necessary for growing 100 or more bushels of 
corn to the aero on prairie soil which had 
been in cultivation for 20 years, but which 
within a few years had been tile-drained, ma¬ 
nured and cropped. The work was conducted 
pretty much as follows:—The land was plowed 
deep some time late in April; harrowed thor¬ 
oughly a few days before seeding, the first 
week in May ; aDd the seed—a good variety of 
large yellow Dent—was drilled in, the rows 
standing four feet apart aud the stalks nine to 
twelve inches in the row. The Spring of 1875, 
was cold, backward and dry, and so much out 
of the common in this last regard, tbut 
neither rain nor storms interrupted plowing 
for the entire mouth of April. In fact, the 
great drought which began early in 1874, was 
not fairly broken till in June the following 
Beason. The soil being cold, for the reasons 
above, the corn on the experimental acre 
made a poor stand and had to he replanted, 
and, as is almost always the case, the replant¬ 
ing was far from satisfactory. In the matter 
of cultivation, the coru was harrowed as soon 
as the rows could be distinguished, and the 
cultivator was set to work immediately there¬ 
after, and put through the field two or three 
times. Meantime, to secure absolute freedom 
from weeds, they were cut out twice with the 
hand-hoe j ust before cultivation. But between 
the first aud second plowing, and when the 
young corn was about six inches high, a lot 
of old but unleached ashes was procured from 
a saw-mill in the neighboring timber, and a 
full quart was given to each corn stalk. 
After a dry, cold Spring followed a cool and 
very wet Summer, and so great and so contin¬ 
uous was the rainfall during harvest, that the 
small grain and ihe hay crops were more than 
two-thirds lost. But in spile of the advantage 
of drainage, the experimental patch suffered 
with all other crops, but never very seriously, 
except during the heavy and protracted rain 
and wind storms of tbe 3Lst of July and 1st of 
August, in which six inches of water fell aud 
the wind did immense damage by prostrating 
the com in many places. Frost came some 
time in September and found the experimental 
crop ready for it. In OeLGber the entire crop 
was husked from the field, weighed on scales 
near-by, and the corn not being dry enough 
to be marketable, 80 pounds of ears were al¬ 
lowed to the bushel, and the total crop for the 
whole acre was found to be 85 bubhels and a 
few pounds. 
If the stand had been good in the first place, 
if the season had been warm and moist, aud if 
the wind and rain storms had not happened, 
and if the laud had been plowed the previous 
Autumn, it is probable the yield might have 
been 100 or 110 or even 120 bushels. On the 
other hand, it is probable if it bad not been 
for the copious aud incessant rains of the 
Summer, the benefit the crop icceivcd from 
the wood ashes would have been very much 
less, and it. is altogether likely Lhat if the 
Summer had been a hot and dry one, the effects 
of the ashes would have scarcely showed at all. 
There having been a difference of opinion, 
whether wood ashes or Btablc manure were the 
better for the corn crop, another experiment 
was conducted at the same time in the same 
way, except that befoie plowing and in course 
of the Winter the ground was covered with 
fully four inches of stable and pig pen manure, 
hauled from a town close-by. Though nottile- 
dralned, this field had auice slope for surface 
drainage, aud a good stand was obtained and 
the crop was carefully cultivated to the end. 
The seed in both Jidda was the same; but 
while the ashes 6eemtd to dwarf ihe stalks as 
to their bight, they enlarged their diameter 
at the base and increased the size of the ears ; 
while the 6table manure appeartd to show in 
the length aud stoutness of the stalk aud in plac¬ 
ing ears out of reach. At harvest ihe manured 
field yielded 55 bushels per acre, in face and 
eyes of the fact that average judges, before 
husking, thought there would nut be a great 
difference in the yield. It is probable, how¬ 
ever, that if the raius had been less heavy and 
continued, there would have been less stalk aud 
more ear growth in this field aud that in the 
eveut of a moderately dry season, there would 
have been less than thirty bushels’ difference 
in the two crops. 
If these experiments teach anything in re- 
Bpect to the best manures aud fertilizers for 
com, it is that where humus abounds, there 
wdll be nitrogen and probably organic forms 
of plant food enough to make sufficient stalk 
growth, and therefore for the black soil prairies 
the best fertilizers are those as nearly allied in 
substance to wood ashes as possible, because 
they contain every inorganic element the corn 
crop needs. 
Champaign Co., Ill. 
Experiments in Corn Growing —For my 
last corn crop I plowed half of a 17-acre field 
in the Fall and again in the Spring, while the 
other half was plowed only in Spring. The 
com on the land plowed in the Fall aud Spring 
gave a much heavier yield than that on the 
other portion of the field and looked much 
better during the whole seasou. I think a 
great deal is gained in every way by plowing 
for corn in this manner. Had my whole field 
been so treated, my crop would have been from 
50 to 00 bushels more than it was. 
In applying plaster to the corn, I sowed it 
on a quarter of the field after I had harrowed 
it, and on the rest, of the field I applied it be¬ 
tween the first and second plowing. Applying 
it at the latter time I find does most good, and 
returns most profit for one’s labor, j. a. h. 
Kearneysvllle, West Va. 
---—-- 
COMMENTS ON THE CORN NUMBER. 
After getting so thoroughly “ corned ” as 
we are, I am not sure that it will be admissible 
to try and get another “nip.” Some one 
wisely concludes that each farmer must expe¬ 
riment on his own soil, aud f judge thousands 
of valuable experiments will result from the 
most excellent Corn Number of the Rural 
now before me. I suggest that we be more 
careful iu the use of relative terms. B. 
F. Johnson thiuks deep plowing may lessen 
the chances of a good crop immediately follow¬ 
ing. In this part of Nebraska there are no 
reports of a corn crop being injured by deep 
plowing. But what is deep plowing? C-E. 
Thorne seems to think no deep plowing is done 
unless we get down more than 12 or 13 inches. 
With him 12 inch plowing gave better imme¬ 
diate and remote results than eight-inch plow¬ 
ing. Spring plowing seems to be at a discount. 
Our farmers do 6ome Fall plowing only be¬ 
cause it is feared there will not be time enough 
to do it in the Spring. We prefei a “fresh 
seed-bed” for corn, though not for wheat. If 
thi6 is the greatest error, we must fall to ex¬ 
perimenting more carefully. Frieud Mason, 
of Dodge County, 16 correct in his deep cul¬ 
ture, according to the testimony of Nebraska 
corn raisers. 
Professor Roberts says, “Root-pruning in 
rich soil in moist or wet weather, when 
growth is very rapid, is apt to be beneficial : 
iu dry, hot weather it is quite apt to be injuri¬ 
ous.” Just so my Dodge County friend would 
“root-prune;” would make a deep, mellow 
soil while it is moist, so that the roots will 
have a good natural mulching when the dry 
weather comes. 
Here is an experiment of mine:—In '78, 
alter my corn was “laid by.” late iu July and 
early in August, 1 took one horse and a corn 
plow and passed once iu each row for 40 rows, 
running east aud west on the south side of a 
corn-field. I plowed at least six inches deep, 
and until compelled to desist by a heavy fall 
of rain. Late iu August a hot wind from the 
south struck the field. Iu a few days corn¬ 
fields all around me looked as if suddenly 
ripened ; so did mine, save the aforesaid 40 
rows. Standing two miles away one could 
see a green strip on the south side of my field. 
The south side was mo3t exposed and least 
injured. 
We are advised to “cultivate with cultivator 
and hoe.” We of the West, like Uncle Ned, 
have “ laid down the shovel and the hoe,” We 
can hoe with onr horses better than with that 
implement used by hand and known iu the 
East as a hoe. Our implements are sometimes 
called horse-hoes, but more frequently corn- 
plows, because on our deep soil they must go 
deep. R. H. Crane. 
Harlau Co., Neb. 
efann tStmiomy. 
FODDER VALUE OF FROZEN POTATOES. 
PROFESSOR P. It. STOKER 
A notable instance of the comparatively 
feeble power of vegetable matter to resist fer¬ 
mentation and decay when it has once become 
disoiganized, is exhibited by potatoes which 
have been frozen and thawed. On the conti¬ 
nent of Europe, where large quantities of po¬ 
tatoes are fermeuted and distilled, it is a mat¬ 
ter of practical experience that the amount of 
spirit obtained from potatoes which are frozen, 
is scarcely auy smaller than that from the 
sound tubers, provided the frozen potatoes are 
not allowed to thaw until they have actually 
been brought to the mashing tubs. But a very 
different result is obtained in case the frozen 
tubers are allowed to thaw and are then left 
to themselves iu heaps for a few days, or even 
for 24 hours, before being subjected to the 
mashing process. If such delay be permitted, 
the decrease iu the yield of spirit is so great 
that, as distiMers say, there is hardly enough 
alcohol obtained to pay tbe excise duty. 
Potatoes become wet In thawing, especially 
if they are lying in heaps, aud they soon heat, 
as the term is; they are then apt to pass 
quickly into a condition of active decay. The 
sweet taste which a frozen potato takes on in 
thawing indicates the beginning of decompo¬ 
sition. In the process of freezing, the cells 
and tissues of the tubers are lacerated, torn 
asunder and disorganized ; and the starch aud 
other matters which the cells contained are 
left in such a condition that they react upon 
one another chemically, and fermentation en¬ 
sues. As in the germination of barley and 
other grain, so in the thawed potato one of the 
first results of this chemical action is the con¬ 
version of a large part of the starch of the 
potatoes into sugar. It was noticed by the 
chemist Schmidt, that as much as 23 per cent, 
of tbe starch in potatoes may be changed to 
sugar in the process of freezing and thawing ; 
and he found nearly six per cent, of sugar in 
the sweet juice obtained by squeezing potatoes 
which had been frozen and thawed. The de¬ 
cay of potatoes is a subsequent process which 
succeeds the change of the tareh to sugar and 
quickly destroys the latter. 
In experiments where starch was made from 
souud, from frozen, and from thawed pota¬ 
toes there was obtained 15 3-5 per cent, of 
starch from the-sound tubers, 15 percent, from 
frozen potatoes which were thawed at the 
moment of the experiment, aud only nine per 
cent, from potatoes which had been left for 24 
hours iu a warm room after thawing; and 
very much smaller yields of starch thau this 
were obtained from frozen and thawed pota¬ 
toes which were left lying in heaps until they 
healed. 
From all this chemical evidence it is fair to 
infer that, apart from the trouble of thawing 
them, the fodder-value of frozen potatoes 
is as great as that of the sound tubers. In 
this view of the matter, boiled frozen potatoes 
would have the same value for feeding animals 
as potatoes which were boiled before freezing. 
Even thawed potatoes must be good fodder 
when they are. fed out immediately after thaw¬ 
ing, but they deteriorate rapidly when left to 
themselves in the thawed condition. 
SILOS IN THE COLD NORTH. 
T. IT- DOSKINS, M. D. 
The success which has followed the exper¬ 
iments made during the past two seasons in 
the ensilage of green crops for Winter feeding, 
and the evident value of this preserved fodder 
to those, especially, who are making a spec¬ 
ialty of Winter dairying, have made its gen¬ 
eral adoption upon the dairy farms of Ver¬ 
mont almost a certainty. The particular 
problem and difficulty of our latitude is the 
preveutiou of freezing, both before and after 
the silo is opened. 1 send you herewith a 
sketch of a pair of silos which it is proposed 
to build in this neighborhood, and which, it is 
believed, will solve tie problem above referred 
to in a satisfactory manner. 
Tbe location selected is a slope facing south. 
It is proposed to excavate a pit 33 feet square, 
at the top of this slope, scraping the dirt 
down-hill, and building a bank wall in front 
20 feet each side of the silos, wh'ch are to be 
floored and lined with brick, and smoothly 
cemented on the inside. A middle wall of 
division is also to be built of brick, the silos 
being each, when finished, 30 by 15 feet square, 
and 15 feet deep, Agaiust the trout of the 
silos aud bank wall the. stable or tie-up is to 
stand, aud a framed baru, of which the tie-up 
will constitute a basemeut, is to be built over 
the whole. The silos open upon the feeding 
floor of the tie up, directly in frout of thecatllc, 
while the wall behind the cattle, facing south, 
is to be nearly all windows. There will be a 
manure cellar under the tie-up, and thorough 
provision for saviug all the manure, both liquid 
and solid. The “ lay of the land” enables all 
this to be done at a minimum of cost. 
The peculiarity iu the 'plan of these silos is 
their thorough protection from frost, both be¬ 
fore and after they are opened. This it is 
proposed to effect as follows:—After the silo 
is filled (having been firmly troddeu, allowed 
to settle, and then refilled, according to the 
plan of Mr. O. B. Potter), previously prepared 
planks, three by eight inches in size, planed 
and jointed, with dowel pins on one edge and 
corresponding holes open the other, are laid 
upon the carefully leveled ensilage. If neces¬ 
sary, to get a smooth surface, it is proposed to 
spread a thin layer of long straw lengthwise 
over the ensilage. Each plank will have, at 
one foot from each end, a slot cut through it 
in the middle to admit a 10-inch bolt, the edges 
of the slot being counter-sunk on the under 
side to admit and hold the head of the bolt. 
When the planks are all laid down, (Lhe 
dowel-pins in the edge of each being carefully 
entered in the corresponding holes of its 
neighbor, but not driven up very closely) 
beams, say four by six inches in size, with 
corresponding slots, are dropped over the eads 
of the bolts, and nuts with washers applied to 
draw them together, though not too tightly 
at first. Slots, instead of round holes, are 
made in both planks and beams so as to allow 
for the swelling of the planks; and for the 
same reason the planks are not to be driven 
closely together. The beams may be in sec¬ 
tions, according to thu length of the silo. The 
planks are then weighted, and it is proposed 
to use for the purpose either bags of sand or 
hard-wood logs sawn to convenient lengths for 
handling. Iu preparing the beams two long 
bolls with either an eye or a hook upon their 
upper ends are inserted in each beam, about 
a foot from each end. After the contents of 
the silo have settled all they will, and just before 
the coming on of severe cold, timbers are 
laid across the silo above the long suspensory 
bolts previously inserted in the longitudinal 
beams attached to the planks, and linked rods 
are used to suspend thejeoutinuous plank cov¬ 
ering to these Umbers. The space produced 
by the settling of the ensilage Is then filled 
with chaff, sawdust, or any suitable non¬ 
conducting material. 
It is easy to be seen that with a set of silos 
thus constructed the contents can all be fed 
out through the doors opening into the tic-up, 
the suspended planking above, with its pack¬ 
ing of sawdust or ehag, remaining as a frost¬ 
proof ceiling. When the silos are emptied the 
packing may be removed, the planks detached 
by loosening the bolts, aud the whole covering 
with Us suspending timbers taken off for re¬ 
filling. It is intended to remove the weights 
at the lime of putting in the suspensory rods. 
It is also proposed to put iu a movable floor 
over the silos, and use the building overhead 
for the storage of hay, straw, etc. 
Orleans Co., Vt. 
Jfarm ®opirs. 
SEASONABLE FARM NOTES. 
Coal Ashes as Manure. It is often a ques¬ 
tion as to which is the best way of disposing of 
coal ashes. Their manorial value, uumixed 
with other matter, is very slight, as has been 
shown by competent scientific experimenters. 
This does not prove, however, that they are 
altogether worthless or injurious when applied 
to the soil, as many people suppose, On the 
contrary, coal ashes have been foun 1 to work 
positive benefit when applied to certain soils. 
The advantages derived from their use do not 
come from the manurlal qualities of the ashes 
so much as from the mecfianical effect which 
they have upon the soil. I have found them 
most valuable when applied to heavy elay soils 
which are liable to bake or become lumpy. 
When used on such soil, their use renders the 
soil much more loose and friable, making it 
easier to work aud in better eonditiou for the 
production of most erops. But I have found 
a still better use for coal ashes, or rather a 
way of using them which makes them still 
more valuable as a fertilizer. Let them be 
thrown in a heap convenient to the house, and 
let the slops from the house te applied to the 
heap. The ashes should be slightly spread, so 
that the slops, as they are thrown upon the 
heap, will all be absorbed by "them. In the 
Spring let them be applied to the gardeu or 
field, and their use wilt prove of decided value. 
There should always be a convenient place to 
deposit house 6lop, and if that place is the coal- 
ash pile, both the ashes and the slops will be 
turned to good account when applied to the 
soil. Coal ashes are useful for mulehiug young 
trees and bushes. They prevent the soil from 
drying out, and keep down grass and weeds. 
Economy in the Cellar.— Iu tbe majority 
of cellars there has be*n stored for family use, 
for feeding domestic animals, or for future 
marketing, a quantity of fruits and vegetables, 
such as apples, turnips, beets, pumpkins, etc. 
A certain portion of these fruits and roots, 
will, during the Winter, commence to decay, 
especially if the condition of the cellar js not 
favorable for keeping them. Another portion 
will be found, upon assorting them over, to be 
