284 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept. 
Thoughts on the Objects of Plowing. 
“ The formation of a seed-bed,” may be truly stated, 
is the chief object of plowing, as this indeed includes 
most of the minor inducements to the use of this im¬ 
plement of tillage. A seed-bed of clean, mellow, fresh- 
turned earth, is a pre-requisite to the sowing or plant¬ 
ing of all crops, with few trifling exceptions. But 
“ the particular manner of attaining this object must 
depend upon the nature of the soil and the crop to be 
cultivated,” yet there are certain general principles 
common to all soils and products, which, following par¬ 
tially Thaee’s classification*, we shall attempt to state 
in this connection. 
1. The loosening and pulverization of the soil, is the 
first great object of the operation of plowing—the first 
thing to be done toward the formation of a seed-bed. 
All soils have a natural tendency to consolidation, but 
more especially those of a clayey character, and in 
time become too hard for the roots of many of our cul¬ 
tivated plants to penetrate sufficiently to obtain the 
nourishment required. Plowing is therefore necessary, 
and the more perfectly it loosens and pulverizes the 
soil, the more equally will it be penetrated, and the 
more numerous will be the roots sent out, until the 
whole soil is filled with their hair-like fibres. “ A soil,” 
says Thaer in his Principles of Agriculture , “ can 
pever be too much loosened and pulverized; it may 
however be rendered too light, by interstices formed 
in it, making vacuums between the particles.” On this 
question, however, “doctors disagree,” some writers 
on the subject advising particular caution in cultivat¬ 
ing certain soils, advising to harden and consolidate 
rather than to loosen the same. 
2. Another object of plowing, is the complete mix¬ 
ture of the parts of which the soil is composed. This 
is necessary to be accomplished, because “ an earthy 
mass composed of heterogeneous substances, is posi¬ 
tively injurious to the roots of plants ; vegetation is im¬ 
peded when the young fibrous roots pass from one kind 
of earth into another.” All manures applied, especi¬ 
ally those of ameliorating character, like lime, marl, 
muck, ashes, &c., should be thoroughly mixed with the 
soil, and barn-yard manure is more efficacious when 
spread equally and well incorporated with the plowed 
surface. 
3. To bring up the under soil to the surface is an¬ 
other object of plowing. This belongs in part to the 
objects contemplated in mixing the soil, but may be 
treated as a separate division of the subject. To ex¬ 
pose the soil to the action of the atmosphere, has long 
been the practice of agriculture, many advantages be¬ 
ing known to result from it. The precise manner in 
which this is effected remains in doubt, but there is no 
question but that many soils acquire fertility by aera¬ 
tion—by the exposure of the soil to the action of light, 
air and moisture—and this is one great object of fal¬ 
lowing. 
4. The destruction of weeds is another object of the 
use of the plow. Weeds have been divided into two 
classes : those which increase by their seeds, and those 
which are propagated principally by their roots—an 
essential distinction, as regards the means used for their 
destruction. The weeds produced from seeds can only 
be eradicated by bringing all the seeds where they 
will germinate—near or upon the surface—and then 
destroying them by tillage. To this end not only must 
the plowing be frequent, but all the clods must be 
broken, and the use of the harrow will be found neces¬ 
sary in addition. To destroy weeds which propagate 
by roots, we must bury them deeply and perfectly with 
the plow, or by shallow surface tillage, cut them up by 
the roots, and expose to the sun and air. In either 
case frequent tillage will be necessary, and a fallow 
will be the result. 
5. Burying the manure is the last object of plowing 
to which we shall now refer. Long manure should be 
placed at some depth under the soil, while rotten dung 
needs only a shallow covering of earth. To plow under 
long manure on green sward, requires less depth than 
on stubble or fallow land, as the sward gives a stiffer 
furrow—more completely covering the manure. In 
this case, the next plowing should be deeper than the 
first, in order to bring up a portion of earth to mix 
with and cover the manure, and the more completely 
it can be incorporated with the soil, the greater its ef¬ 
fect upon the crop. 
-•- 
Preparing Sweet Corn. 
Mr. Tucker —In your last “Country Gentleman,” 
I find a request for a recipe for drying sweet corn. 
As we have it very nice, I will give you my way of 
preparing it. 
Take the corn in the milk, scald it in sufficient wa¬ 
ter to cover it, covering the pot with the husks. Take 
it from the cobs with the handle of a spoon. Spread 
it upon sheets in the sun for three or four days ; stir¬ 
ring it very often. 
To prepare it for the table ; pick and wash it very 
clean, put it into a tin basin upon the back of the 
stove, well covered with cold water and the basin co¬ 
vered, two hours before it is wanted. Do not let it 
boil; it hardens it; season it with butter and salt. 
You would hardly know it from fresh corn. 
Corn Soup. 
Grate 18 ears of sweet corn; boil the cobs in three 
quarts of water one hour; boil the grated corn in 
the same water, with a pint of milk, a table spoonful 
of butter, with a little flour braided into it; pepper and 
salt to taste. When it boils, set it upon the top of the 
stove, and stir in three eggs ; do not strain it. 
Corn Oysters. 
Eighteen ears grated corn, three eggs, pepper and 
salt to taste, three table spoons of flour. Fry in hot 
pork, fat or lard. Serve hot. M. A. K. Schaghti- 
coke , N. Y. 
-. - 
Blackberry Wine. 
There is no wine equal to the blackberry wine when 
properly made, either in flavor or for medicinal pur¬ 
poses, and all persons who can conveniently do so, 
should manufacture enough for their own use every 
year, as it is invaluable in sickness as a tonic, and 
nothing is a better remedy for bowel diseases. We 
therefore give the receipt for making it, and having 
tried it ourselves we speak advisedly on the subject: 
“ Measure your berries and bruise them ; to every 
gallon adding one quart of boiling water. Let the 
mixture stand twenty-four hours, stirring occasionally; 
then strain off the liquor into a cask, to every gallon 
adding two pounds of sugar; cork tight, and let it 
stand till the following October, and you will have 
wine ready for use, without further straining or boil¬ 
ing, that will make lips smack as they never smacked 
under similar influence before.”— Germantown Tele. 
