THE CULT IF A TOR. 
Oct. 
318 
Inquiries and Answers. 
Apple Seed —Being desirous of raising apple trees 
from the seed for the purpose of grafting, I wish to 
know if you can supply me with them. If so, at what 
price per gallon or bushel. I got some in Cincinnati 
two years since, but not one in one hundred germinated. 
In our climate—latitude 32° 30'—where our winters 
but seldom are colder than 15° above zero, what would 
be the most proper time to sow the seed 7 H. M Bry. 
Monroe, La. [Nurserymen sometimes furnish apple ; 
seed, but they are not often in market. Our corres¬ 
pondent may apply to Hooker & Co., Rochester, or A. 
Fahnestock & Co., Toledo, 0., who may furnish the de¬ 
sired information. The price is usually from six to ten 
dollars per bushel. The Cincinnati seed which failed 
to grow, had either spoiled by bad drying, or the pomace 
had fermented before they were washed out. Two or 
three days will often spoil them. The seed may be 
sown late in autumn, if safe from small animals—or 
very early in spring. 
Good seed may be easily distinguished from bad. If 
good, the kernel is quite white, and adheres considera¬ 
bly to the skin ; if bad, the color is not so white, and 
the kernel generally separates quite freely from the 
skin or shell ] 
Fruit Growing, &c.— L. I., New-York. —We are 
unable to advise you as to the best location for fruit¬ 
growing, &c., at the West; but we would advise vou, 
for the purposes you wish to accomplish, instead of 
going west, to locate on Long-Island, or in New-Jer- 
sey, or some where near New-York, where you will 
always find a ready market for all the things you pro¬ 
pose to grow. Thomas ' 5 or Barry’s work on Fruits 
will furnish you the information you desire about fruit¬ 
growing. In making out a balance-sheet, the stock 
on hand should be put down at its -present value, and 
not at its original cost. 
“Tabling” Broom Corn. —Can you give me any 
information in regard to the manner of breaking over 
and gathering broom corn 2 I have never seen any 
thing in the Cultivator in regard to the culture of it. 
I have about three and a half acres, very nice. Also 
can you give me the address of any broom manufac¬ 
turers 2 — Wm. H. Tupper. Benton Center, N. Y. 
[We copy the following directions, given by a corres¬ 
pondent in one of our former vols.: 
When the heads are fully grown, and the seed near¬ 
ly ripe, it is usual to “ table ” it,—which operation is 
performed by taking hold of the stalks some four or 
five feet from the ground, and breaking them down so 
that the upper section, with the heads, shall lie in a 
horizontal position. In doing this, begin say with the 
outer row on the right side of the field, and turn the 
heads in, or to the left hand, thus going the whole 
length of the row; then turn about and go the other 
way, turning the next row also to the left, so that the 
heads will lie on the first. In going thus through the 
whole piece, each pair of rows will be tabled together, 
with a convenient alley or path between, in which to 
pass up and down at the time of harvesting. When 
the seed is fully ripe, (or if a severe frost is apprehend¬ 
ed, it should he done before,) the heads or brush are 
to be severed from the stalks, and laid away to dry. 
This is done with a sharp knife, cutting off just above 
the upper joint. The brush is then carried to the shed 
or barn, and spread in thin layers on poles or rails, so 
that the air may have free circulation through it, and 
left to dry. Care should be taken to spread it as soon 
as possible after cutting, and to have it in thin layers, 1 
as it is very liable to heat. A small load got in just at 
sunset, and left on the wagon till the next morning, 
has been known to become so much heated as to injure 
it considerably. Having lain on the poles until thor¬ 
oughly dry, the brush may be taken down, and the 
leaves stripped off, which is very easily done, if care 
has been taken not to cut below the upper joint. 
Sawdust Compost —Will you inform me through 
your paper, of the best manner of making manure out 
of the sawdust and ashes of a steam saw-mill, and the 
manure of twenty-five head of mules, horses and cat¬ 
tle stabled thi-oughoat the year 2 I use sawdust from 
the mill for bedding the stock, and of course most of 
the liquid is saved and all thrown out together. I oc¬ 
casionally level down the manure heap and cover over 
five or six inches in depth of the wood ashes made at 
the mill. All remains exposed to the iceather. I have 
thought the decomposition of so large a portion of the 
heap as the sawdust makes, from exposure to the 
weather, gave me a more valuable material in the fall 
and spring, than if the whole were kept dry by sheds. 
Is this a mistake 2 W. P. Mellen. Peach Orchard, 
Ky. [The amount of exposure to the weather, for the 
proper decomposition of compost, must depend upon 
circumstances. There should always be a considerable 
amount of moisture through all parts of the heap, to 
favor proper decomposition. If the sawdust is in very 
large proportion, this will not always be the case, if it 
is kept wholly under a shed. But there must not be 
too much water, so as to carry off or wash away any 
part of the manure. We would recommend applying 
the ashes in thin layers, so as to become intimately 
mixed; and if the sawdust does not constitute at least 
one-half of the heap, we would make up the deficiency 
by the application of turf, loam or peat ] 
Time for Cutting Corn-fodder. —Should corn-fod¬ 
der sowed in drills in the ordinary way, be left stand¬ 
ing until the corn is so near ripe as that you would pull 
the blades in making fodder of them, before cutting? 
When cut, how long should it stand in small shocks to 
be sufficiently cured for the large stack or barn 2 W. 
P. Mellen. [Corn sown in drills for fodder should be 
so thick that little or no corn can grow on the stalks— 
or .about 40 grains to the running foot. This thick 
sowing makes a shorter growth, but the weight per acre 
is greater than with thinner planting and taller stalks, 
as we have fully ascertained by weighing. The denser 
growth also makes the stalks finer, and more readily 
and completely eaten by cattle, than larger and coarser 
growth. It should stand till the edges of the leaves 
begin to lose their green, and dry up—about corres¬ 
ponding with the age of the common corn crop while 
glazing. After becoming apparently well dried by 
standing several weeks in shocks, this small corn-fodder 
will ferment and spoil if stacked. It should therefore 
be made at once in large well-capped shocks, to stand 
till winter; or else, after drying a few weeks, be placed 
in quite small stalks, with brush or rails perpendicular¬ 
ly in the center for a ventilating hole—and the stack 
raised a little from the ground on rails, brush, &c, to 
admit air below, would be still better, but not abso¬ 
lutely necessary. Pulling the blades of corn always 
prevents the proper maturity of the plant thus strip¬ 
ped.] 
Early May Wheat. —E. of Albany, in answer to 
his inquiry of Aug. 19, is informed that Early May 
i wheat was introduced here three years ago from Nash- 
