62 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
lectures by Professor Johnston, 
BEFORE THE N. Y. STATE AG. SOCIETY. 
Syllabus of a course of Lectures on the general 
relations of science to agriculture, by James F. W. 
Johnston, F. R. S., &c.: 
1st. The Relations of Physical Geography to 
Practical Agriculture. 
2d. The relation of Meteorology to Practical 
Agriculture. 
3d. The relation of Botany and Zoology to Prac¬ 
tical Agriculture. 
4th. General, delations of Geology to Practical 
Agriculture. 
5th. Relation of Chemistry to the soil, and its 
practical improvement. 
6th. Relations of Chemical Physiology to the 
plant and the modes of promoting its growth. 
7th. Relations of Chemical Physiology to the 
animal, its food and its growth. 
8th. Relations of Chemistry to the Doctrine of 
Manures. 
9th. Means by which general scientific knowl¬ 
edge may be diffused and made available for the im¬ 
provement of practical agriculture, and the general 
elevation of the agricultural class. 
The Lectures will commence early in January. 
B. P. Johnson, Secy. 
Rot in Potatoes. 
Ciias. W. Taylor, Esq., of Trevose, Bucks 
Co., Pa. x writes —“ I hope you have been more for¬ 
tunate with potatoes this year than we have in this 
neighborhood. The rot is by no means extinct. 
Out of 3 or 4 different plantings, our earliest only 
escaped. I suppose two-thirds of the remainder 
were affected; but we do not lose them entirely as 
we feed them to our stock as soon as we see the 
slightest symptoms of the disease. I obtained some 
seed from the Rev. Nathan Smith, of Buffalo, N. 
Y., last fall, and had them sown in a hot-bed this 
spring, and planted out as soon as they were of suit¬ 
able size. They were planted in trenched ground, 
tolerably manured from the horse stable. They 
grew well, and tho tops remained green until quite 
late in the season. Mr. 8. informed me that I 
might expect to have them attain the size of wal¬ 
nuts the first year of the growth, but a very consi¬ 
derable proportion of them were three to four times 
as large and bore as many as twenty tubers, count¬ 
ing from the largest down to about the size of a 
hickory nut, leaving a number of smaller uncounted. 
After this, I am sorry to add that I think they rot 
as badly, or even worse, than any of our other kinds ; 
although, in my estimation, in regard to time of 
planting, manure, situation, &c., they had the ad¬ 
vantage in every respect. It is becoming somewhat 
doubtful now whether we shall save enough to plant 
again of some of the kinds. 
How to Raise Indian Corn. 
Eds. Cultivator —I have tried nearly all the 
ways recommended for raising Indian Corn, and have 
found the following to be the best. In the spring, I 
haul all the manure I can spare on some piece of sward 
ground, and put it in heaps. I defer plowing till near 
the time of planting, when I spread the manure, and 
turn it under with much care. I then roll it with a 
heavy roller lengthwise of the furrows and harrow it 
well the same way. I mark it out both ways, three 
feet and four inches, plant the corn about an inch deep 
and use the cultivator three times both ways. At the 
second time of going through it with the cultivator, I 
follow’ with the hoe and clean out all the grass and 
weeds in the hill, but I never haul dirt to the corn. 
I make no hill, as I think it does more hurt than 
good; and at the time of gathering my crop the 
ground is as smooth and level nearly as an oat or rye 
field. 
I have pursued the above method for three years, 
and have usually reaped about 50 bushels of shelled 
corn to the acre. The last season I raised at least 
75 bushels of shelled corn to the acre, by the same 
method. I can now T raise from 50 to 75 bushels to the 
acre, as easily as I formerly could 15 to 20, and it 
is all through the information I have received from 
the Cultivator. A Practical Farmer. Westchester 
county , N. Dec. 1, 1849. 
Care of Stock. 
Eds. Cultivator —One of the principal employ¬ 
ments of farmers in winter, is in taking care of stock. 
It is one thing to let stock shift for themselves, and 
quite another thing to take care of them. The differ¬ 
ence is, that in one way your stock is brought 
out in good condition in spring, while in the other 
they are, if brought out alive, mere skeletons with 
skins on. 
The advantages of sheltering animals by stables 
and sheds, are better understood now than formerly; 
although the old practice still lingers or. some farms, 
where the shivering and bellowung animals speak for 
themselves, as to its effects. The old plan of stacking 
hay about the farm, and feeding it to animals in win¬ 
ter, with only a rail fence for shelter, is sometimes 
seen at the present day. If the ghosts of animals 
which have died for the want of shelter, could haunt 
the imaginations of these careless farmers, it might, 
perhaps, cause a change in their management. 
Stacking out hay and fodder, causes waste enough in 
a few years, to pay for building good barns, sheds, 
and shelters for hay and animals. Sheds, high and 
dry, closed at the north, east, and west, and open at 
the south, are, I think the best for sheep. This gives 
them sufficient air, and is better for their health than 
close stables. The worst storms for sheep, in New 
England, are the cold rains with easterly winds ; and 
if they are not sheltered, they are drenched through, 
and when the w r eather changes to cold, the wool 
freezes on them ; and if they are in low flesh, death is 
often the consequence. L. Durand, Derby , Ct., 
Dec., 1849. _______ 
0"“ Handle your tools without mittens, for a cat 
in gloves catches no mice. 
Prices of Agricultural Products. 
New-York, Dec. 15, 1849. 
FLOUR—-Genesee, per bbt., $5—Fredericksburgh, $5a$5.0G. 
GRAIN—Wheat, Canadian, per bush., 105c.—North Carolina red, 
94c.—Corn, Northern and Jersey, 54«58c.—Rye, 59^a60c.—Barley, 
G2a65c—Oats, 44a45c. 
BUTTER—best, per lb., 18a20c.—Western dairy, 16al7c. 
CHEESE—per lb., GaG^o. 
BEEF—Mess, per bbl., $8.75a$9.73—Prime, 87.25. 
PORK—Mess, per bbl:, 812.50o$13—Prime, $8.75 
LARD—in kegs, per lb., 6-^aGf. 
HAMS—Smoked, per lb., 7a9c. 
HOPS—first sort, per lb., 17c. 
COTTON—Upland and Florida, per lb., 9$a11?c. 
New Orleans and Alabama, 9£al2c. 
WOOL—(Boston Prices.) 
Prime or Saxon fleeces, per lb.,..... 40a43c. 
American full blood Merino,. 35a37 
do half do ... 30a32 
do one-fourth do, and common, .. 27a‘29 
Remarks —The demand for flour is fair, and good brands are firm. 
The present low rates, cause some inquiry for exports. There is but 
little inquiry for corn or corn meal. The demand for mess pork ia 
large. In bee f there is not much doing. 
