THE CULTIVATOR. 
21 
DRY OR GREEN WOOD FOR FUEL. 
Messrs. Editors :—I lately observed in a New Eng¬ 
land paper, an elaborate argument by a man apparently 
in sober earnest, in favor of using green wood for fuel 
in preference to dry; and I find there are many who en¬ 
tertain similar ideas. Although I have no doubts on the 
matter myself, I should be pleased if you would give 
your opinion on the subject through the Cultivator. 
Inquirer. 
An old book, the ee Prompter,” recommended that 
back-logs should be green, and the reason assigned was, 
that as only the front of the log should burn, a green one 
was better than a dry one, as the latter would be apt to 
get on fire on all sides at the same time. As back-logs 
have, however, gone out of fashion, this, the only ad¬ 
missible case in which green wood was the best, may 
be considered as testimony in favor of dry wood for fuel 
in all other cases. 
Wood seasoned or dried at a temperature of 100° 
weighs about one-third less than green wood; for while 
some kinds will lose only about 25 per cent., there are 
others that will lose 50 per cent. As a cord of green 
wood will weigh on an average more than 4,000 pounds, 
every cord will contain some thirteen hundred pounds of 
water, or about one hundred and seventy gallons. This 
water must be raised to the boiling heat, and expelled 
by evaporation before the wood containing it can possi¬ 
bly burn. All the heat required for this purpose passes 
off in the latent state, and is lost to all useful purposes. 
The man, therefore, who burns green wood, loses pre¬ 
cisely as much caloric, or in other words, of his wood, 
in every cord, as would be required to boil away 170 
gallons of water. What part that would be, he can esti¬ 
mate for himself. 
But, says the acvocate of green wood, all the fluids of 
the living tree are not water. The sap holds in solution 
sugar, gum, starch, resin, &c., all of which are inflam¬ 
mable substances, or will burn. This is true; but none 
of these substances are lost when green wood is dried; 
all remain for the benefit of the fuel; on the contrary, 
none of these will burn until free from the water holding 
them in solution, and much of them is driven off by the 
heat required for that evaporation. View the matter 
then as we may, there is a loss in burning green wood. 
The best wood for fuel is that which is cut green, split 
into suitable sizes, and thoroughly and quickly dried, 
with as little exposure to rain or moisture as possible. 
There are some who cut and split their wood while in a 
sound and green state; but this is left exposed to the 
weather perhaps year after year, until the substances we 
have named as originally existing in it, and which con¬ 
tribute so much to its value, have become wasted, and 
even the texture of the wood itself partially changed. 
Such wood is of little value; indeed, it may be doubted 
whether in this condition it will afford as much heat as 
when green. Wood, too, is frequently damaged by 
being cut when full of sap, and instead of being split and 
prepared for drying, it is left in logs, in which state the 
juices ferment, sour, and this chemical change seriously 
injures the wood for fuel. Experiments carefully made, 
have demonstrated that dry wood will keep the thermo¬ 
meter at a higher range, and for a longer time, than 
green wood will do, pound for pound of each being used 
in the trials. Dry wood should not be made too fine, 
when economy in burning is consulted. If too fine, the 
heat will be too violent, in proportion to its duration, 
whereas by allowing sticks of suitable size, the heat will 
be more equal and permanent. Our experience and our 
experiments have convinced us that burning green wood 
is vexatious in practice and miserable in economy. 
WINTERING FARM STOCK. 
Messrs. Editors—A s we are now in the foddering 
season, I offer a few remarks on the subject of winter¬ 
ing stock. Having noticed in various sections, a want 
of attention on the part of the farmer, it may not be 
amiss to admonish him at this season of the year. 
Many seem to say by their management, that young 
stock will not grow and thrive in winter, and some are 
compelled to skin more or less before spring, for want 
of attention. Let no more stock be kept on a farm than 
can be at all times in thriving condition, with shelters 
to protect them from the chilling blasts of winter, es¬ 
pecially for the young; give them the best of hay, 
morning, noon and night; and if they do not thrive, a 
little grain may not be amiss. Calves may be fed oats 
in winter without injury, say a pint per day, till accus¬ 
tomed to grain; then increase the mess till you give a 
quart at morning and night. Calves thus wintered, with 
good pasture the following summer, when dressed in 
the fall, will weigh from five to six hundred weight. 
Many of our best colts are injured by the first wintering, 
and are not worth as much in the spring as when wean¬ 
ed in the fall. Thus you see a loss of fodder and growth, 
and many times midsummer is past before they begin to 
thrive. The growth of the stock is the profit of the 
farm, therefore daily care should be taken to see that 
they are constantly improving. Let every foddering 
show that your stock is gaining, and in the spring you 
will feel rewarded for your winter’s toil. 
Dutchess co., Nov. 23, 1843. J. G. W. 
SOWING INDIAN CORN BROADCAST 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —Having seeen sundry 
interesting communications in your valuable journal, re¬ 
lative to the immense yield of corn sown broadcast, I 
am induced to give you e ‘ my experience,” though it is 
the result of an experiment on a small scale. In the 
spring of ’42, I prepared two squares in my garden, each 
20 feet by 30, and sowed them with corn—about half a 
gallon to each square—though this is too much. When 
about waist high, I commenced pulling it up by the 
roots, and feeding it green, to a fine Durham heifer and 
some pigs; the latter devouring it as greedily as the 
former. 
I pulled up and resowed these squares four times du 
ring the season, and kept the animals in the finest order, 
without any thing else worth naming. This year I did 
the same thing; and I am satisfied nothing will produce 
half as much as corn thus planted or sown. Every time 
I stripped a square, it was forthwith highly manured, and 
at once spaded up and resown; and this season I had 
corn thigh high, when frost came. I generally fed the 
corn as it was pulled up, but sometimes, for a relish or 
change, it was cut up and seasoned with meal and salt. 
Memphis, Term., Nov. 23, 1843. Alpha 
CARE OF BEES. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker: —These interesting in¬ 
sects occupy a part of our garden. I prefer having them 
hung on a shelf supported by a frame, which prevents 
insects, the ants in particular, from climbing to them. 
I spiked pieces to the rafters of an out-house, on the 
north part of the garden. These pieces have the same 
pitch of the rafters; to these I pinned perpendicular pie¬ 
ces of boards, with cross pieces at the bottom; on these 
I placed a shelf, and affixed a roof of boards extending 
from the out-house roof. 
Persons wishing their bees to swarm more frequently 
than they do under cover, may effect this object simply 
by exposing them to the rays of the sun. I speak from 
experience. Last summer I had two hives, neither of 
which swarmed during the summer. In the fall, I parted 
with one of them, and in the spring lowered the remain¬ 
ing hive, so that the rays of the sun had a strong power 
on the hive, whenever it shone, and it produced three 
swarms nearly at the same time, viz: on the 23d, 24th, 
and 26th days of June. 
The grape vine is a pretty thing for bees to alight on 
when they swarm, and it should be planted near them 
for that purpose. I have never hived swarms with so 
little trouble, as when they alighted on the grape vine. 
John M. Harlan. 
Chester Co., Pa., July, 1843. 
There are two silk factories in operation in Rich 
mond, Indiana, which manufacture the best silk for 
dresses, gentlemen’s vests, handkerchiefs, &c. 
