214 
ORE’S  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
Jarm  (gronomti. 
USE  AND  BENEFITS  OF  PLASTER. 
From  a  very  able  and  intereatiug  oHHay  on  tliia 
knotty  Hubject,  by  Prof.  O.  0.  ('aldwki.l  of 
Cornell  Univeinity,  in  the  Tributio,  we  co^y  tlie 
following : 
Next  tn  the  iiae  of  plaater  on  clover,  ita  aijpli- 
cation  to  young  corn  in  perliitpK  (be  moat  com¬ 
mon  ])racti<x'.  About  a  tuliIeHpCMinrnl  in  given  to 
each  lull  by  Home  farmera  jiiat  hk  (be  corn  ap- 
IKjara  above  (be  ground,  by  otberM  not  till  it  is 
two  or  tlir<?e  inchcH  high,  while  othcrH  still  apply 
it  before  the  corn  haa  come  up  at  all.  Tie?  gen¬ 
eral  testimony  of  farmera  who  uao  plasU*r  in  this 
way  is  very  omphatjc  in  its  favor.  Home  who 
have  left  rows  of  corn  taiplaKtered  by  the  side  of 
others  that  were  plastered  as  usual  assjo  t  that 
the  differc'nce  in  favor  of  the  plastered  rows  was 
unquestionable. 
As  U:>  the  niunner  in  which  phiHkr  acts  when 
apphed  to  (he  soil,  1  shall  have  to  confess  at  the 
outset  that  the  mode  of  its  action  has  not  yet 
l)een  satisfactorily  expliiined.  Tturo  aro  many 
ways  in  which  it  may  a<!(.  but  it  cannot  be  proved 
positively  that  it  does  act.  in  any  one  of  these 
w'ays  alone  in  any  given  case.  It  may  servts  to 
feed  the  plant  with  lime  and  sulphuric  acid ;  but 
there  is  generally  a  surticieut  supply  of  both  of 
those  elements  of  j)laiit  fowl  in  the  soil,  and, 
moreover,  tb“  crops  n»ost  benefited  by  plas¬ 
ter  arouot  tlmse  that  make  the  heaviest  demand 
on  the  soil  for  lime  and  snlplumic  acid.  It  may 
serve  to  fix  atmosplnwlc  coJiibincd  lutrogon,  nn<l 
bring  it  within  the  reai-h  of  the  plant,  but  the 
qu.antity  of  plaster  that  remains  on  or  near  the 
Biu’faco  of  the  soil,  wlu'i'e  it  wi.)uld  bo  in  a  ]S)hi- 
tion  to  act  in  this  way,  is  (oo  small  for  the  ac- 
comi)lislunent  of  tliis  woi  k  to  any  such  degree  as 
to  make  it  of  much  service  to  the  i)laiit.  Fmth- 
ormorc,  the  clover  ])lant,  whicli  is  most  bene¬ 
fited  by  an  application  of  plaster,  is  roiuarkably 
indifferent  as  regards  the  suiqdy  of  oombiued 
nitrogen  in  the  soil,  so  that  the  fixation  of  am¬ 
monia  tluiro  would  bo  of  no  siwcial  service  to  it. 
It  lias  boon  found  that  iilaster  in  (lie  soil  m.ay 
increase  tlio  solubility  of  potash,  a  very  inqiort- 
aiit  element  of  ].fiant-food  that  is  present  thereto 
a  largo  extent  in  forijiK  with  ihfiicnlty  solu¬ 
ble,  and  therefore  not  readily  available  to  tlie 
plant ;  hut,  if  this  ho  the  only  explanation  of  its 
action,  that  plaster  helps  to  bring  a  greater  sup¬ 
ply  of  ixitash  within  the  reach  of  the  plant,  then 
ajiplicatioii  of  ashes  should  tirodneo  the  same 
etfoot  as  one  of  plaster.  This  has  not  been  found 
to  be  the  case,  at  least  wit)i  clover.  Ilu;  dilliculty 
is.  however,  in  a  measure  reinoved  by  anotlicr 
elfoot  pi'oduced  by  plaslei’ ;  not  only.doos  itnicike 
the  potash  in  the  soil  more  soluble,  hut  it  also 
appears  to  assist  the  plant  in  some  way  to  take 
up  an  additional  <juantity  of  the  ixitash  which 
it  has  first  brought  within  easier  reach.  Tlio 
plaster  not  only  helps  to  cook  the  dinner,  but 
also  to  get  It  eat-en.  If  two  I'lants  aro  ma<lo  to 
I  grow  In  Holiitioim  containing  all  Uie  needed  ele¬ 
ments  of  their  food,  including  potash,  ami  one  of 
these  solutions  contains  sulphate  of  lime  and  the 
other  does  not.  a  mneli  larger  {piautity  of  jiotash 
will  be  taken  up  by  the  plant  that  is  growing  in 
the  solution  containing  plaster  than  by  (  ho  other. 
I’lastcr  also  helps  to  bring  oilier  elements  of  ’ 
plant-food,  such  as  phosiihoric  acid,  ammonia,  - 
and  magnesia  into  solution,  so  that  it  may  give  1 
aid  to  tho  plant  in  obtaining  its  supjdy  of  otlior  t 
food  besides  ix>tash.  1 
As  to  the  very  common  impression  that  plaster  * 
draws  water,  it  must  bo  said  m  truth  that  while  * 
it  apix:.ar8  to  be  impossible  that  tiiis  substance 
should  exert  any  action  of  this  kind,  yet  such  a 
wide-spread  opinion  on  the  part  of 'those  who 
have  used  plaster  is  not  to  be  removed  by  sunjily 
laugliing  at  it.  I  have  had  the  account  from  a  ^ 
gent  leman,  who  is  one  of  the  most  tmstworthy  ^ 
contributors  to  (his  department  of  tho  Tribune,  * 
that  as  he  has  walked  in  (he  morning  across  a  b 
jiastiirc  that  was  plastered  in  strips  his  Ixiots 
wmild  lie  wet  with  dew  only  wliilo  crossing  tlio  ^ 
plaslored  strips,  and  this  wiis  ohstTved,  too.  long  *  ' 
after  the  plastta-  was  aiqJied.  I  find  it  hold  to 
believe  this  story,  and  yet  1  <-auuot  disbelieve  the 
man.  There  is  a  mode  of  notion  of  plaster  on 
vegetation  that  is  somewhat  akin  to  Uiat  of  ibaw- 
ing  nu'isturc.  Many  snhstiiueos,  wlien  taken 
into  tJie  sap  at  tho  roots,  may  serve  to  make  the 
same  qiiantitj'  of  water  move  more  slowly  tliroiigh 
the  jilaiit  from  the  roots  to  the  haves,  where  it 
esca]xj8  into  tho  atmosphere  by  evaporation. 
This  upward  movcniont  of  water  and  its  cvaixi-  S*- 
ration  from  the  foliage  is  hindered  to  a  greater 
e.vtent  by  plaster  than  by  any  other  substance 
that  ordinarily  enters  into  tho  sap.  Tliiia  it  aj)- 
pears  to  bo  a  most  ctticiont  agent  for  1  undoring  '  rei 
tlie  waste  of  water,  so  to  speak,  and  making  it  roi 
last  longer.  lu  this  way  it  may  fuiHluce  practi-  dr 
oally  the  same  effect  as  that  of  a  body  which  sa 
would  actually  attract  moisture  to  vegetation  or  sp] 
to  tho  soil.  I  have  thus  passed  ia  review  very  "il 
briefly  the  several  modes  of  action  of  plaster  by  tin 
which  itmsy  possibly  serve  to  increase  the  growth 
of  vegetation,  but  I  cannot  designate  any  one  of 
Ihem  as  the  one  way  in  which  it  dixfs  act.  either 
in  any  given  case  or  in  all  cases.  If  BUpf:rj>lios- 
pbato  jiriKlucoH  a  grout  increase  of  the  croj)  to 
whicli  it  is  applitsi,  we  know  that  the  effect  is 
j  produced  by  tho  phosphoric  acid  or  the  nitrogen 
r  of  tho  fertilizer.  If  rhili  saltpeter  is  used  with 
,  giKHl  effect  wo  know  jiositively  that  tho  result 
was  due  to  the  nitrogen  of  the  nitric  acid  in  the 
saltpeter  j  but  it  is  quite  otberwiso  witli  plaster, 
and  till  favored  with  more  light  I  cannot  do  liet- 
lertlmnte  allow  the  iiossibility  of  its  action  by 
all  llu)  niixlcH  which  I  have  notice<l,  not  cxcept- 
^  ing  eviai  the  iMJHsibility  that  it  draws  moisture, 
or  rather  saves  water. 
- ♦♦♦  ■ 
,  EXPERIMENTS  WITH  SUPERPHOSPHATE. 
1  • 
Mr.  E.  li.  Towle  of  West  Berkshire,  Vt. ,  relates 
in  the  Boston  {killivator  some  very  interesting 
and  successful  experimonte  with  superphosphate 
inasU!  by  himself  and  his  neighbors.  He  says: 
I  use  it  on  potaiocs,  soil  a  gravelly  loam,  previ¬ 
ously  In  grass,  lurnod  over  last  spring,  and  no 
manuiv  used,  only  snperjilmsjibute  in  tho  hill. 
Tim  yield  was  Iticreasixl  alxnit  50  jut  cent  alxive 
that  wliei'n  no  fertilizer  was  used,  and  the  crop 
was  of  gixsl  (piality  and  <juite  free  from  tho  do- 
jiredatioiiK  of  tlm  white  grub,  that  made  sad 
liavoc  with  many  fields  in  this  vicinity. 
A  fanner  in  another  town  ohtuiiw'd  the  follow¬ 
ing  resnite  with  jxitatoos;  fkii),  greon  sward  and 
gravelly  Joani,  TJot  with  no  inamiro  yieldwi  at 
tlm  rale  of  173  bushels  to  Urn  acre,  quality  infe¬ 
rior.  riot  with  liorse  manuro  harrowed  in,  240 
bushels,  ami  another  plot  with  matniro  and  a 
tablos|K>onfnl  of  HUiuTphoHjihate  in  tlie  hill,  at 
tho  rate  of  .‘KM)  Ihs.  jut  acre.  300  Imshels  to  the 
acre,  the  tul/ers  Is-ing  of  uniform  size  and  excel¬ 
lent  (piality.  The  last  plot  gave  an  increase  of 
120  bushels  JUT  aero  ov(T  that  treahxl  with  ma¬ 
nure.  and  187  above  that  with  the  fertilizer.  Omi 
hundred  and  twenty  bushels  at  30c.  a  bushel 
would  Is,;  •'f30,  minus  si'10.25  for  snjsTphoHphate, 
lt;aves  6‘25.75  as  jirolit  alsive  ixist  of  fertilizer. 
J.ast  year  the  coni  croji  was  very'  jxior,  owing 
to  the  bnckwardiM'HS  of  the  Hi.;HSon.  ami  although 
a  fair  growth  was  obtained  the  corn  did  not 
rijs.-n,  and  in  consequence  some  was  not  hnskod, 
and  much  (hat  was  husked  has  since  hurt  m  the 
crib.  Tlm  farmer  alluded  to  found  the  snper- 
jilioHjihato  to  give  as  good  a  yield  as  where  hog 
manun>  was  used  in  the  hill,  and  also  that  it 
matm-cd  earlier.  Notwillistariding  tho  cold  and 
wet  season  auothei  farmer  in  a  tow'n  adjoining 
rairutd  as  sound  corn  ivith  this  (Vrtilizer  asln;  had 
ever  done  before  with  manure,  and  Ixjth  wcjr;  I 
jiarlienlarly  I'li.-ased  with  its  effects  in  tlm  gar¬ 
den. 
A  friend  in  my  own  town  jilantisl  oiu-half  acre 
to  corn  w  ith  no  oUier  fertilizer  hut  a  large  sjioon- 
ful  of  sni(erphosph.ato  in  the  liill.  The  ground 
until  (he  j'our  j'revious  had  been  in  jiastnrc,  and 
had  Ix'como  thoroughly  ov»;rgidwn  witli  brakes. 
Itwa.s  first  plowed  and  sown  with  buckwheat, 
which  rotted  tho  turf,  but  no  manure  was  aji- 
plied.  The  gi'owth  of  corn  was  very  large  and 
the  crop  became  wt*ll  ripemsl.  I  saw,  selected  ;  j 
from  this  half  acre,  2.5  long  tnu'(;s  hanj^iig  in  a 
row,  the  tuist  exhihition  of  see<l  com  1  ever  saw  , 
at  ono  time.  This  field  was  sheltered  somewhat  j 
fooui  jirevailing  cold  wimls,  with  an  inclination  to 
the  east,,  which  was  favorable  for  the  season,  but  j 
I  ctmsider  the  results  iis  most  extraordinary,  and  ^ 
jxjrhaps  may  be  duo  iu  a  measure  to  (ho  facd  j 
that  tho  land  had  lM;en  so  long  in  pasture,  al-  ^ 
though  it  was  stetixl  to  me  that  it  was  exhausted  j 
by  continued  cTopjring,  inobubly  without  manure, 
some  40  years  ago,  ^ 
♦  -*■4  p 
PASTURING  MEADOWS.  I  e 
ground  clear  and  open  to  tho  warmth  and  light 
of  sjiring. 
How  much  clover  is  injured  by  close  pasturing 
may  lu!  seen  by  watching  the  bad  effect  which  a 
wagon  track  has  made  a(*j-oss  the  field,  llie 
crowns  of  tlio  clover  roots  will  he  Toiind  broken 
down,  and  the  jilants  moke  about  as  f(x;bIo  and 
stunted  a  growth  as  com  plants  would  tinder 
similar  circumstances.  'J'hc  hoof  of  a  hors<;  or 
cow  is  little  less  destructive  to  clover  wherever  it 
touches.  Of  course,  in  rich  full  feed  cattle  will 
wander  but  little  and  tlm  injury  will  be  less ;  but 
whoever  expccte  to  get  the  best  result  from  having 
his  fields  seeded  with  clover  should  sec  to  it  that 
stock  of  any  kind  is  kejit  out  of  them,  and  that 
their  crop  is  allowed  to  obtain  nearly  its  full 
growth  licforc  cutting. 
(Trojjs. 
A  PARAORArii  is  traveling  quite  extensively 
through  oiu-  agritsultural  exchanges,  recommend¬ 
ing  pnstiuing  meadows  as  a  means  of  making 
(hoiu  more  productive.  It  gives  Ihe  name  of  a 
practical  fimner  wlio  has  tried  it,  and  is  sure  lie 
knows  that  jiasturing  is  the  preferable;  practice. 
All  which  shows  that  tlmre  are  exct'ptions  to  all 
rules.  It  is  jmsbible  that  niider  some  circum¬ 
stances  past.niing  uiciidows  may' ho  really  bcnc;- 
licial ;  but  it  by  no  means  follows  lliat  it  is  to  bo 
generally  recommeuded.  For  tlio  great  majority 
of  meadows  pasturing  at  any  season  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  injurious.  Tlm  roots,  both  of  clover  and 
iiniothy,  are  very  liable  to  iujiu-y  by  tho  tramp¬ 
ing  of  cattle  at  any  season.  Cropping  tho  hei'b- 
age  diminishes  the  vigor  of  the  plant.  If  fed 
down  in  spring,  it  will  usually  be  impossitlo  to 
got  more  tlian  half  a  crop.  If  fed  closely  after 
haying,  the  natural  sholteffof  the  plant  and  roots 
for  wiuter  is  desteoyod. 
The  exception  to  this  is  where  blue  grass  or  J 
red  top  oomiiletcly  occupy  the  soil.  Their  fine  ' 
roots  ai’e  scarcely  iujnrod  when  tho  ground  is  I 
dry,  and  tho  lomovul  of  surjilus  grass  leaves  the 
surface  more  open  to  tho  warm  simshino  of  (;arly 
ajiriiig.  The  intense  cold  of  winter  on  a  dry  soil  i 
will  nut  injure  the  roots  of  such  a  meadow',  and 
tlicre  is  a  positive  advantage  in  having  the  i 
JUNE  GRASS  OR  BLUE  GRASS. 
The  Canada  Farmer  recently  published  an  il¬ 
lustration  and  deHcrijdiun  of  tlm  (jualities  of  this 
well  known  hnt  vaiionsly  esteemed  grass.  In 
Kentucky  tho  Blm;  Grass  is  considereil  tho  V(;ry 
best  of  grasses.  In  an  address  before  a  Shelby 
County  Grange,  jiuhlishod  iu  the  Funm  rs'llomo 
Journal,  Chaplain  Blaydes  gave  the  following 
three  jinimincnt  characteristics  as  esjiecially 
commending  it  to  favor  ; 
J  'irst  -Its  capacity  to  yield  an  ahnndant  jjas- 
tmage.  This  characteristic  of  the  vai'iety  named 
is  sjijiarent  to  all  whose  attention  has  lx;(.;u 
dircch;d  to  tliis  mutk;r,  hh  it  will  yield  rich  g'raz- 
ing  the  year  round,  and  may  bo  almost  classoil 
with  the  evergreens.  All  this  consjjires  hi  give  it 
a  very  high  jilace  hi  oiir  favor  for  winter  grazing. 
It  is  a  familiar  fact  that  in  wtiai  is  proverbially 
known  as  tlm  Bine  Grass  region,  this  grass  has 
attained  a  very  high  stale  of  cultivation,  sjxjcial- 
ly  for  winter  jiastiirage  ;  while  in  an  adjoining 
and  sister  state  (Indiana),  tlierc  arc  a  iiumlxT  of 
counties  in  wliich  this  grass  is  fosh  red  with  a 
view  to  Ixitii  Buummr  and  whi((;r  grazing. 
Hccond— Its  fatt<;niug  (jnalllics  are  ooncedixl 
by  nil  to  be  CMjual.  if  not  Mijierior  to  that  of  any 
other  grass,  aud  for  cattle  it  has  no  cijnal  among 
all  the  grasses,  giving  rise  to  tlic  most  savory  of 
moats.  EHjmciaJly  for  miloli  cows  docs  itei  x- 
cellonce  manifest  itself,  in  tlm  rich  flow  of  swtsit 
and  oily  cream  from  whicli  the  choicest  butter  (s 
inadi,;.  1  ouoo  licard  a  brotlicr  farmer  remark 
that  ho  liad  a  large  wisxlland  jiustiue,  set  in 
bine  grass,  which  ho  usually  used  for  smnnmr 
grazing ;  but  being  advised  by  a  friend  to  cut 
j  the  pasture  in  two  and  keeji  one-balf  of  it  for 
winter  pasture,  Im  was  prev.ailed  on  to  act  out 
this  suggestion,  and  he  rcmRrlv»;d  that  he  turned  I 
about  ihirty  head  of  cattle  on  in  the  early  jiart 
of  winter,  and  they  remained  on  it  during  the 
winter,  without  having  been  foil  any.  cxct;pt 
only  when  iJierc  w  as  snow  or  sleet  on  tho  ground. 
HO  th.at  they  could  not  get  to  tlie  grass.  “  And.’’ 
said  he,  *’  (hey  kept  in  good  beef  order  through¬ 
out  the  winter.”  1  nicutiouthe  foregoing cireiiin- 
stance  as  it  is  an  attestation  of  (lie  snjxTior  fatten¬ 
ing  qualities  of  this  most  excellent  variety  of  the 
grasses.  Much  more  might  he  said  in  this 
diieclion.  hnt  I  willjiass  on  to  the  next  prominent 
feature  of  tliis  variety. 
Thiixl— Its  cajiacity  to  hold  the  soil  from  wasli- 
ing  away  is  jx-rhajis  more  than  double  tliat  of 
otlmr  gi-ass.  Kmbraoing  with  its  network  of  ton 
thousand  Ihrcwly  rootlets,  it  thus  clasps  almost 
every  atom  of  tho  soil,  and,  when  it  has 
thus  taken  possession  of  tho  soil,  it  admits 
of  no  rival,  fonning  a  lieavy,  rich,  green  sward 
on  the  surface.  Thus,  it  may  be  seen  that  our 
soil  is  safest  from  the  ravagi;s  of  tho  watery 
element  when  hi  the  keeping  of  this  most  beauti¬ 
ful  variety  of  grasses. 
marking  cost  30c.  per  acre.  He  plantivl  six 
acres  per  day  with  a  com  planter,  which  he  call¬ 
ed  91  50  per  day  or  25c  jicr  acre  for  planting,  and 
cliargrd  20c,  jier  acre  for  the  seed.  He  used  a  two 
horse  cultivator  for  all  tho  cultivating,  and 
I  averaged  tlirough  tho  season  8  acres  per  day, 
I  which  at  93  per  day,  and  foiu'  times  over  tho 
ground  make  a  (^ostof  91.50  per  acre  for  culti¬ 
vating.  Ho  I'aid  .91.2.5  per  aero  for  cutting  up 
the  corn  and  5c.  per  huhli<;l  for  basking,  or  .f4.60 
per  day  and  the  drawing  apd  cdhliiiig  ihe  corn 
.91.45  |K;racre,  malung  n  grand  total  of  .911.56  as 
the  ixistof  one  acre  of  com.  Tho  corn  j-ielded  90 
bushels  per  a<;re,  and  lie  liad  allow <sl  as' credit 
to  tlio  field,  tvvoce;utH  jmr  bimdlo  for  the  stalks, 
and  got  1(50  Imndles,  or  a  total  of  93.20,  to  bo  de¬ 
ducted  from  the  cost,  911.65,  which  left  as  the 
net  cost  of  the  corn  in  tlie  crib,  98.3.5  for  the  iK) 
lutshcls,  or  9  5-18  cents  ]K.;r  huslicl.  Ho  had  al¬ 
so  another  jiiece  on  sod  ground,  wliich  he  had 
manured  well,  for  wliicli  he  had  charged  the 
field  96.00  per  acre.  Hod  cluirgcd  92.00  per 
acre  for  jilowing,  as  he  used  tlirec  lioraes ;  har¬ 
rowing,  91.20  jier  acre;  marking,  30o.  seed  20c; 
planting,  25c:  cultivating  .91.50;  cutting  up 
corn  at  91 .25,  all  same  as  received  in  tlie  other 
field;  husking  at  96.00  jx;r  acre,  and  cribbing. 
91.80,  making  a  (otnl  cost  of  .920.50  per  acre  of 
120  bushels  the  actual  yield,  or  I7)i  cents  per 
bushel.  He  rejilied  to  a  question  that  his  system 
of  farming  w  as  to  allow  no  ww-ils  to  go  to  seed, 
and  of  course  ho  has  less  cultivating  to  do  on 
that  account.  He  had.  however,  neglected  to 
charge  to  tlie  field  its  jiroportion  of  the  taxes  on 
(he  fami,  and  its  interest  on  its  money  value. 
'i'hi;  committoo  on  the  oat  crop  were  then  called 
on  for  tlieir  report.  0.  C.  Whitmarsh  first  made  a 
rciH.irt  on  Ills  crop,  just  as  he  had  done  the  work. 
Tho  ground  20  acres,  ha<l  been  jircparcd  for 
wheat  the  fall  before,  and  be  only  used  the 
cultivator.  The  account  stood  as  follows : 
Five  days  with  cultivator . . . $15  OO 
Two  (lays  with  roller .  S  00 
'I'wo  (lays  ilrillini.' . .  . .  0(0 
Seed— iVi  hiishols  per  acre . is  uo 
llarvestinc .  40  w 
Dniwlna,  tbreshitiK  aud  loading .  00  10 
Total  cost  of  crop . |(i;i5  ;)o 
lie  had  CTcdit4id  tho  croji  with 
8i5  hnslicl*  of  oai»  at  per  bush . *317  86 
Tlie  straw  he  ealled  worth .  SO  00 
'I'otal  tnconie . syi;-  ss 
Dciiucting  tile  total  cost . gis  j^) 
Profit  on  the  crop . 4,2.31  05 
This  makes  a  net  iirolit  per  acre  of  .911.59)^, 
and  a  net  cost  per  bushel  of  16%c. 
Martin  Bowerman  liad  a  rejxirt  of  acres 
and  his  Hccourit  stood  : 
nr. 
Throe  days  pIowIur .  $‘t  OO 
Half  liar  sowinR  and  harrowing....’.'.'.”  'i 
13  bushols  se»d  nl  fi.'o.  per  busn .....  8  in 
llinvo.sttiig .  75.. 
Iliawliig  to  Ihe  barn . . . ■■■■"  4  iwi 
'rbresliing,  all  told .  ”  13  m 
Total  cost. 
2r6  bushels  oats  at  40c.  per  bush .  *100  on 
. -M  00 
Ded  ucting  cost . 41  04 
Net  profit . *83  ilO 
This  made  923.71)  |irolit  per  acre.  The  net 
cost  per  bus|j(  l  was  only  a  fraction  from  16’4c. 
- - - - - - 
FARMERS  AND  THE  CORN  PREMIUMS. 
THE  COST  OF  CORN  AND  OF  OATS. 
At  a  recent  mooting  of  tho  Lenawee  Junction 
j  Mich.  Farmera’  Club  reported  in  the  Michigan 
I  Farmer  the  eonimitteo  which  luui  been  apjioint- 
cd  to  detcniiiiic  whether  it  was  jirofitable  to 
riiiso  corn,  made  then'  report. 
Mr.  M.  Davis,  one  of  the  eonunittec,  said  his 
j  crop  turned  out  about  1(10  bushels  to  tlie  acre. 
Tho  cost  of  one  acre  was  9l8.(«),  and  he  had 
placed  the  value  of  the  corn  at  925.00,  and  tho 
stalks  at  95,00,  or  the  receipts  at  980,  making 
Hie  profit  912.  on  the  acre.  This  estimate  had 
been  made  on  the  work  as  tiiough  there  were  only 
one  acre  in  tho  jiiece,  which  of  coiu'se  raised  the 
exjumse  higher  in  projxirtion  than  if  it  had  been 
on  a  larger  field. 
President  Sayles  being  another  member  of  tho 
committee.  h.ad  made  his  estimate'^  as  follows. 
Hired  it  all  done  by  tho  month,  but  had  charged 
by  the  day  against  the  field.  The  average  day’s 
work  iu  plowing  one  field  of  stubble  ground  vvas 
two  acres  and  the  ch-arges  for  it  93.00.  or9].- 
50  per  acre,  The  harrowing  vvas  done  at  10 
acres  jier  day,  and  with  tJic  same  prii'o  for  man 
and  U;am,  would  he  30c  for  once  over,  or  60c  for 
twice  over  tho  groiuid  which  was  done.  The 
CoNRAu  W1L.SON  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Christian  Union  makes  some  inlercsting  com¬ 
ments  on  tho  ii'sjioiises  ho  receives  from  farmers 
relative  to  the  Centcuiiial  Com  rreniiuins. 
It  is  evidently  the  intention  of  many  to  test 
this  cereal  more  Uionmghly  during  the  coming 
season  tliun  c'ver  before. 
One  man  vnit«;a  to  me  from  Ohio  that  ho  has  a 
clover  field  of  ten  acros  tliat  was  Ihoroughiy  toji- 
dressod  last  fall  witli  a  view  ul  jilaiitiiig  it  to  corn 
this  spring.  He  has  always  made  corn  a  leading 
crop,  and  once  got  nearly  a  huiuh'ed  bushels 
from  an  acre.  He  now  intends  to  make  lui  extra 
effort,  and  whetlier  ho  wins  a  jiremiiini  or  not  ho 
is  enuftdent  of  getting  an  abundant  yield,  and 
tluii,  lie  says,  with  much  tiuth,  wiU  b<'  itself  a 
jirizo  worth  contending  for  at  any  time,  and  still 
more  so  on  tliis  occ,asiiin. 
Anodier  funner,  in  Kontneky,  writes  that  he 
inteiiids  to  ooinjx'te  for  several  of  ihe  offers,  and 
especiany  for  tho  largest  yield  from  a  single 
grain,  boeause  lie  thinks  he  will  tliereby  get  a 
better  quality  of  corn,  and  heavier  weight,  and 
will  jirejiare  tho  way  for  a  larger  yield  by  the 
aci'e  ill  after  years. 
All  enterprising  widow  who  }ia.s  a  floiirisliing 
farm  in  a  Western  tstate  writes  tliat  her  late  hiis- 
hitnd,  "previous  to  his  recent  deatli,  was  for 
many  years  conneetod  with  the  Board  of  Agri¬ 
culture,  and  rewivod  the  highest  premium  for 
the  most  productive  fanii  in  the  State.”  and  adds 
that  she  ‘'intends  to  cumjieti;  for  these  Centoii- 
nial  jireiuiinns.” 
Other  letters  of  similiar  inijiort  to  these  are 
continually  coming  to  hand,  and  all  of  them 
indicate  tlie  same  growing  interest  in  the  culture 
and  dovelojunciit  of  the  corn  croji. 
—  - 
Onions  are  extensively  and  jirolitably  grown 
by  some  fanners.  On  clean  soil  they  cost  no 
more  jior  bushel  than  jxitatoes. 
