present crop is 3,376,400, a decrease of nearly 
halt a million bushels (493,843). The 1878 
crop was valued at *3,189,303, while that of 
the present year is valued at 83,663,883, a de¬ 
crease in one year of over half a million dol¬ 
lars (535,331) " Thrashing began as soon as 
the harvest closed, and as the weather has been 
favorable, most of the grain is now thrashed 
and has been secured in fine condition. 
Ogle Co., Ill. 
fers so much ill various localities. The cost of 
maintaining is somewhat in propdrtiOu to the 
trafllc or tonnage. 
The least cost of a gravel road containing 
3520 cubic yards of gravel per mile, uuder the 
most favorable condi tions, will probably be not 
less than 8800 per mile, 8400 of which should 
team a, load of 33 biishels of wheat or its equiv¬ 
alent, at a speed of 21 miles per hour. The 
truffle over the road would amount to 060 
bushels per day, and its cost Of transportation 
Would amount, to 81.98 per mile (see table) per 
day. To have carried the same amouut over 
our ordinary country roads would have cost 
are paying in extra cost of transportation Over 
poor roads, a tax which would do mucii 
toward building good ones. A poor road is a 
toll collector that needs no gates to exact its 
dues. All who pass over it must pay in dimin¬ 
ished loads and extra time a tax proportional 
to its wretchedness. If the general public could 
be made to feel that waste of time and waste 
of money are equi valcnts, and that extra time 
spent in traveling over the road could profit¬ 
ably ho employed at home, some steps would 
be taken that would lead to an actual improve¬ 
ment in the condition of our common roads. 
The Beauty of Hebron Potato.— Owing to 
favorable reports read in the Rural during the 
season of 1878, I concluded to plant a barrel of 
this variety of potato last spring. I selected a 
clover sod plowed about nine Inches deep, gave 
it a good covering of barnyard manure, and 
harrowed it in—soil, a gravelly loam. The po¬ 
tatoes, cut to one and two eyes, were planted on 
April 15th, in hills three feet apart, two pieces 
to the hill. At the same time I planted in the 
same field Early Hose potatoes of medium size, 
cut lengthwise, two pieces to the hill. Thorough 
cultivation and two hociugs wore given to both 
and the weeds were pulled late in the season, 
Results—the Beauty came up three days before 
the Rose with stalks strong and vigorous. The 
tops died and the tubers matured at least teu 
•days before those of the Rose, while the yield 
from ninety-eight hills of each was about a 
peck more of Beauties than of Roses. The 
tubers, too, were larger, smoother, and more 
salable. I am offered 45 cents per bushel tor 
the Rose and -$1 per bushel for the Beauty. 
Walden, N. Y. Rukaust. 
HISTORY OF A POOR FARM-No. 17 
Growing and Feeding Fodder Corn. 
It was in July that wc began cutting green 
sweet corn for fodder. Early Minnesota and 
Narragansett, planted for earB for market, 
were ready to pick then, and as the ears were 
picked the stalks were cut and fed. The late 
oats wore nearly fiuished and oats and corn 
were fed alternately. The milk increased a 
few days after the corn was fed, and has kept 
up in quantity very well until now (Sept. 30), 
when the late planting (there is one yet later, 
planted July 22) is being cut. This is six or 
seven feet tall and quite fresh and green, hav¬ 
ing just come into tassel. The cows are gain¬ 
ing a little on this fodder, which is Blount’s 
Prolific corn, and which grows rapidly and is 
very succulent and heavy—a small bundle 
weighs 30 pounds, and three of these form a 
day’s ration. 
“Do you weigh your fodder every day?” 
asked Mr. Martiu, to whom I had just read 
over what I had written. 
“That is not necessary. Fred can put you 
up a buudle that weighs within a pound of 
that, every time you ask him,” I replied. 
“Fred always was a good figurer,” remarked 
my old neighbor, “and could guess the weight 
of a load of hay or a fat pig better thau any 
of us.” 
“That comes of close observation,” I re¬ 
marked. “When a man weighs a load of hay, 
or a dressed pig, or a bundle of stalks, it is 
very easy to carry the memory of it in his 
mind to help in a future judgment.” 
“Some can do that aud some cannot,” re¬ 
marked Mr. Martin; “if a habit of doing it is 
once formed it is easy; otherwise not. Nine 
out of ten of our neighbors here cannot tell 
you the size of any one of their fields, or how 
much seed they sow per acre, or how many 
bushels they have reaped on any one occasion 
in their lives. It is all a matter of total Ignor¬ 
ance of everything. No accounts kept, aud 
no accurate knowledge of anything what¬ 
ever." 
“Well, we don't do In that way here." I 
rejoined; “we know precisely what wo are 
doing in every particular. The fodder is cut 
aud tied in bundles, as it is cut, with bands of 
tarred twine. The bundles are loaded outo a 
wagon, aud a day’s supply is brought in at 
once every morning. One day’s feeding is 
always kept ahead in the barn, so that the 
fodder is wilted before it is used, and in rainy 
weather wet fodder is not given. In the 
morning it is cut and fed with the meal; at 
noon it Is given whole, and in the evening it 
is cut and mixed with meal. Each cow gets a 
bundle, on the average; some cat less and 
some more; what is left iu the troughs is 
wheeled out to the pigs. Fred has been 
measuring the yield to-day. We use 69 bun¬ 
dles, or about 2,000 pounds, daily, and it took 
very nearly 400 feet of row to yield the 2,000 
pounds. The rows are three feet apart, which 
gives 14,520 feet of row to the acre; at five 
pounds to the foot of row, this gives about 36 
tons to the acre. I don’t know of aiiy other 
green crop that gives a better yield for the 
same cost. 
“ How long does an acre feed your 23 cows ?” 
asked the old^gentleman. 
“That is easily figured up. If we use one 
ton a day, SO tons will last the 23 cows over a 
month. This is the best we have doue so far, 
but a field of eight acres which is now being 
cut for winter fodder, also plauted with 
Blount's corn, is 10 feet high and so thick that 
it is impossible to crawl through it across the 
rows. Being so thickly planted iu the row, 
the stalks are not much more than an inch thick, 
but the rows being three feet apart, the fodder 
is green to the bottom, aud there are many half- 
grown ears.” 
“ I should say that fodder corn is as good as 
any root crop,” remarked Mr. Martin, “ it costs 
less to grow, and is more certain. Roots this 
year are a poor crop, aud will cost a good deal 
more thau corn.” 
“Weight or bulk is not the criterion by 
which we should judge of the value of any 
crop," saul Dr. Jones. “The foeding value 
depends on the character of the fodder aud its 
uutrltlous constituents; and in some degree on 
its digestibility. A recent analysis of fodder 
WHAT OTHERS SAY 
Common Komis. 
Professor R. C. Carpenter, of the Michigan 
Agricultural College, has lately published an 
address delivered by him at a Farmers’ Insti¬ 
tute, on the Transportation of Agricultural 
Products, from which the following timely 
extract scetus worthy of weighty considera¬ 
tion. 
Tue common roads have never beou used iu 
• competition with the railroads siuce the rail¬ 
road system has been fairly established. The 
•capabilities of railroads are so much greater 
•than those of common roads that since Stephen¬ 
son perfected the railroad system, aud showed 
[practically what might lie expected from it, 
ilittle attention lias been paid to the improve¬ 
ment of the common roads. While it is cer¬ 
tainly true that it will not pay to invest a great 
sum in the improvement of common roads, it 
is equally certain that it will pay to improve 
(them to a much greater exteut thau has been 
•done iu the past. 
The following table shows the average 
draught over different kiuds of roads, from ex¬ 
periments by Sir John Macnuilt; also the load 
for a team over each road, deduced on the sup¬ 
position that an average horse "can exert a 
steady pull of one hundred pounds, ut. a speed 
of 21 miles an hour for ten hours each day.” 
In the table the net load is assumed as two- 
thirds the gross load, but in practice it will be 
found less more often than greater. The cost 
is also given ou the assumption that wages of 
man with team and wagon are 82.59 per day; 
which furnishes a means of comparison of the 
different roads, but except iu a few cases, it 
will not give the exact cost of transportation. 
Maximum Distance 
Wheat worth $1 
per Bushel can be 
drawn.—Miles. 
Level Road -Propor¬ 
tion that resistance 
bears to whole load. 
leaves of yellow wood—reduced uai.f, 
probably bo less than that of a gravel 
road. These figures would indicate a greater 
economy in a gravel road than is usually sup¬ 
posed. To illustrate this we will take an ex¬ 
ample which is certainly not unreasonable. 
Suppose that after a road is improved, 20 
loaded teams per day pass over It, carrying per 
with the small traffic specified, viz.:—two teams 
each hour—is enough to pay the cost and a 
good interest (50 to 160 per ceut.) on the in¬ 
vestment. Such considerations as these torn! 
to show that time spent iu improving the 
roads, is not entirely thrown away. These 
figures would also seem to indicate that we 
The cost of these roads can not even he ap¬ 
proximately given, as cost of grading, turn- 
piking, and putting on the road covering dif- 
