160 
THE CULTIVATOR. May, 
mals, pay better when well fed and well cared for, than 
by the reverse policy ? 
I am aware that the answers to many of the above 
questions, depend much upon contingences and circum¬ 
stances. What I seek, is such information as will ena- 
ble me to understand the general philosophy of wool 
growing, and enable me to make calculations approxi¬ 
mating the truth before I commence. And all such, 
whether from you or others, will be thankfully re¬ 
ceived. C. Greenville C . H., South Carolina, March 
2, 1849. 
Our correspondent will find much information in re¬ 
gard to the subjects of his inquiries, in Mr. PettiboNe’s 
communication, published in our April number. We 
should be pleased to receive further remarks from those 
who are or have been engaged in sheep-husbandry. Eds. 
Stall-feeding Cattle in Virginia. 
Eds. Cultivator —-The farmers of our county have 
in the last three years, commenced feeding cattle for 
the winter and spring markets, and our success so far 
is very flattering. Our sales this year range from $7 to 
$8.25 per hundred; and notwithstanding the very high 
prices paid for stock last fall, we have sold in this way, 
our grain at high prices, and been paid well for the 
trouble of feeding. I suppose about 1200 head were 
fed this winter within 10 miles of Charlottesville, and 
I have but little doubt, with a good corn crop, the num¬ 
ber will be doubled next year. Most of these cattle 
are fed in close houses, and the greatest attention is 
paid to making and saving manure. Under this system 
—and dispensing with the tobacco crop, w 7 e hope in a 
few years to bring our lands to their original degree of 
fertility, and make Albermarle what nature intended 
her to be, the garden-spot of Virginia. R. W. N. No¬ 
land. Albermarle Co., Va., March 24, 1849. 
Valuable Essay. 
The Agricultural Society of Maryland, has lately 
awarded a prize to Thomas S. Pleasants, Esq., of 
Petersburg, Va., for the best essay on the means for 
preventing the destruction of various crops, by birds, 
insects, &c. We have read this essay with much inte¬ 
rest. Though brief, it contains man} 7 valuable obser¬ 
vations, deserving the attention of farmers. Mr. P. 
takes the ground that insects are the enemies from 
which farmers suffer the greatest loss; and that the best 
means of preventing the ravages of many of these, is 
the protection of birds . He observes that “ birds 
should be regarded as friends and not as enemies,” and 
that u the indiscriminate massacre to which they are 
subjected cannot be too severely reprobated. If there 
are any exceptions, it is only in the case of hawks and 
owls, which not only prey upon other birds of inferior 
strength and activity, but are particularly destructive 
to domestic fowls. Though they sometimes feed on 
moles and mice, and even snakes, yet on the whole, no 
defence can be offered in their behalf.” 
Destruction of Moles. —Mr. P. states that he u has 
the authority of a highly respectable neighbor for stating 
that he has nearly destroyed the moles in the grounds 
around his house by occasionally dropping in their tracks 
bread pills containing a small quantity of arsenic—say a 
fourth or a half a grain to each hill. The Palma Christi 
bean also causes them to disappear; but whether they are 
repelled by its odor, or, which is more probable, whe¬ 
ther they are destroyed by the coating of the seed, 
which is said to be poisonous, is not certainly known.” 
Indian Corn in England. 
Much has been said and great expectations excited in 
regard to the export of Indian corn and meal from this 
country to Britain. The favor with which the article 
has been received in the markets of that country, has 
been various; owing to the condition in which it has ar¬ 
rived there. Large quantities "were at first sent over 
in bulk without any preparation by artificial drying. A 
large proportion of this was much injured by fermenta¬ 
tion, Those acquainted with the transportation of In¬ 
dian corn* know how difficult it is to bring it in its natu¬ 
ral state, from the interior of our own country to the 
sea-board, without its heating and becoming musty and 
sour. The external coating of the grain, readily ad¬ 
mits the absorption of moisture, which is soon followed 
by more or less decomposition. 
To remedy these difficulties, kiln-drying, on various 
plans, was resorted to. Large quantities of meal from 
kiln-dried corn, have been exported. But this, in ma¬ 
ny instances, has not proved well, It has been injured 
in drying—has in some instances been burnt, and a por¬ 
tion of its nutritive properties destroyed. 
For these reasons, the use of the article in England, 
either as food for man or beast, has been comparative¬ 
ly limited. 
At a late meeting of the Council of the Royal Agri¬ 
cultural Society, this subject was spoken of by Mr. 
Keene. He advocated the culture in the southern coun¬ 
ties of England, of a new and early variety of Indian 
corn, called “ the Forty-day Maize,” from its begin¬ 
ning to show its flower in about forty days from the 
time of planting. In the course of his remarks, Mr. K. 
alluded to the opposition of the laboring classes of Eng¬ 
land, to the use of Indian corn, which he thought was 
owing to the inferior quality of the grain. He had, he 
said, sought in vain in the London market for even a mo¬ 
derately fair sample of Indian corn flour. u It is all 
stoved and high-dried, to enable it to bear the voyage, 
and the ‘ life’ is taken out of it, rendering it almost in¬ 
sensible to the action of yeast, and so charred, as it 
were, by the drying process, that it remains gritty and 
hard, resisting every kind of cooking, more particularly 
baking.” 
We should like to know what success has attended the 
export of corn or meal prepared on Mr. Stafford’s plan 
of steam-drying. We have been inclined to believe 
that this process would obviate some of the objections 
above mentioned, and that it would accomplish the ob¬ 
ject of drying sufficiently for safe transportation, with¬ 
out injuriously affecting the grain. We have used meal 
which had passed through this process, and was more 
than a year old, which was nearly as good for all culina¬ 
ry purposes, as any meal we ever saw. The “ life” is 
not “ taken out of it,” as is proved by the fact that 
grain which has been through the machine, will vege¬ 
tate as well as that which has not. 
Fence for Grounds liable to be Flooded. 
Mr. George Myers, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, sends 
us the following description of a 11 flood fence,” said to 
have been invented and patented by Wm. Miller, of 
Pennsylvania: 
Take two posts, 7 inches square and 5-§ ft. in length, 
sink them 3 feet in the ground, (leaving 2^ feet above 
ground,) wedge them firmly in with stones alone. In the 
side of each post, and 3 inches from the ground, a trian¬ 
gular mortise must be sunk, 2 inches in depth, 4 inches 
high and 5 inches wide. A shallow notch in the shape 
of a V must be cut in the tops of the posts. A rail 
corresponding at the ends with the shape of this notch, 
is to be laid on the tops of the posts. The lower rail is 
then to be fitted in the triangular mortoise cut in the side 
of the posts. This is to be done by making the ends of 
that rail round, like to gudgeons, which are to be inserted 
into the mortise, each gudgeon about 2| inches in dia¬ 
meter, and of any length that may please. This done, the 
frame of the fence is complete and ready for the boards t© 
