THE CULTIVATOR. 
301 
that could be taken up at the reduced price of $1,25 per 
acre. After traveling three hundred miles through Ala¬ 
bama, we crossed that bold and beautiful stream, the 
Tennessee. Here we found ourselves entering on the 
rich lands of the west, as well as the fine McAdam l oads 
which are becoming universal in Tennessee, and are do¬ 
ing much for this interesting section. Of all the coun¬ 
tries I have yet seen, midale Tennessee affords the finest 
home for the cultivator of the soil; although they cannot 
make money as fast as we of the south, still their soil is 
so rich, the climate so mild and pleasant, and the water 
so pure, that it appeared to me, that of all the happy men 
in this world, the Tennessee farmer could be the most 
happy, if he would only determine to own less land, stu¬ 
dy agriculture, improve his farm, have not only a snug 
and nice farm, but a snug and nice garden; and he would 
be encouraged to do this from the circumstance that he 
can better improve those valuable lands than in most sec¬ 
tions of the south, for the reason that they will last for 
ages. The farmers of middle Tennessee are improving 
their lands with clover at this time. Provisions are so 
cheap here, that it costs almost nothing to live. L am 
at present paying $3 a week for myself, my wife, two 
servants, and two horses, and our fare is excellent. 
While in Nashville, I attended the markets to price the 
articles of provisions. The following are the prices: 
flour, 2 cts. per lb.—beef, 2 cts. per lb.—3 doz. eggs for 
10 cts.—butter, 5 cts. per lb., and a great abundance of 
every thing at the most reduced prices.” 
HARVESTING CORN. 
We find the following detail of an experiment in har¬ 
vesting Indian corn, in the Massachusetts Spy, by a cor¬ 
respondent who dates at Bloomfield Farm, Harvard. It 
will be seen that its results agree with the practice of 
many of our best farmers. 
« Last fall before the time for cutting stalks had arri¬ 
ved, I reserved twelve rows of nearly a square acre of 
corn to test the comparative utility of cutting the stalk 
(or topping) and stooking—or cutting up stalk and butt 
with the ear on. The rows were alternate, thus. No. 1, 
the easternmost row, was topped. No. 2, the second 
row, was stocked. No. 3, topped. No. 4, stooked. No. 
5, topped. No. 6, stooked. Thus on to No. 12 inclu¬ 
sive. The stooked was bound with straw and carried out 
on the grass, when the rest of the field was topped. All 
was harvested at the same time. 
The corn was husked into baskets, holding one and a 
half bushels of ears, 2d Nov., 1843. 
Weight of stooked baskets of ears. 
No. 1 weighed 79 pounds, 
No. 2 « 72 “ 
No. 3 « 74 “ 
No. 4 (not full) 67 “ 
Whole weight of stooked,.. 
W’htof unstooked baskets of eai*s, 
No. 1 weighed 75 pounds. 
No. 2 “ 73 “ 
No. 3 " 74 « 
No. 4 (not full) 19 13-16 
. 292 
not stooked,. 241 13-16 
50 01-16 
Balance in favor of stooked, 50 lbs. 3 oz. in ear, by 
weight. 
Balance in favor of stooked, 3 pecks, in the measure. 
On the 17th of Jan. last past, both parcels were shelled. 
The six unstooked, yielded 2 bushels and 3 pecks of 
shelled corn. 
Difference in favor of stooked, 3 pecks of shelled corn. 
On weighing the shelled corn, the difference in favor 
of the stooked was 47 lbs, 7 ounces. 
On weighing the ears in November last, Mr. Wood, 
one of my men, my brother and myself observed that the 
stooked was not so dry as the unstooked. Consequently, 
the stooked weighed more and lost more on the cob than 
the unstooked. But the shelled stooked more than held 
its own on the last weighing. On using the stalks and 
huts of the stooked, which were cut up in four inch pie¬ 
ces, by Hovey’s Spiral Hay Cutter, both parts, or rather 
the whole was found equally sweet and.green. If it is 
added, that the rows of corn were 3 feet 6 inches apart 
and that the labor of harvesting the stooked, was, in eve¬ 
ry stage, less than by the usual mode (except in husking) 
you and your readers in general—and our old Harvard 
farmers in particular—will have all the elements neces¬ 
sary to make their own calculations, and may draw such 
conclusions as are warranted by the premises.” 
ESCAPE OF MANURE FROM THE SOIL. 
Mr. S. M. Brockway of Hamburgh, Conn., proposes 
the following query:—“Does manure pass off from a 
sandy soil by evaporation, or does it descend deep into 
the earth with the water?” 
We have no doubt that manure may be carried off in 
both of the ways suggested by our correspondent. If a 
quantity is taken and exposed to the action of the air and 
rains, its value is after a while dissipated. A person in 
close proximity to this manure, may have noticed a dis¬ 
agreeable odor issuing from it. This was an indication 
that some of the most valuable portions of the manure, 
were escaping in the form of gas. At the same time that 
waste is thus going on, rains may be washing away the 
valuable particles that are not taken off in the atmos¬ 
phere, till at length, by the combined process of wash¬ 
ing and evaporation, nothing is left but a mass of inert 
matter. Now the wasting process here described, may 
go on in a greater or less degree when the manure is depo¬ 
sited in the soil—modified, of course, by the nature of the 
soil, and the depth to which the manure is buried. In a 
very light and porous soil, a deeper covering is required 
to prevent waste from evaporation, than would be neces¬ 
sary in one^more compact; but the more loose the soil, 
the greater would be the liability' of waste from the de¬ 
scent of the manure by water. That manure, in some 
cases does thus descend, is proved from the fact that earth 
has been taken three or four feet from the surface, where 
barns and stables have stood, which exhibited evident 
traces of the enriching deposit, and which on being ap¬ 
plied to the soil, plainly showed its fertilizing properties 
in the increased luxuriance of vegetation. On moist and 
cold lands, manure should be kept near the surface—if it 
is deeply buried, it lies inactive. On wet soils, especial¬ 
ly for grass lands, we should prefer applying manure en¬ 
tirely to the surface. No specific rule can be given in 
regard to the depth to which manure should be placed in 
the soil; it must always depend on the kind of manure, 
the nature of the soil, and the kind of crop to be cultiva¬ 
ted. In general, we should prefer to cover it no deeper 
than should appear to be necessary to prevent the escape 
of the gases evolved by decomposition; and this depth 
will depend as before said, on the character of the soil; 
an inch in some cases would be equal to three inches in 
other cases. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
New Ag. Journal.— Prof. Emmons of this city, and 
Dr. A. J. ]Prime of Newburgh, have issued proposals 
for “ The American Quarterly Journal of Agriculture ana 
Science;’’ to be published in this city, in numbers of a t 
least 150 pages, forming two volumes of 300 pages each 
per year, at $3 per annum. The first number to be issu¬ 
ed early in January next. Prof. Emmons is well known, 
as a member of our State Geological corps, from its first 
organization, and is now engaged on the part of the 
State, in the preparation of a work on the character of 
the soils of New-York, as ascertained from analysis; an* 1 
Dr. Prime, though less known, has given evidence in his 
contributions to this and other journals, of his acquire 
ments in agricultural science. We believe the time ha? 
arrived for the establishment of a work of this character 
and if properly conducted, as we doubt not it will be, w« 
believe it will be sustained. 
Town ley on Bees.— “'A practical treatise on Hu 
manity to Bees, or practical Directions for the manage 
ment of Honey Bees, upon an improved and Humane 
Plan, by which the lives of Bees may be preserved, and 
abundance of Honey of a superior quality obtained.” 
The above is the title of a manual of 162 pages, duodeci¬ 
mo, published by Edward Townley, New-York. It con¬ 
tains valuable information on the subject of management 
of bees, and is recommended to all who feel an interest 
in these useful insects. 
