and harrowed level again previous to plant¬ 
ing, all of which will lessen the cultivation 
after the corn is planted. That planted 
later in ground well pulverized, In line tilth, 
and made warm by the exposure to solar in¬ 
fluence, wjII outstrip in growth corn planted 
earlier in soil so rough and hard that the 
delicate libers of the plant cannot penetrate 
it. Nothing is gained by planting too early, 
before the ground is made loose and warm. 
The next thing to be considered is, what 
kind of corn is best to plant so as to grow- 
early and favor the crop of clover, the seed 
of which is to be sown among it, just before 
passing the cultivator through for the last 
time and which is to cover the clover seed ? 
In latitude north of Maryland the eight- 
rowed yellow corn will he best to plant, in 
land of only medium quality, for that 
purpose. 
Here in Bucks Co., Pa., the corn fields 
are marked out four feet each way, and 
three or four grains planted to the hill, with 
compost or ashes at the time of planting, to 
give the infant germ a vigorous start. As 
soon as the corn has grown to finger height, 
the plowman begins to plow, with one horse 
and a light plow with a sharp, wide share to 
it, and plows from the corn both ways of the 
field, running the bar of the share very close 
to the small corn, leaving the hills standing 
on little isolated squares, high and dry, and 
secure from the cold and wet, exposing the 
most surface to the genial warmth of the sun. 
The ground, is left in this ridged up, rough 
condition for a few days, to allow 1 he sun to 
wilt the grass, and young weeds that may 
have started to grow, after which the earth 
is leveled by the cultivator and kept con¬ 
stantly stirred by the same implement, until 
the corn is a little more than knee high; 
then plow a shallow furrow close to the 
corn both ways of the field, afterwards 
resort to the cultivator again to level and 
mellow the ground. Then sow six quarts of 
clover seed to the acre, or more if it is cheap 
and plenty. 
Considering now that the ground is well 
and deeply pulverized, and the corn begin¬ 
ning to extend its roots and small fibres 
rapidly, all through the soil, it is best to stop 
art and let nature, with the aid of rain and 
sunshine, do the balance of the work 
towards perfecting the crop. Com and 
clover, thus planted together, will grow to 
advantage. The clover will usurp the place 
of weeds, and its growth will not 1)0 much, 
if any, detriment or disadvantage to the 
growth of the corn. Clover will grow on 
well manured coru ground quite a good 
crop from the first of July till winter sets in, 
if the season is moist and favorable, and it 
will make a good covering to protect the 
ground during winter. Experiments have 
been made, as to what amount of weight in 
tops and roots of clover, can l»e tints pro¬ 
duced among corn to the acre. One square 
yard dug tip by the roots and weighed, was 
found to weigh three pounds, at which rate 
an acre would yield more than seven tons of 
green vegetable matter to be added to the 
fertility of the soil. 
Rye A III OHS Corn. 
Rye may be reckoned among the best sub¬ 
stitutes for clover among corn; it will yield 
about the same amount of substance to the 
acre, but is of poor quality, compared to 
clover, for fertilizing land. One advantage 
claimed for rye is, it will make pasture for 
calves and sheep during the winter, when 
the ground is bare of snow. Tho calcula¬ 
tions here made are well worthy the thought 
and consideration of farmers, for many of 
them can try the same experiment without 
much extra cost or labor. If seven tons of 
vegetable matter can he added to the soil, at 
a cost of only a dollar or two per acre for 
clover seed and the trouble of sowing it, bet¬ 
ter have it done; for the land in our country 
requires something of the kind to resuscitate 
the impoverished soil, which in so many 
sections has been almost totally denuded of 
the elements of fertility. As renovating 
crops, 
Buckwheat and Turnip* 
can be sown among corn, idler the last culti¬ 
vation of the crop, with the same view of 
furnishing vegetable matter to cover and 
benefit the land during winter, but buck¬ 
wheat must be sown late enough in the sea¬ 
son to make it sure for frost to kill the seed 
and prevent its growing to perfection, lest it 
might, grow in the spring among the oats or 
any other crops cultivated, and become a 
troublesome weed. As for turnips among 
corn, many farmers would think it wonder¬ 
ful to sow three quarts of seed on an acre of 
ground, because, it is bought at a dear rate 
and used sparingly, only to raise crops for 
culinary purposes; but when the thing is 
looked' at. from a practical point of view, it, is 
no* *o much trouble to keep a barrel of tur¬ 
nip seed on hand to sow for manurial pur¬ 
poses; for it don’t require much labor to 
plant a few bushels of turnips and save the 
ced. Our good old friend and neighbor, 
David LANDW&Tif, raises immense crops of 
turnip seed on his gigantic seed farm in this j 
vicinity, ami uses steam power to propel the I 
machine to thresh out the most of his crop 
of seeds; and what he does on such a large I 
scale, can be done by farmers to the limited 
extent of a barrel or two, so as to have plen¬ 
ty of turnip seed to sow among oats and corn, 
to plow under for manure, or shade the 
ground against the sun or protect from the 
frost. If farmers would try one er more ex¬ 
periments every year, to ascertain which 
crops arc best and most profitable to raise, 
to add to the fertility of the soil and yield a 
good profit.; everything else relating to im¬ 
plements for farm management and modes of 
culture, and publish in the Rural New 
Yorker, it would be productive of much 
good, by the way of stimulating each other 
to do their utmost to arrest the destructive 
skinning system of farming, which is so rap¬ 
idly exhausting the soil of our highly favored 
country. ' 
lit conclusion, allow me to add that the 
suggestions in this communication, in regard 
to raising a corn crop in connection with 
clover, sown exclusively as a fertilizer, and 
a mulch to cover and keep warm the soil 
during winter, is presented with the view to 
excite among farmers an interest, in devising 
expedients to augment humus in the soil, in¬ 
stead of extracting every particle, and leav¬ 
ing it bare and sterile. p. f. w. 
Newportville, Ducks Co., Pa., March, 1870. 
---— 
ORCHARD GRASS. 
As inquiries have been made with regard 
to the value of orchard grass, and the best 
method of cultivating it, 1 will give my ex¬ 
perience with it. I do not consider it a very 
desirable crop to raise alone, as it is rather 
coarse, ami tends to form in bunches or 
bogs; but, mixed with red clover, it is ex¬ 
ceedingly valuable, and for these reasons:— 
It blossoms and is fit. to cut at the same time 
with clover ; it never lodges, and prevents 
the clover from lodging; it. towers up some 
two feet above the top of the clover, adding 
much to the weight of the crop, and makes 
a better quality of hay—the crop thus raised 
cures much easier than clear clover; it keeps 
much better in tho cock in case of rain; it 
can go in the barn sooner, and is not liable 
to injure in the mow. No one, who has 
never tried it, can imagine the amount and 
value of an acre’s yield of this mixture, and 
should it be stated it might be deemed in¬ 
credible. 
Now for the method of putting down 
such a meadow:—To obtain the very best 
results, it should not, be put. down with any 
other crop. Anything, whether animal or 
vegetable, to do first-rate, needs to have a 
good start. Let the ground he made rich—the 
richer the better- plowed deep, and mellow¬ 
ed very fine. If sandy land, not subject to 
heaving by frost, sow about the first of Sep¬ 
tember; if clay, as early in spring as the 
ground will work well. Bow one bushel of 
orchard grass seed and six quarts of clover 
seed to the acre. Sow the orchard grass 
seed one way, and cross-sow with the clover. 
Cover the seed with a fine hush or a light 
harrow, with teeth about two inches long, 
so as not to cover too deep, and leave the 
surface smooth. It is just as easy cutting 
six tons to the acre, by two mowings, as it 
is two or three. J. II. Woodburn. 
Kingsville, O., March, 1870. 
-- 
GRAIN CROPS—RELATIVE VALUE. 
Fno.M the Waterville Mail we extract the 
subjoined remarks of Mr. Parker, at the 
North Kennebec, Me., Fanners’ Club, upon 
the value of the different grain crops, as in¬ 
teresting, if not new, to farmers. He said 
there was little difference in the value of the 
three leading crops, wheat, barley and oats, 
under the same conditions, fortifying his po¬ 
sition by the following statement; 
“1 set the average yield of wheat, for t he 
last two years at 15 bushels per acre; oats50 
bushels, and bailey 30 bushels. The aver¬ 
age price of each has been, for wheat $2, 
oats (50 emits, and barley $t. Taking these 
figures the following results are obtained: 
15 bushels wheat at $2 per bushel, $30; 50 
bushels oats at 60 cents per bushel, $30; 30 
bushels barley at $1 per bushel, $30. Com¬ 
paring the number of pounds nf < aob taken 
from t.lm ground, we find that 50 bushels of 
oats, at 30 pounds per bushel, amount to 
1,500 pounds; 30 bushels of barley, at. 48 
pounds per bushel, amount to 1,440 pounds; 
15 bushels of wheat, at 60 pounds per bushel, 
amount to 000 pounds, showing an excess of 
00 pounds of oats over barley, and 600 pounds 
over wheal, and an excess of 540 in favor of 
barley over wheal. Comparing the cost of 
seed, we have tlie following result: Two 
bushels of wheat at $2 per bushel, $4; three 
bushels of oats at 00 cents per bushel, $1.80; 
two bushels of barley at $1 per bushel, $ 2 . 
Cost of wheat over oats, $2.20, and over bar¬ 
ley, $ 2 . These figures leave n small balance 
in’ favor of out.* over the wheat and barley, 
and of barley over wheat, saying nolhing of 
the difference in the number of pounds taken 
from the ground.” 
ifrbsntan. 
NOTES AND EXTRACTS. 
New York Yearliner*. 
Iverino S. Wright, Rose, Wayne Co., 
N. Y., claims that he has got the best, 
matched, best trained and largest pair of 
yearling steers in the Union. Their weight 
is 2,576 pounds, and only twenty-four pounds 
difference in their weight. 
Preventive of PI nr ruin. 
I. N. Churchill writes the Rural that 
he never knew any one to lose cattle by 
murrain if the animals had been bled by 
cutting off the ends of their tails, or in some 
other way, just as they' begin to thrive in 
spring. 
Sudden Denth of n Cow. 
S. II. Morton, Pontiac Mich., owned a 
cow, went to the lmrn the other morning to 
milk her, found her dead, having died ap¬ 
parently without a struggle. She was 
perfectly well at ten o’clock the night before. 
When found she was yet warm, and was 
in the afternoon when cut open, and bled 
freely when cut with the knife. No cause 
for her death was found. He is curious to 
know what ailed her. Was she dead ? We 
doubt it. 
Abortion in Cow*. 
Dr. McClure furnished the Practical 
Farmer the following as a preventive of 
abortion:—“ Powdered sulphate of iron, two 
drachms; powdered gentian root, half an 
ounce; mix and make one dose. This will 
lie a powerful tonic, adding richness to the 
blood, strengthening the mucous surfaces and 
imparting health and strength to the whole 
system, thereby enabling the animal to carry 
her young to its full time. Good and gene¬ 
rous feeding is also a preventive by itself, but 
bettor in conjunction with the above 
powder.” 
A Large Cow. 
Daniel Bradley, King’s Ferry, Y. Y., 
writes us of a cow lie lias recently seen, six 
years old, and never had a calf; is over 
seventeen hands high and girths about nine 
feet. Her estimated weight is three thousand 
pounds, and he js convinced it is not over¬ 
estimated. The cow is not fat but is good 
beef. She is fed about six quarts of meal 
per day , is to be fed another year or more, 
and her owner thinks he can put on nearly 
a thousand pounds of flesh before she can be 
called fat. Her sire was part, Durham and 
her mother a native cow. Our correspond¬ 
ent does not give the name of t he owner. 
Sore Teat* 
Colrt Weather. 
Inquiries Concerning Kidd Crops. —A West 
Virginia correspondent asks some one having 
experience in tobacco culture to give the best 
mode of pluming, cultivating, &e.—A Stark Co., 
O., correspondent asks:—** How fur a part, should 
the rows of broom corn bo ? How many stalks 
should be left in a hill, in order to raise good 
inarkotalile brush? Does the corn require to he 
broken once or twice In order to keep the brush 
straight? How do you save the seed for feed ? ” 
If it is t he first calf, the young cow’s teats 
are tender and will get sore quickly. Let 
the calf suck, and then wipe the teats dry; 
grease them with soft, lard.; wash clean with 
warm water before the next milking. When 
milking, wet the teats with milk often; but 
when near done, let the hand dry the teat. 
1 always wash teats before milking. This 
keeps them soft, and if moistened with milk 
slightly, they dry quick, and will not crack. 
Washing them with cold water, or milking 
with dry hands, will make them sore and 
crack.—c. w. b. 
Dutch and Jersey Crosses. 
The Committee on G-rade Heifer Calves 
appointed by the Middlesex, Mass., Ag. Soc., 
in its Report, express the. opinion that, much 
good will result by experiments in crossing 
various breeds of stock, by producing a 
change in certain peculiarities of form and 
condition. This was noticed especially in 
the crossing of the Dutch with the Jersey, 
resulting in a thinner skin and a finer limb 
than can be found in the pure Dutch; and 
Uic cross of the Jersey with the Dutch pro¬ 
duced a fuller proportion of quarter, a 
rounder form of trunk and a hardier general 
appearance than is found in the pure Jersey. 
The Committee thinks these experiments in 
crossing may he profitably extended toother 
breeds, so that objections iu the form of one 
may be over balanced by an opposite excel-, 
leuce in the other. 
Constipated Cattle. 
H. Nash, Paulding Co., Ohio, writes the 
Rural that Ills experience has taught him 
that from one-quarter to one-half pound each 
of common salt and Epsom salts will save 
hundreds of cattle’s lives that annually die 
from constipation or dried up “manifold,” if 
given in time. He has given this dose but 
once to cows that had passed bloody urine 
faeces for several days, and It operates quick¬ 
ly and thoroughly as a physic, and the 
patient soon recovers. He adds:—“I be¬ 
lieve that many cattle are supposed to have 
bloody murrain when they pass bloody urine 
and discharges, when the only trouble is the 
“ manifold ” lias become so dry that there is 
no passage through them; then a thorough 
purging would bring them all right. Cattle 
will lick up the salt and salts readily when 
given them.” 
A Entile Cow. 
C. A. Reed of Ohio writes the Rural 
that he has a cow that has become so lame 
in her hind foot that she can scarcely move 
about. When she walks she steps upon her 
toes or the fore part of her bool's and cringes 
and walks with difficulty. No external in¬ 
jury can be found ; she has not been hurt in 
any way, is perfectly healthy, eats well, and 
is not lame anywhere else. Our correspond¬ 
ent asks the cause and remedy for the 
lameness. Wc cannot reply. We have 
seen animals act in the way described (ex¬ 
cept that they had ceased to chew their 
cuds and to eat, and the eyes looked dull 
and heavy,) that afterward died of what is 
known variously as “ Quarter-evil,” “ Black 
leg,” etc. The remedies Youatt recom¬ 
mends are profuse bleeding and purging. 
But we are not sure, by any means, that the 
correspondent’s animal has this disease. We 
rather doubt it. 
To Cure Hard Milking Cow*. 
D. It. Barker sends us the following from 
the Fraloniu Censor, which he contributed 
thereto:—I have read a score of articles 
asking for a cure for hard milkings and 
slow milking cows. The answer is, “ It is 
said the knife can be used safely and success¬ 
fully.” I assert there is danger in the use of 
a knife to open the orifice. This is my an¬ 
swer to that question, t. e .: “ How shall 1 
cure my hard milking cow ?” Take a clean, 
smooth knitting needle wire, No. 16, heat it 
red hot, (use a candle at your side, and heat 
about one-half inch from the end,) and burn 
out the orifice. Perform the operation quick¬ 
ly, (say one second,) and the cow will not, 
move, nor will she notice it afterwards. No 
blood runs, no soreness occurs. I have 
known it to be tried, and never knew it to 
fail. Don't wring or twist the needle,— 
straight in and straight out, quickly, are the 
directions. If you wish to use a larger or 
smaller needle, do so, but not so large as to 
make the cow leak her milk. 
WntorhiK Cntllo in Trnnnlt. 
An invention for this purpose has been 
patented in England, of which the Farmer, 
Edinburgh, says:—“The plan consists in 
providing a cistern, holding about forty gal¬ 
lons, which is fixed on the outside of an or¬ 
dinary cattle truck. On each side are five 
outlets in the pipes, to which India rubber 
pipes are fixed, and attached to these are 
round tin pans, of ten inches in diameter and 
three inches in depth. When the cattle re¬ 
quire to be watered, these pans are placed 
on the floor of the truck. This is done from 
the outside, there being sufficient room for 
them to pass between the floor and the lower 
rail. The water is then turned on from the 
upper cistern, and, having risen a proper 
height, in the pans, is shut off by a ball valve. 
As the catllc drink, the water keeps running 
in, the ball valve preventing it from flowing 
over. The cattle having been watered, th^ 
pans are taken out and hung up. outside the 
truck, sufficiently high to keep the India 
rubber pipes quite tight. By this plan, the 
inventor tells us, the ordinary cattle trucks 
arc made available at a small cost—a fact 
which leads to the hope that it maybe taken 
advantage of by railway authorities as in¬ 
volving no addition to their rolling stock." 
-*-*■♦- 
TWO DROVERS TALK. 
nnyhisr Gras* and Water-Smllcil Beeves 
Domestic Philosophy. 
On the train from Pittsburg last evening 
I was much interested in a talk between two 
well-known Western drovers, who were re¬ 
turning from market. I took notes on the 
margin of my newspaper, and present the 
cream thereof: 
“ I always try to buy good cattle, and pay 
what they arc worth to me, hut I will not 
buy a steer full of grass and water. Mv 
stock are sold from the pasture early in the 
morning. 1 sold one hundred ami seventy 
head of nice steers, by telegraph, at nine 
cents per pound, home weight. I took them 
out, early and weighed them. After nearly 
two years I was complimented on the trans¬ 
action, and sold a bunch of cattle in a hard 
market on my reputation with that dealer. 
Yes, of course! I could have made five hun¬ 
dred dollars by weighing them full, but it 
would not pay. It is as dishonest to sell 
stock full of grass and water, as to sell sand 
in sugar or water in milk.” 
“ Do you feed much corn ?” 
“ Not so much as the most cuttle men. I 
begin early before grass fails and feed light, 
increasing as the frost kills the grass, until 
they get what' (hey will cat. 1 feed in the 
field. The pasture, with the corn, keeps the 
sap in the steer. You kHpw that the sap 
leaves the steer as fast as it? does the grass. 
Unless you begin to feed early your cattle 
will shrink. I never buy cattle to feed un¬ 
less their hair lies smooth and soft; then 
keep them growing until I market them. I 
do not feed much corn at present prices. I 
find it more profitable to pasture and feed 
light. It is safer than to buy, for no nfsm 
can tell how to buy for the present markets. 
I like to deal with a man! Why,I have 
some neighbors who have to be watched. I 
am obliged to go early and sec the stock 
weighed, and tlieu sometimes they get the 
start of me and salt their stock, so that I 
have to weigh them full of water.” 
“That’s just my experience, too! Don’t 
you know that people are becoming more 
dishonest every day? There is a new kind 
of honesty now. It is “ Law honesty ” — to 
he just honest enough to keep inside of the 
law. Why, when I go through the country 
I sec five men idle where one is at work, 
except in the harvest season. I meet farm¬ 
ers’ boys iu their trotting wagons, spinning 
along behind a fast horse. Paper collars 
line the wayside. I tell you the people are 
degenerating.” 
“I can’t agree with you entirely. Ma¬ 
chinery has made a revolution in farming 
that is a blessing to the people. They have 
more time for improvement and pleasure. 
Those paper collars, I find, are cheaper than 
the linen ones I used to wear; besides, there 
are hundreds of poor women and children 
employed making them. We must not ex¬ 
pect our children to do ns wc did fifty years 
ago. We are thankful that we can give 
them better advantages than wc enjoyed. I 
try to learn my boys the value of money,— 
the value of one dollar; and I teach them 
how to trade, buy and sell. I don’t expect 
them to make money every time. If they 
make a had bargain, I tell them to he more 
careful, but it don’t do to scold, for you know 
we make poor trades sometimes. I tell you 
that farmers miss it by not interesting their 
children in their business. Do it when they 
are young—before habits are formed. Don’t 
let your children think, ‘ Father has enough 
for us.’ 1 have seen families ruined by de¬ 
pending upon what their parents had accu¬ 
mulated. Another mistake that many men 
have made is by not making partners of their 
wives. I have often wished I knew as much 
as my wife, Wc have but one interest at 
home; that is ours. When my children 
want to start for themselves I help them. I 
try to give them, while at home, that expe¬ 
rience which will enable them to prosper.” 
“ Do you employ much help ?” 
“ Yes, considerable; most ly married men, 
to whom 1 furnish houses and garden ground. 
I go to my merchant and tell him my hands 
want orders for goods, and that I w ill settle 
every thirty days; that these orders must 
buy his goods as cheap as cash. If I find 
that they do not, I change my custom to an¬ 
other merchant.” 
“Your plan is a good one for you, per¬ 
haps, but I never run in debt for anything 
If we needed goods, we waited until we 
could pay for them. It is the duly safe way 
to do. I owe my success to—” 
“Bridgeport!” calls out the brakemnn, 
and tlius ends my notes of the “Drover’s 
Conversation.” e. f. m. 
%bt 
PIG-PEN PAPERS. 
8oiiirtlilitK About C'lic*lilres. 
JonN T. Smith writes us that his experi¬ 
ence lias made this breed his favorite. Says 
“the improved Cheshire is the result of a 
cross between Yorkshire and Cheshire. They 
are some larger than the fine Cheshire, hut 
about the same style. They have tine bone 
and hide, small, upright ears, heavy hams 
and shoulders, and of great length and size; 
pure white in color, easy keepers, and will 
do well on a small amount of feed. They 
fat well young, reaching the weight of three 
hundred pounds at eight months, on ordin¬ 
ary feed. No matter how thin.a sow is, alter 
suckling pigs, she can be made lit for the 
butcher in six week's. The Cheshires com¬ 
mand from $J to $1,50 per one hundred 
pounds more than the Chester Whites, on 
account of the fineness of their meat and 
bone, and small amount of offal.” 
A Prolific Chester How. 
Calvin Cutter writes:—“I have a 
brood sow (Chester county) of my own 
raising. She w T as six years old the 14Ui 
inst, She has had c-leven litters of pigs, 
numbering two hundred and sixteen in all; 
the last litter, twenty pigs, is now by her 
side. We call her “ Lit-ter-a-ry Topsey.” 
I have twelve brood sows that have had lit¬ 
ters of pigs since January 16, 1870. They 
had one hundred and fifty-seven living pigs 
—an average of thirteen and a-lialf pigs 
per litter. If any of your readers have 
swine that can beat these in fecundity, I 
will present him with a fine Chester county 
Pig” 
Ilow to Rear Piurs. 
S. R. Carathers, Round Gap, Texas, (see 
Rural March 5, page 158,) can do as much 
as he pleases with pigs and hogs, with his 
plenty of potatoes and milk. The former 
should not have either corn or meal till they 
are at least four months old, and then only 
sparingly, increasing the amount as they 
grow. They should be fed regularly three 
times each day. Washing and scouring 
them will pay, once (or oftener) each week. 
M Hag gar. 
Wheat for Pi as. 
An Edgewood, S. C., correspondent says 
“ P. W. P. (see Rural March 5, page 158) 
will fiud his wheat to answer every purpose 
for his hogs, If lie does not grind it, I would 
advise hi pi to sprout it before feeding." 
