1849. THE CULTIVATOR. 95 
were sowed on them,, and more comfortable blankets 
for horses I never saw. If a horse is obliged to stand 
in the storm, as is frequently the case, covered with 
such a blanket, he is kept dry and comfortable. 
They are, also, an article of great durability. Six 
years ago, I made a pair for my horses; and I have 
used them with my team, summer and winter to ride 
on, and they will last six years more. 
Perhaps India rubber cloth, lined with such worsted 
or woolen blankets, would subserve quite as good a 
purpose as oil-cloth;—but it is doubtful whether, with 
harsh usage, they would be as durable. 
If farmers would be careful to make their stables 
more comfortable during” the winter season, and to pro¬ 
vide such blankets as have been recommended for their 
horses, when they are obliged to stand in the cold wind 
or storm-, they would not contract such violent colds; 
which too often terminate in the heaves , or lay a foun¬ 
dation for some disease, from which the animal never 
recovers. S. Ed’wds Todd. Lake Ridge, Tompkins 
CoN. Y. _______ 
To Confine Hogs in a Wagon to remove them. 
Hogs may be removed almost any distance in wagons 
without injury, by having a leather strap buckled tight 
round their bodies immediately back of the fore legs, 
to which another strap or rope is to be attached, to ex¬ 
tend from the lower part of the body of the hog, to the 
bottom of the wagon, where it is to be made fast, and 
sufficiently long to enable the animal to stand up or lie 
down at pleasure. 
By the more common method of drawing their feet 
together and having them tied tightly with a cord, they 
often suffer injury from lameness, beside the uncomfort¬ 
able position in which it places them. P. S. Bur¬ 
lington Co., N. J., Jan. 29, 1849. 
Cultivation of Potatoes. 
Eds. .Cultivator—-I cultivate the Mercer potato as 
follows. I prepare the ground in autumn by ridging in 
yard manure. In the spring, as soon as the frost is out, 
I split these ridges and cross plow plain. I then bring 
on half-rotted (or more) yard manure and ashes in com¬ 
post, and deposit this in heaps; the rows of heaps be¬ 
ing five feet distant. These heaps are then spread to 
the breadth of two feet, and immediately ridged up. 
The ground between the ridges is then harrowed, and 
then furrowed out with a light machine, drawn by a 
single horse, having three large cultivator formed 
blades, at distances of one foot. This makes three 
deep drills, distant from each other 12 inches. A man 
then follows with gypsum and charcoal-dust, which is 
thickly sown. The sets or cuttings are then planted 
eight inches distant in the drills. These are all cover¬ 
ed at once by a hand drag with teeth of such a form and 
size as will well cover the sets, and drawn by two men 
walking on each side of this bed of drills. Before the 
plants break ground, these beds are raked with iron¬ 
headed rakes and teeth inch long. This is a quick 
operation. 
When the plants are well up, they are gypsumed ; 
and when they are still upright, and before they begin 
to fall, the ridge of covered manure between the beds 
is split, and this earth and manure is taken up by the 
spade or shovel, and evenly spread amongst the pota¬ 
toes in the bed, to the depth of two or three inches. 
After this operation, the space occupied by the ridge is 
planted out to cabbages, at three feet in the row. This 
is the whole cultivation which the potatoes receive. 
It is absolutely necessary in this mode, in cutting the 
potatoes for planting, that the root and the sprout end 
of the potato should be thrown aside, otherwise they 
will not come up together, and in consequence will ve¬ 
ry much impede the raking and after culture. 
Having refused the ends, I halve the middling sized 
potatoes, and quarter the very largest. These cuttings, 
I thoroughly dry by spreading in the sun for several 
days before planting. I never mind how early I plant. 
If I could get a chance, I would do it in February. By 
this method, I raised 300 and 310 bushels of Mercer 
potatoes to the acre, not mentioning the cabbages. In 
this mode, the ground is kept mellow and light, for 
there is no foot of man or beast set upon the bed after 
it is furrowed. The potatoes turn of uniform size, if 
the season is good, and the bed is a perfect mass of 
well formed roots; and there is not a quarter of the 
weeds commonly seen in potato crops. Yeoman. 
Middletown , Ct., Feb., 1849. 
Variety of Indian Cora. 
Mr. A. G. Moody, of Smithfield, Isle of Wight Co., Ya. 
writes us that he has a kind of corn, called the “ South 
Oregon corn/ 7 which he thinks more valuable than any 
kind he has before cultivated. This corn, it is stated, 
was brought into notice by the late President Harri¬ 
son, who received it from the southern part of Oregon, 
in 1839. Mr. M. describes it as follows: “ It is bright 
yellow; the ears long, with from 16 to 24 rows of grains 
to the ear; grains from half an inch to three-fourths of 
an inch in length, and very often longer; cob red, and 
of small size; stalk remarkably thick. The variety 
resists the drouth better than any I have noticed be¬ 
fore.” Mr. M. states that he has tried this corn two 
years, and be thinks it will yield thirty per cent, more 
than any kind he has cultivated. He says li it is an 
early variety, and thinks would suit the northern farm¬ 
ers admirably.” In relation to this, we will remark, 
that it evidently (from the description,) belongs to what 
is called the southern or u dent” class, and would not, 
probably, be early enough for our latitude. It is, no 
doubt, a very ^ood variety for regions to which it ib 
adapted, though we see nothing strikingly different, 
(except the extraordinary length of the grains,) from 
the yellow red-cob corn that is raised in the southerly 
part of Ohio and in Kentucky. Mr. M. has some of 
the seed for sale, at two dollars a bushel. 
Composts—Cheap Manure. 
Eds. Cultivator —You ask about my compost heap. 
I live in a large manufacturing town, with a population 
of 12,000 or more. I have a cart with a tight box, 
holding 36 square feet. I send this cart out with my 
oxen, and give the parties driving and filling it 75 
cents for a full load of night soil; having first made a 
basin of dry marsh mud, of which I have abundance, 
into which this night soil is emptied. We have several 
large founderies, that use much charcoal; the dust they 
cannot burn. This dust they give to me; and it only 
costs me cartage to bring it to my night soil. Again, 
we have several large factories, that use anthracite 
coal. I take from them their sifted ashes; this costs 
me nothing but carting. 
Again, we have other factories that use half coal, 
half wood. For these ashes, I give one cent per byishel. 
Now I mix all these ingredients into a home-manufac¬ 
tured poudrette. I ought to have said, that to each 
load of night soil I add one bushel of Plaster of Paris, 
which, with the charcoal dust and plaster, will render 
it inodorous. 
Next, I buy oyster shells at 3| cents per bushel; 
burn them with cedar bush, from a mountain lot I own. 
One bushel of shells makes two of lime; but I cover 
the heap with an equal quantity of marsh mud, which, 
in fact, is a species of turf. And here I have a large 
