1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
29 
them to show any difference, as to firing or less yield 
of ears, than in the other corn, planted 4 by 18 to 20 
inches. I had manured the land, plowed with two 
horses, subsoiled with two, harrowed, scattered more 
manure and plowed it in lightly, harrowed level and 
marked out rows with a bull-tongue plow, dropped 
seed about, or over half bushel per acre, and covered 
with the harrow. The bull-tongue was run round 
when just up, scraped out with hoe, the sweep was 
used twice I think, and the hoe once more, but the 
last hoeing and sweeping was only done because it was 
a part of the field and the hands went through the 
whole. I believe that upon the same quality of land, 
same manuring, same corn, same season, and similar 
culture, that we can make as much corn in lat. 32°, as 
you can, or anybody else, anywhere else. I may err of 
course, but ridicule, nor assertion of all scratching ex¬ 
periments will not change me in my opinion. M. W. 
Philips. Edwards , Miss. Nov. 10, 1848. 
On the Culture of Sunflowers. 
Editors Cultivator- —In your October number are 
some inquiries on the culture of sunflowers. I have 
formerly raised them in quantities of a few bushels, an¬ 
nually, though without any very accurately conducted 
experiments. In the choice of soil, mode of planting, 
fas to depth, distance, number of spires in the hill,) 
and cultivation, I treat them exactly as I do corn. In 
an ordinary soil and season, the heads will measure 
from six to ten inches in diameter, though sometimes 
they will reach fourteen. 
As soon as some of the ripest heads begin to shell 
out, I commence gathering, by cutting off the heads 
short with a knife, dropping them into a basket. A 
few of the greenest ones must be left for a second 
gathering. If they are well ripened, and the weather 
be dry when they are gathered, they should be shelled 
at once. This is done by holding the head in one hand, 
while with a coarse curry-comb you shell them out 
with the other. If you attempt to thresh them with a 
flail, a portion of nearly every head will prove stubborn, 
and many of the seeds will be broken. The heads are so 
very fleshy, and mould so readily, that it is very diffi¬ 
cult to dry them in the interval between gathering 
and shelling. After shelling, spread and dry them 
partially; then winnow, and then dry thoroughly. 
All sorts of domestic animals are fond of them after 
a little use, while in a family of nut-loving children, 
they are scarcely less acceptable than beech and hazle 
nuts, especially when they are large and well-ripened. 
I can state nothing of their yield per acre, but should 
think them not inferior to corn, under similar circum¬ 
stances. 
After the seed is gathered, pull up the hills, let them 
dry a few days, until the earth will shake from the 
roots freely; then stack and dry for oven-wood, as the 
stalks are too woody and stubborn to decay readily, 
and plow into the soil. Plant only the single-headed 
variety, as-it will require much more labor to shell the 
many-headed, while the yield of seed is no larger. 
I know nothing of the best method of hulling, pre¬ 
paratory to bruising the kernels for oil. I would sug¬ 
gest, however, that the ordinary cast-iron bark mill, used 
by tanners, would probably hull them safely, as the seed, 
when thoroughly dried, shrinks greatly in the hull, and 
might probably open without breaking the kernel. 
C. E. G. Utica, Nov., 1848. 
Note. —There is one fact that I have not seen no¬ 
ticed. I have often found the sunflower covered quite 
thickly, very late in the season of vegetation, with the 
yellow-striped cucumber bug lodged on the lower side 
of the head. Whether they were seeking food, or a 
place of deposit for their eggs, I could not determine. 
I have not observed that they injure it while young. 
Effect of Drainage. 
I have a place on the Hudson river, through which 
a brook runs, which, in various ways, is the greatest 
ornament of the grounds. The brook takes its rise 
chiefly in a swamp, about three-fourths of a mile from 
the river, containing about one hundred and fifty acres, 
surrounded nearly on all sides by high hills, from springs 
in which, I suppose, the water in the brook is mainly sup¬ 
plied. At its outlet, there is a descent probably of 
thirty or forty feet, in a distance of ten or fifteen rods, 
so that the swamp can be easily drained, by cutting a 
deep ditch around it, and by this means bring into 
cultivation, as good a piece of land, as there is in the 
county—-which at present, is worth little or nothing. 
I own a part of this swamp, but have been thus far 
deterred from taking any step to have it drained, from 
a fear that it might reduce the quantity of water in the 
brook—a result, for which any increased value of my 
portion of the swamp, would be no compensation. 
Whether such would be the result, or whether on the 
contrary, the quantity of water in the brook might not 
be increased, by confining that of the swamp to the 
ditch, and thus dimish the surface exposed to evapora¬ 
tion, is what I have no means of deciding by any ex¬ 
perience of my own, or that of persons in my neighbor¬ 
hood. 
The object of this communication is, to obtain such 
information as will guide me in this matter. Henry 
Sheldon. New-York, Nov. 13, 1848. 
[We do not think the drainage of the swamp would 
tend to reduce the quantity of water in the brook; on 
the contrary, the drains, if directed into the channel, 
would probably throw into it a greater quantity.— Eds.] 
Deep and Subsoil Plowing. 
On page 334 of the last volume of The Cultivator, 
I find an article on subsoil plowing, by John Mallory. 
I have never met with any thing that in general so 
completely harmonises with my own views on that sub¬ 
ject. I think so well of the piece, that I should be 
glad if it could find its way into many other publica¬ 
tions. There is no subject that could be presented to 
the farmer of greater importance. I speak not from 
theory alone, but from practice. I think the two first 
paragraphs of the article ought to stand as a frontispiece 
to every agricultural work. 
Permit me to give a little of my own experience, and 
in that I shall be obliged to differ with Mr. Mallory as 
to time. He speaks of having subsoiled in Juno an ind 
May, and recommends spring or fall or any time in 
summer. Here I disagree with him, especially in re¬ 
gard to such land as he speaks of— swale. Where the 
climate will permit, the month of December is the pro¬ 
per time, or in other words before the frost sets in, and 
if the land is naturally inclined to be wet, the wetter 
when plowed the better. The plowing ought to be 
done with team strong enough to turn up from twelve 
to fourteen inches. The first grand agent is the frost, 
which will entirely change the character of the soil; it 
will become pervious to air and moisture; the subsoil 
will become mingled with the top-soil, and that which 
was barren will become fruitful. 
Now we perfectly agree, that the interest of the far¬ 
mer requires that the soil be made deeper. Mr. Mal¬ 
lory’s plan is to do it in summer, with two plows, leaving 
the subsoil broken up, but still below the surface-soil. 
This may answer where the land has a larger propor¬ 
tion of sand or gravel; but where the subsoil is a stiff 
blue, or red clay—sometimes a potter’s clay—impervious 
to water, it will be inclined to run together, not having 
been removed from its former position, or mixed with 
the top-soil; and if it was thrown up in summer, the 
