THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
NOV. 4 
704 
placed an inch and a quarter apart. Between 
theSe are inserted tlie tooth-holders, one of 
which is shown at b. This is a block of cast 
iron, two inches long, clear of the projection 
above, one and one-fourth of an inch wide 
and three-quarters of an inch thick, with 
a groove into which the tooth fits. Two 
more or less with frost, just as in board 
fence. But in the latter the posts cannot be 
driven back to place with a maul or sledge in 
spring time without shattering the boards 
loose. But posts of wire fence may be driven 
without damage. 
Unsightliness. —-The eye has been accus¬ 
tomed to hedges, stone walls, fences, etc., which 
strongly mark the boundary lines of farms 
and fields ; and wire fences, showing little but 
a Hue of posts, seem at first unsightly. Whether 
they will cease to seem so I cannot tell. But 
I find my eye already prefers them to the 
“ Virginia rail fence.” For road fence along 
a tidy farm, they are nice, for they show crops 
and culture so well. 
Sheep and Pigs, —The former are easily 
kept in by a fence of four or at most five 
wires, the lower ones being placed not more 
than six Inches apart. Pigs will stretch and 
spread the wires and get through ; but they 
are a nuisance on a farm except in a pen or 
yard or lot exclusively devoted to them, and 
fenced pig-proof. 
Breakage. —I hear complaints of breakage, 
and failure to repair. I have never been 
troubled in this way ; but can conceive that if 
a long stretch of wire were drawn very tight 
in hot weather, the contraction in severely 
cold weather might break it. The tools for 
tightening, loosening and repairing are not 
expensive, aud should be at hand. 
Expense. —In constructing a wire fence a 
post at the end of every rod is quite near 
enough, so that half the posts needed for board 
fence will suffice. The entire expense of ma¬ 
terial and labor (except setting the post6) is 
about 50 cents per rod. 
There are some objections to the fence, 
doubtless, not yet discovered. But ou the 
whole, taking into the account cheapness, 
durability, effectiveness, and protection against 
snow drifts, convenience in tilling aud har¬ 
vesting crops, non-protection for briars and 
weeds along the liue, and the growing scarcity 
of lumber, I am incliued to think wire fence 
iu some form will be the fence of the future in 
the Great West. Or at least it will divide the 
honor with the osage orange hedge. I have 
seen the statement that at present prices of 
land, labor and lumber, the fences In New 
York would buy the land; and in Ohio the 
ash, cherry, butternut and black-walnut rails 
would go far in that direction. The Far West 
caunot afford such fences. Can we ? 
rowen; in the afternoon two quarts of fine 
feed and a peck of roots, with seven pounds 
of hay for the last feed. 
It is well understood that nothing comes out 
of a cow but what has been put into her, in 
some form. The value of her manure when 
neither gaining nor losing weight, Is less than 
that of the fertilizing material contained in her 
feed only by the amount withdrawn in her 
milk, provided all the excrement, liquid as well 
as solid, is saved. This refers to pure dung aud 
urine, without reference to bedding or other 
absorbent material that may be used. 
It follows from the facts mentioned that all 
the manure of a cow, preserved and applied 
to the land without loss, is capable of repro¬ 
ducing the food consumed, iu the ‘same or 
some equivalent form, provided nothing is lost 
from it iu the 6oil. Experiments have shown 
that practically some of the nitrogen iB lost. 
But, on the other hand, considerable nitrogen 
is added from the snow and rainfall. Some 
plants, such as clover, seem to possess the 
power of adding to the available nitrogen In 
the soil, while requiring very little to be sup¬ 
plied to them during growth. The phosphorus 
and potassium salts increase naturally in avail¬ 
able forms under tillage. Therefore, we may 
assume that under the ordinary rotation of a 
well managed farm, the manure of a herd of cows 
will, where butter-dai rying is practiced, and the 
skim-milk is led to other stock, he sufficient 
to reproduce their food continuously. If there 
is anyfaliiug-off it may be made good by mod¬ 
erate purchases of highly nitrogenous feeds, 
such as oil-cake or bran; or of nitrogenous 
fertilizers, to be applied to the grain and grass 
crops of the farm. These must be increased, 
with perhaps the addition of phosphates, 
when cheese or market milk is sold, or 
where young animalB are reared for sale or to 
replace older ones turned off to the butcher. 
Much can be done to provide for losses of this 
kind by making all waste materials available 
for fertilizing pnrposes, using them as absorb¬ 
ents and iu compost. Deposits of muck are 
particularly useful for these ends, especially 
on the lighter soils. T. u. h. 
WHAT OTHERS SAY 
Sugar from Corn and Sorghum.— Mr. 
C. J. Reynolds gives his experience on the above 
topic to the Elmira Farmers’ Club, as reported 
in the Elmira Husbandman: 
The first experiment this year was with 400 
hills of Stowell’s evergreen sweet corn. From 
ihat we extracted forty-three gallons of juice. 
It was placed in a heater tank of about one 
hundred gallons’ capacity, and lime added in 
proper proportion, after which the juice was re¬ 
duced to nine gallons of very good molasses— 
better than most of that sold in country stores. 
The next experiment was with Amber cane, 
the seed of which was not advanced to such 
a degree as to show ripeness. The cane was 
raised by Mr Nixon, of Caton, the crop of 
seventeen rods of ground. The juice was 
worked by the Clough process, the result 
about thirty gallons of good dense molasses. 
We continued working ench lots as we could 
get. including corn and sorghum. The re¬ 
sults with two lots of sweet corn satisfied us 
that the statement made by Gen. Le Due, at 
the sugar convention held here last spring, 
and by Mr. Stewart of Pennsylvania, and Mr. 
Kinney, of Minnesota, regarding the product 
of an acre, were rather below, than above the 
truth. I think we have shown that good 
crops of sweet corn may give as much as three 
hundred gallons of molasses to the acre, with 
no serious difficulty In the way of producing 
either the molasses or the sugar from it. We 
have not yet been able to extract more than 
85 per cent of the juice, because of the im¬ 
perfection of the machinery, but even with 
this it is shown that the estimate ot yield 
made by these gentlemen may be accepted. 
It is claimed that ten pounds of sugar may 
bo made from a gallon of molasses of tlrirteeu 
and a quarter pounds’ density. I^liave molasses 
that bids fair to yield a satisfactory sugar 
product, but I cannot say what result will be 
attained until after the time has passed to per¬ 
fect the crystallization. 
The whole subject is attracting much no¬ 
tice. Farmers have shown great interest in the 
experiments I have made—they have watched 
the work with evident desire to get at the 
truth. It is a matter of regret that not enough 
cane or corn has been available to permit 
operations to be conducted ou a scale large 
enough to show facts more fully thau we have 
obtained them in small trials. 
Judge Baleoiu.—How much molasses do 
you think might be obtained from a good crop 
of cane or sweet corn ? 
C. J. Reynolds.—Three hundred gallons, 
without doubt, from a good crop, worked up 
at exactly the right stage of growth. 
Judge Baleom, Of what value ? 
C. J. Reynolds. I cau only say that I have 
submitted samples of that we have produced 
to examination by good grocers in Corning, 
and they put the value of some at thirty-six 
cents ranging from that price to 60c. a gallon. 
The best has no green shade, no bad taste, 
it is even better than auy brought to our 
markets. 
Judge Baleom—You mean retail prices ? 
C. J. Reynolds—No sir. Wholesale. 
Judge Baleom—Which is the greater cost; to 
raise the crop, or to work it into molasses ? 
C. J. Reynolds—To raise it, no doubt. I think 
an acre of corn stalks, or Amber cane, may be 
worked up at less expense of labor than would 
be required to cut, husk and crib the product 
of an acre of field corn. Of course, when I 
say three hundred gallons of molasses may be 
produced from au acre, I mean good ground, 
good care ol the crop in growing and skillful 
handling in the process of working. 
Judge Baleom—Say from land that would 
produce sixty or eighty bushels of corn to the 
acre ? 
C. J. Reynolds—Yes sir—land that will give 
that amount of shelled corn will produce as 
much as three hundred gallons of good molas¬ 
ses to the acre. 
J. F. Copley—Have you tried beets? 
C. J. Reyuolds—l have not, but I intend to 
make the trial on a small scale using the 
Stewart process. Gen. Le Due said in the late 
convention that beets might be worked suc¬ 
cessfully by it, but 1 have no practical knowl¬ 
edge of the working. Every body kuows that 
molasses produced from beets is good for noth¬ 
ing to be used as molasses—it is only good to 
work into sugar. 
W. A. Ward—What proportion of the crop 
of Amber cane, or sweet corn, would it be fair 
to pay for the labor of working the whole into 
molasses. 
C. J. Reynolds—My idea is that a mill should 
be so located that the crops to be worked up 
might be produced within reasonable distance; 
there should be au ubuudaut supply of good 
water (for it requires a considerable amount in 
the process of working) aud then the pi oprietor 
might buy stalks aud pay six or eight dollars a. 
ton, or charge by the gallon for working, per¬ 
haps fourteen cents, possibly more. I have cut 
of these are used for each tooth, aud they are 
fastened by half-inch bolts. The advantages 
claimed are that the implement is very du¬ 
rable and that the teeth, being movable, 
their number can be changed to suit the oc¬ 
casion. An entirely new set of teeth of an¬ 
other shape from the one commonly used, can 
also be inserted if the 6oil should require it. 
WIRE FENCE, 
W. I, CHAMBERLAIN 
It is nowffnlly time to take precautions 
against snow-drifts during the approaching 
winter, audjone of the best preventives of 
these along the highways, is the erection of 
wire fences. One of the strongest points in 
favor of these is that snow cannot drift behind 
them. Last winter was an unusually bad 
season for snow-drifts and great damage was 
done. Thousands of miles of highway, in 
short or long stretches, all over tbe land were 
literally blocked up. and the teams forced to 
go through the adjacent fields. Fences, trees, 
and nursery stock were injured and broken 
down by the weight of the snow as the drifts 
8lowly settled in thawing, and wheat and rye 
were to some extent smothered by the com¬ 
pact burden. Hedges, stone walla and board 
and rail fences will always harbor huge drifts 
where the wind has a fair chance, and the 
drifts will block the highway or fill the railway 
“ cute ’’ or crush fences or nursery stock as the 
case may be. The obstruction of highways, 
however, is the point specially requiring the 
attention of our law-makers. Farmers and 
railroad companies will look out for them¬ 
selves In the matter, but the traveling public 
seem to need the aid of the law. For more 
than three months in this locality (Northern 
Ohio) not naturally a snowy one, the teaming 
of hay, large logs, or anything at all top-heavy, 
was last winter Tendered practically impos¬ 
sible on northerly and southerly roads. Light 
sleighs would skirt the edges of the huge drifts, 
one runner a foot higher than the other, 
or go through the adjoiuing fields, but top- 
heavy loads would be capsized. And long 
after the snow was gone from the fields and 
most of the way in the roads, the trouble still 
remained in places. The writer started a man 
witbaloadof hay formarket. He got two miles, 
almost capsized, dared neither to advance nor 
retreat, and the load had to stay there 
three weeks on the barn-floor of an accom¬ 
modating farmer, till the huge drifts settled, 
before it could be takeu either to market or 
home. And one of my neighbors some weeks 
earlier had a load capsized in the road, and 
hurried by subsequent storms of drifting snow 
because it could not be removed. 
Is Wire Fence Effectual ?—Against cattle 
aud horses it is a perfeet barrier, if properly 
made. The barbed twisted wire used much at 
the far West, is ugly, savage stuff ; but even by 
this stock is seldom injured. They soon learn 
to have too profound a respect for it to ven¬ 
ture near it, the only danger being to wild or 
restive animals ignorant of the virtues of the 
feuce. Perhaps, however. 
Tuethf,r-Pegs.— An excellent thether-peg 
can be made by any blacksmith from a bar of 
iron, say, three-quarters of an inch thick, by 
QUANTITY OF MANURE PER COW 
Fig. 2. 
twisting it into the shape of a corkscrew, and 
bending the top into tbe form of a ring to 
which the rope is fastened. When screwed 
into the ground such a device is represented at 
Fig. 1. A neater but somewhat more expen¬ 
sive tether-peg is shown at Fig. a. Pegs of 
this kind are patented aud sold iu most of the 
hardware stores. Here the top is hollowed out 
and the rope secured by a large kuot, as repre- 
sonie 
a better form is 
that made with smooth wire, with a barbed 
strip of wood, au inch or more square, hung 
loosely to the wire next to the top. This shows 
stock there is a fence, pricks them if they touch 
it, but swings away without goring or lace¬ 
rating. The wood strip is patented, butfarmor 
township rights to use it, are sold at fair rates 
and without humbug or swindle. The nature 
and unwieldiness of the strip prevent its being 
manufactured and sold through regular chan¬ 
nels of trade, and seem to justify the usually 
objectionable feature of the sale ot a right, 
rather than of the manufactured article. 
Durability'.—I f the wire is of sufficient size 
and galvanized or painted to protect it from 
rust, I see not why the fence should not be as 
durable as the posts; nor why the wire should 
not be used again on new posts, 
i Heaving ^with Frost.—P osts will heave 
winter of 1867-’8 amounted to 73J pounds daily 
from each. 
Professor Dana fed his cows with a ration of 
13 pounds of potatoes and 34 pounds of hay, 
daily. The ration of Mr. Thompson's cows 
was six pounds of stewed corn-stalks and poor 
hay, mixed with one quart of corn-meal, in the 
morning, with five pounds of hay following. 
At noon they had six pounds of straw or 
6ented. It is impossible to pull out such a peg, 
neither cau the rope be twisted or caught 
round the top. 
-- 
The warm weather eontiuues. Our wheat is 
making an immense growth, Should this 
“growing” weather last, it maybe feared that 
the stalk will be so far developed as to be 
killed during the winter. 
