1858 . 
THE CULTIVATOR 
79 
ing, with such good effect that five and six good crops 
were cut from it in tbe course of the summer. 
Jfo greater contrast could be found, than in the dif¬ 
ferent way in which every article fit for manuring is 
treated in that country and in this. There, every thing 
is scraped, gathered, saved—here, on the contrary, 
waste can be seen on almost every farm. It is true, 
all the Swiss cultivators cannot use such perfect method 
as that followed by Mr. C. They have not the money, 
nor the space to fix their barn-yards; but they all 
have a well built manure heap, with a cistern or a 
tank, whose contents serve to keep the pile moist. 
I never saw gypsum used, and do not believe that it 
is employed except by a few farmers. 
A method often followed there, and which can be 
employed here with advantage, as I know by trial, is 
this: They dig their stables so that being lower behind 
than at the trough, it will hold a certain amount of 
manure without disadvantage to the animals. Every 
night a heavy litter of straw is put in; and the ma¬ 
nure is drawn out only once a week, or once every 
two weeks. In this way the urine is soaked in the 
straw, and after being carried to the pile, the slight 
fermentation converts it into very good manure. It is 
not as desirable a method as the other; it takes more 
straw or litter of any sort, and more work, but it is 
more simple and easier to carry into effect. I followed 
it long enough to know that in that way more than 
double the amount of manure can be made, compared 
with the ordinary manner generally employed here. A 
great deal of litter must be used, and for that purpose 
wheat straw is the best and cheapest, and the farmer 
who lets his rot on the field where it was thrashed, and 
his cattle be out in the open air, is blind to his own in¬ 
terest. 
The object of this letter is to support the opinion of 
Prof. Johnson. He said: “That method deserves to 
be known and tried in this country.” I have seen it 
carried into effect in Europe ; I tried it here, and it is 
my firm belief that it is worth more than a passing 
thought from all the farmers who wish the advance¬ 
ment of Agriculture. Albert Chavannes. Knox¬ 
ville , Tenn. 
-*-*-o-- 
Feeding Hogs in Orchards. 
Will feeding hogs in an apple orchard, the trees be¬ 
ing 8 or 12 inches in diameter, be likely to injure them 7 
Wishing to improve the soil in mine, I have fattened 
24 head, weighing perhaps 250 lbs. each, on about 
three-fourths of an acre, feeding to them some 400 
bushels of corn,—the soil clay (not tenacious however,) 
and resting on limestone at 6 or 8 feet below, and ori¬ 
ginally covered with sugar maple. I shall plow it in 
the spring as soon as may be, and probably plant, corn 
for fodder, or pumpkins on the clearer part of it and 
between the rows. R. Hatton. Waynesville, Ohio. 
We have been long familiar with the practice of al¬ 
lowing hogs to feed on the fallen fruit of orchards, run¬ 
ning for months among them, and never knew them to 
injure large or bearing trees. If they shade the 
ground much the crop of corn fodder will be small, but 
the cultivation will be of great benefit to the fruit. If 
many of the roots are quite near the surface, we would 
prefer plowing with a gang-plow, (being cheaper and 
shallower) unless in sod. It is better to mutilate the 
roots some, than -to neglect cultivating. 
In answer to the frequent inquiries for the best mode 
of expressing the juice of the Chinese sugar cane, 
adapted to the wants and means of common farmers, 
we now furnish a figure and description of the contri¬ 
vance adopted the past autumn by Gideon IIeren- 
deen of Farmington, Ontario Co., N Y., whose expe¬ 
riments in making molasses from the cane, have been 
more successful than any others we have met with— 
more especially as regards the process of expressing the 
juice. The molasses was found superior in quality to 
common cane molasses, but not equal to that of the 
sugar maple, nor to some other samples obtained from 
the Chinese cane. It was, however, evaporated in a 
common potash kettle—it is intended another year to 
use suitable evaporating pans, when the result will no 
doubt be a better article, and be furnished at less cost. 
The actual expense in this case, including cost of seed, 
use of land, fuel, and all other expenditures, was about 
sixteen cents per gallon—and he assures us he could 
sell it at a good profit for twenty-five cents per gallon, 
should he manufacture it for market. The molasses is 
found excellent for buckwheat cakes and mince pies. 
The mill is not patented—it is attached to a common 
horse-power, used for driving a threshing machine; is 
worked by one horse—and did not cost far from ten 
dollars. 
The cane was planted late in spring, (one pound of 
seed to half an acre,) in drills 4 feet apart, and a part 
of it in thin drills with plants one foot apart, and the 
rest in thicker drills 4 or 5 inches apart. The thick 
drills yielded the most, and are preferred. For some 
time the young plants had so small and puny an ap¬ 
pearance, that one-half was plowed up for buckwheat, 
leaving only a fourth of an acre for experiment. From 
this 55 gallons of molasses were obtained. 
Before cutting up the cane in autumn, a man passed 
along the rows and stripped off ail the leaves, which 
was done with great expedition, by merely stroking his 
hand downwards around each stalk, as fast as another 
could cut the stalks. The leaves were suffered to lie 
on the ground till sufficiently dry, when they were ra¬ 
ked and drawn in for fodder. Two good two-horse 
loads of leaves were thus obtained from the quarter- 
acre. 
The mill consisted substantially of two cast-iron 
rollers, six inches in diameter, and turning together, 
not faster than one revolution in three seconds. These 
rollers were turned, smooth and perfectly true,'* and 
their faces fitted together with great accuracy, and on 
this accuracy and the slowness of motion, the success 
* They bad been made for some other purpose, and were 
purchased cheaply at a foundry, hence a reason of the mill 
costing so little. They v r ere hollow, with solid heads. 
