USE OF PLASTEE. 
W. T. Early wrote the Farmers’ Club of 
New York City, once, the following sensible 
statement of the use and value of land plaster 
or gypsum :—“ Plaster acts as a condenser of 
the ammonia of the atmosphere and of the 
soil. Plaster of Paris is composed of su Iphu ri <: 
acid and lime. A bushel of this substance, if 
it acted as a manure, would clearly exert but 
a very small effect, upon an acre of land by its 
chemical action upon plants, or by entering 
into combination in the growth of crops. By 
observation, however, it is concluded that 
Plaster of Paris acts as a condenser of ammo¬ 
nia, which is found everywhere in the atmos¬ 
phere and in all soils to a limited extent—that 
it holds this most subtle and powerful manure 
in its grasp, fixes it and gives it out to the 
growth of plants as they require it, instead 
of allowing the ammonia to pass away and 
remain unlixed and unadapted to plant 
growth 
“ There are a few phenomena which seem 
to me to fully establish the fact that this is 
the true explanation of the actiou of plaster : 
That only aeertain amount, will act. Thus a 
bushel to the acre, sown upon a clover field, 
acts as well as fifty bushels—showing that it 
does not act as a manure, as u stimulant, or 
a gastric juice, or in any other manner analo¬ 
gous to any of these agencies. 
“How a Hold with plaster in clover, or any 
other grass, leaving out a breadth, or in plas¬ 
tering a crop of tobacco—as I have frequently- 
seen it done—leaving a few rows without the 
application, ami the result will be that, while 
the parts of the crop to which the plaster is 
applied will he flourishing and green, those 
on which no plaster is put will be yellow and 
worthless, indeed greatly 7 inferior fo what 
they would have been had no plaster been 
placed in the adjacent parts of the field. 
“ llow can tins be explained except upon 
the hypothesis that the plaster draws from 
the atmosphere passing over it a part of its 
fertilizing properties and retains it for the 
use of the plants in proximity to it, while 
those portions whore there is no plaster do 
not thus derive this greater share from the 
atmosphere ( 
“ Again, sow upon a dunghill, steaming 
aud giving off ammonia, a quantity of plas¬ 
ter ; enough—it will stop the escape of gas. 
Wait awhile, until the plaster sown becomes 
saturated with the gas, and it will again 
begin to escape. 1’ut on plaster again, and it 
will stop ; aud so on until all the ammonia is- 
taken up and fixed. 
“Take Peruvian guano, whose great fertil¬ 
izing property is ammonia, mix plaster with 
it In proper quantity, and it will become 
inodorous. And so of any other animal or 
vegetable manure which gives off ammonia. 
“ Great Josses ure sustained in stables, in 
cesspools, in all animal and vegetable man¬ 
ures, by the escape of ammonia, w hich consti¬ 
tutes by far the richest part of all manures, 
Plaster of Paris may be most profitably 
employed in fixing this volatile and most 
valuable ingredient, to the great profit of the 
farmer and the public.” 
-*•♦4--- 
BRINGING UP AN OLD FARM. 
I. B. Johnson, Columbia Co., N. Y., writes : 
“ Having become the possessor of an old farm 
which has run to waste for a number of 
years, I am anxious to bring it up to a pro¬ 
ductive state, The soil is of a slaty nature, 
mostly, and the rocks come through in some 
places. It fronts the south, mainly. A large 
meadow has ft northern exposure ; soil rather 
wet and mucky. Any advice as to the best 
way in which to bring it, to a proper state of 
cultivation will be thankfully received.” 
Tiie quickest way we know of to “ bring 
up” any soil of the character described, is to 
first see that it is properly drained, where it 
needs draining, plow and .subsoil deeply—not 
inverting the surface soil more than six 
inches deep- procure, save and apply all the 
good barn yard and stable manure possible 
and sow und plow in green crops (such as 
clover, buckwheat, rye, peas, Ac.,) on soils 
for which you have no available barn-yard 
manure. The secret of success in bringing 
up soils is to drain, manure and give thor¬ 
ough culture. 
-♦♦♦- 
MIXED HUSBANDRY SOUTH. 
Eugene Easton, Grimes Co., Texas writes 
the Rural New-Yorker :—We are, at pres¬ 
ent, to a great extent, dependent on the West 
and North for our flout’ and meat,, our whole 
attention being given to producing- cotton ; 
consequently we fail to make the common ! 
necessaries of life. But the time has come 
when we must diversify our crops and not 
cultivate cotton to the exclusion of everything 
else. With the present scarcity of labor and 
the high price it commands, the profit on 
cotton, our chief crop, is cut quite short by 
the time it is put into market. There is a 
new era dawning in our State «.» regards farm 
operations, Fanners arc beginning to see 
that it pays better to put less ground in cul¬ 
tivation aud cultivate it better. 
DRAIN UNDER WALK. 
I wish to construct a drain under one of 
my garden walks that, will effectually carry 
i .11 all the slop-water from the house. What 
is the best material to use for that purpose, 
and its probable cost per foot, t — R. M. L., Oak 
Bum, X. K. 
Good tile of sufficient size to carry off your 
slops would be cheapest, because most dura¬ 
ble if well laid. Its cost would depend on its 
size, and upon your proximity to a manufac¬ 
tory. Probably a six-inch sole tile would be 
large enough. Messrs. C. W. Boynton A Co., 
Wood bridge, N. J., have advertised tile with 
us. Cement drains are ulso cheaply made, 
and for. such service would prove efficient, 
doubtless ; but wc know nothing of their cost. 
-■- 
ECONOMICAL N0TE8. 
Horse Urine .—A correspondent asks some 
one to inform him how to make a liquid that 
will contain all the parts of horse urine and 
how to use it in a compost of decayed leaves 
aud scrapings. We have no analysis of horse 
Urine—don’t know that any was ever made. 
The -way to use it or to utilize it is to pour it 
at once upon leaves, or mix it with gypsum 
in sufficient quantity to absorb the ammonia 
it contains. [Hince writing the foregoing, 
we find that the French chemists give the 
following as the constituents of horse urine : 
Carbonate of lime, 11 parts; carbonate of 
soda, '9; benzoate of soda, 24 ; muriate of 
potassa, 9; urea, 7 ; water and mucilage, 
940. Our correspondent will perceive that 
the best way to manufacture horse urine is 
to raise horses 1 
Tobacco Stalks for manure .—A correspond¬ 
ent of the Ne w England Homestead says lie 
thinks it safe to say that tobacco stalks con¬ 
tain one-third of the elements of the whole 
plant. He recommends utilizing them for 
manure, by raking them up iu spring and. 
throwing n few of them at a time into tho 
hog pen where the hogs work them up fine, 
thus becoming incorporated with excellent 
manure. 
1‘eruviaa Guano should be used to hasten 
I ho germination of see*l and tin; early growth 
of plants. It should always be supplemented 
by plenty of good bum-yard manure, if the 
gain resulting from its action in forcing plants 
in the early stages of their growth is to be sub¬ 
stantial. It should never be relied upon as a 
manure, but may profitably be used as a 
stimulant. 
“ Does Land Plaster Deteriorate by Age, t” 
So asks a correspondent of the Rural New- 
Yorker. If it is kept dry, its action when 
applied to land, is just us marked when it is 
five years old as when it is one. But in no 
case, judging both theoretically and from 
practical experience, does age affect its value. 
Setting Fence Posts .— Would you, or some 
of your subscribers, please inform me of the 
best method at setting fence posts in low or 
wet ground, to keep them from rising with 
the frost; also, the cheapest and best paint 
or composition to put on. them underground { 
An early answer will oblige —W.,N. Code. 
Close Mowing of Meadows , P. B. MeaciIEM 
isinformod is, In our opinion, very poor policy 
—indeed one cause of meadows “running 
out,.” It is equally as fatal to good meadows 
as late close cropping of meadow lands in tho 
fall by stock. Nothing is left for tho protec¬ 
tion of the root s in whiter. 
Wool Waste for Grass Lands is com¬ 
mended, spreading it on the grass late in the 
fall, just as it comes from the mill. The 
odor which arises from it renders it objec¬ 
tionable as a top-dressing for lawns about 
dwellings ; but for meadows it is asserted to 
be excellent. 
When to Subsoil.—A correspondent of the 
Rural New-Yorker asks the best time for 
subwiling stiff, medium and moderately 
light lands to prepare them for spring plant¬ 
ing. We answer, in the fall, for the stiff and 
medium soils, and at any time for moderately 
t soils. 
l a Fowl Guano for tobacco, a corre- 
ident of the N. E. Homestead says, is the 
and cheapest fertilizer he can use in its 
luction, He proposes to use no other 
mercial fertilizer. Other cultivators tes- 
in the same way. 
j 
