84 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Jan. 
Sugar cane is very near equal to corn, as food for hogs. 
And take the acre for acre, and Sugar Cane is very far 
superior to corn, from the fact that it will produce at 
least five times as much. In other words, five acres of 
Sugar Cane is equal as food for hogs, to 25 acres of 
corn.’ 1 ' -—-— 
Measurement of Hay.— A writer in the N. E. Far¬ 
mer , who seems to have had some considerable expe¬ 
rience in the buying or selling of hay, says that hay is 
bought and sold in his region (Reading, Ct.,) mostly 
by measure, and that 512 feet are usually taken as 
equal to a ton, more being required near the top of a 
mow, and less near the bottom. He states that he once 
sold a barnful of hay, and the bottom weighed a ton 
to 400 feet, and that the average weight of the whole— 
top, middle and bottom—was a little less than 500 feet 
for a ton. He says that he should be satisfied to take 
a common barnful of hay,—scaffold and bay,—at the 
rate of 500 feet for a ton. 
This agrees with the report of one of our subscribers 
at the west, who had occasion to bu}r hay last spring 
when it was uncommonly scarce and dear. The hay 
was a mixture of clover and timothy, and was the 
lower layer of three feet in thickness of a considera¬ 
ble bulk on a scaffold over a stable, equal in density, 
perhaps, to the middle of a mow 12 to 16 feet in depth. 
A ton was found to measure 510 feet. In buying or sell¬ 
ing hay by measure, it should be remembered that 
that which is coarse and rank will be more bulky than 
that made from fine grass or clover, or from any grass 
with a thick bottom. - 
Whether to Sell or to Feed. —There is no ques¬ 
tion that has not more than one side, and to judge 
without proper examination of all, is a prevailing 
error, especially with Agricultural readers and writers, 
and let us add, perhaps still more with farmers who 
are neither readers or writers. Much has been said in 
our columns of late in regard to the advantages of 
feeding stock as a source of both money and manuriai 
profit. As illustrating, however, that even this sub¬ 
ject may assume a different aspect on being looked at in 
a different light, we copy the following from a corres¬ 
pondent in the Rural New-Yorker : 
“Suppose corn in the State of New-York, owing to 
a light crop and a foreign demand, should be worth one 
dollar a bushel, while it was worth to put into beef or 
pork only fifty cents a bushel,—would the manure from 
a bushel of corn pay the other fifty cents ? I think 
not. Not that I undervalue manure,—it is everything 
to the farmer, but I would get it as cheap as I could, 
t would try clover, mix swamp muck with barn-yard 
manure; use ashes, plaster, lime, guano — anything 
that would, on trial, prove the cheapest. But I am 
clearly of opinion that, although as a general rule, 
coarse grain, hay and straw should be fed on the land 
where they grew, there are many exceptions to the rule. 
I have known men let straw rot down, with very little 
benefit from feeding it, rather than sell it for $2 a load ; 
while at the same time they could buy as much ma¬ 
nure as a load of straw would make for two shillings. 
It is unfortunate that we have not more reliable data 
to base our calculations upon.” 
Although the state of things here represented may 
be of rare occurrence, abundant room is afforded for 
the investigations of that experimental farm (when we 
get it,) to shed light upon the course that may be most 
economically pursued—upon the most advantageous 
method of converting materials into manure,—upon its 
actual worth to the farmer, as compared with the 
i money-value of these materials—upon the character 
of different manures, and what “ would on trial, prove 
the cheapest.” 
But as a general principle, we are strongly disposed 
to the belief that there is nothing cheaper , nothing 
better adapted to the wants of the land,nothing that will 
in such a majority of cases more surely prove of lasting 
benefit to the farm and to the farmer, than a system of 
feeding judiciously selected, combined however with 
the manufacture and saving all home-made manures, 
and the purchase if necessary, of such as plaster, lime, 
&c., in addition. -- 
Strawberry Plants by Mail to Texas. —Mr. 
Dingwall informs us that he has just heard of the ar¬ 
rival at Bonham, Texas, of a package of Wilson’s Al¬ 
bany Strawberry plants, sent there by mail soma two 
months ago. They were carefully done up in oiled 
silk, and mailed at the Albany post office Oct. 18th. 
They arrived at their destination Nov. 10th—the pas¬ 
sage thus taking over three weeks. Mr. D. was, how¬ 
ever, much pleased to learn that they were found “in 
excellent condition, making new roots, and putting out 
new leaves.” The success which has attended experi¬ 
ments of this kind, opens a new means of access to our 
best nurseries and florists, to those living in the most 
remote parts of the country, and will doubtless be both 
a convenience to them and an addition to the revenues 
of “ Uncle Sam.” Ought he to charge letter postage 
on. such packages 1 - 
Agricultural Reading. —You say that agricultu¬ 
ral reading is not a luxury, but a necessity. Upon this 
point allow me to remark, that with me it is both a 
luxury and a necessity ; hence you will perceive that 
I attach a two-fold importance to your periodicals. I 
like the Cultivator—like it for its timely suggestions, 
its faithful warnings, and its sage counsels. The “ Re¬ 
gister” is an excellent thing, just what every far¬ 
mer needs, and no one who can afford the “ weed” for 
his boys should think of doing without it. n. d. 
King Philip Corn. —In the statement which lately 
appeared in the Country Gentleman in relation to a 
crop of this variety of corn, an omission has led to a 
mistake on the part of some readers. It was stated 
that sixty bushels were obtained per acre, from an ave¬ 
rage portion of the field, without the application of any 
manure. Some have supposed there were but sixty 
bushels of ears; but shelled corn, not ears, was in¬ 
tended. The actual product was one hundred and 
twenty bushels of ears per acre. 
Heavy Bunches of Grapes. — Mr. Howatt, who 
furnishes a valuable article on the “Culture of the 
Grape in Cold Vineries,” for this number, says, in a 
private note — “I have grown Black Hamburghs in 
cold vineries, weighing sik pounds to a bunch. I see I 
was beaten three years ago in Philadelphia, a man 
having raised some weighing six pounds two ounces. 
These two weights have not yet been beaten.” 
Atwater’s Sewing Machine. —In answer to in¬ 
quiries, we can state that this machine is remarkable 
for its ingenuity and extreme simplicity, and judging 
from an examination of its parts, we should think it 
very durable. The price is only $15, and we are in¬ 
formed by some of the manufacturers that the actual 
cost of making the machine is less than six dollars. 
