176 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
COMPOUND CENTRE-DRAFT HARROW.—Fig-. 60. 
Strong 1 , light, convenient and long enduring, covering 
a space nine feet in width, yet under the easy manage¬ 
ment of a lad and span of horses, these harrows must su¬ 
persede the use of all others, for the purpose of seeding 
grain or grass, on lands cleared from obstruction, and of 
large extent, performing the operation in one quarter part 
the time, and with one-fourth the labor. 
They are worked in sets of three, but can be separated 
by unscrewing a couple of bolts, so as to form a pair, or 
three separate harrows, in a minute or two of time. 
Each harrow covers a space three feet square; the teeth, 
17 in number, are placed in cross bars, so that the har¬ 
rows follow in straight lines, and not diagonally , as is cus ¬ 
tomary, and almost universal. No two teeth follow in the 
same track; and although placed at nine inches distant in 
the bar, to permit those clods, which are not broken by 
the first concussion, to pass through and be operated up¬ 
on by each succeeding row of teeth, without choking the 
harrow, yet the interstices will be found to measure two 
and a half inches only, at regular distanced, with the sur¬ 
face of the land as perfectly raked as that of the garden, 
affording the finest bed for the smallest seeds. The most 
uneven surface is operated upon by these harrows, the 
joints permitting them to descend into hollows, and to 
clasp the elevated portions without lifting, choking, or 
dragging the soil into heaps; whilst among the remains 
of vegetable matter, too often left exposed on the surface 
by badly constructed plows, they make their way, requi¬ 
ring little labor to keep them free, the driver lifting the 
middle harrow by a line fastened to it, which he carries 
in his hand for the purpose; and guiding the team by 
lines fastened to the outside of each bridle, the animals 
being kept at some distance by a jockey stick, he will 
have the means of attending to this as well as seeing that 
the harrows are kept perfectly square to the work; which 
is indispensable to their proper performance; for by 
dragging diagonally, the teeth will be found to follow in 
the same track. 
It is remarkable, that while improvements innumera¬ 
ble have been made in the plow and agricultural imple¬ 
ments in general, the harrow has remained the same for 
ages. In a late visit to the Patent Office in Washington, 
amidst scores of other models, not a single one of the 
harrow was to be found, nor did it appear that any had 
been patented; the worthy Commissioner expressing sur¬ 
prise at the fact. Those in common use, operate by 
force, and compressing the surface so as to close the 
pores of the soil, when the pressure of the atmosphere 
falling on it, it is rendered in a measure impenetrable to 
the roots of plants, as well as to the fertilizing influences 
of heaven. The object of the present improvement is, to 
lighten the soil, after the manner of the garden rake, by 
which the seeds are covered, and the land pulverized, in 
a manner quite different from all others; a single tining 
after the seed is sown, and another, crossing the land, be¬ 
ing generally found all-sufficient for every purpose; much 
however, depending on the manner in which the land 
has been plowed; but if that has been done by the centre- 
draft plow of Prouty & Mears, which operates by break¬ 
ing and pulverising the land, after the manner of the 
spade, the Compound Centre-Draft Harrows will then be 
found to leave the surface, with the neatness and precis¬ 
ion of the garden rake —a perfect spade-labor business, 
which is “ the perfection of good husbandry.” 
Philadelphia , 1845. James Pedder. 
MAKING SUGAR FROM CORN-STALKS. 
Mr. Tucker— A short time since I met with Mr. 
Adams’ account of his experiment in manufacturing 
corn-stalk sugar; undertaken from the inducements 
offered by the New-York State Ag. Soe., and for 
which they awarded him a premium of one hun¬ 
dred dollars. I was much interested in its perusal, 
as it strongly reminded me of the difficulties and 
discouragements experienced in the earlier stages 
of the same inquiry, when experiment was the 
only available source of knowledge to which we 
could turn for assistance in our exertions. As 
I have pursued this subject with unabated confidence and 
reasonable success, since its commencement, my experi¬ 
ence may perhaps be useful to Mr. Adams and others en¬ 
gaged in perfecting this important and interesting manu¬ 
facture. 
Before proceeding further, I must find a little faul* 
with your Agricultural Society. Its premium was offer¬ 
ed for the s ‘ maximum quantity of sugar made from an 
acre of northern corn.” It appears to me that the great 
object to attain, is a plan by wdiich sugar may be made 
profitably. It is very possible to expend more labor in 
the manufacture than the article would be worth; such a 
plan would of course be worthless practically, whatever 
might be the amount produced. Secondly, in planting 
corn for sugar, I should prefer seed that had ripened in 
a more southern latitude, as less liable to run to ear ear¬ 
ly in the season. In raising this crop, the great end to 
secure, is the perfect growth of the plant in every parti¬ 
cular, except in the formation of its seed. No plan ever 
yet tried has succeeded completely in effecting this ob¬ 
ject. Those stalks which (from some cause yet un 
known) have shown no disposition to form grain, areal- 
ways far more juicy, and yield a much larger quantity of 
sugar, than those from which the ear has been removed. 
As soon as this hitherto accidental condition of the plant 
is brought by persevering efforts, within our control, I 
confidently expect that the corn-stalk will not merely ri¬ 
val but exceed the sugar cane in the amount of saccha¬ 
rine matter it will yield. The past season, a small lot 
of corn was planted in rows three feet apart and about 
six inches asunder in the row. As soon as the tassels 
appeared they were pulled out. The result of this ex¬ 
periment was encouraging, but not entirely satisfactory; 
another lot of corn growing within one hundred yards, 
was allowed to tassel, and this perhaps caused the partial 
failure. In order to try this plan fairly, the corn should 
be grown distant from any other, and the tassels pulled 
out before any of their pollen has been shed. Yery thick 
planting, in order to prevent earing, is objectionable, as 
it renders the crop more liable to be prostrated by storms; 
and the stalks being small, the labor of handling them is 
increased; they should not be less than one inch in dia¬ 
meter, or about the size of broom handles; the distances 
in planting in order to produce this size, will vary accor¬ 
ding to the quality of the soil. Whatever plan is adopt¬ 
ed, to prevent earing, it must be attended to, or the su¬ 
gar of the stalk will be expended in the formation of 
grain. 
When the corn is ripe, (which will happen about the 
usual time of cutting corn) cut off the tops at the point 
where the ear generally forms; the leaves on the stalk 
below this, are few in number and mostly dead; they may 
be sufficiently removed by simply passing the knife from 
top to bottom on each side of the stalk. By pursuing 
this plan, the formidable labor of stripping the stalks, 
which has been complained of, is greatly lessened, and 
(he whole business put in a practicable shape. 
The method of curing t{ tops and blades” is so well 
understood by farmers, that nothing need be said about it 
here. Experience has proved that the extras of this 
crop, (the tops, blades, crushed stalks, &c.) are worth 
more, when properly secured, than the whole labor re¬ 
quired in growing and manufacturing, provided this la¬ 
bor is economised, in the way pointed out. In the list 
of plants cultivated for forage, there is not in the whole 
world, another one that is equal to this in the amount of 
nutriment, which it contains. It is well worth cultiva- 
[ting for the fodder alone; the stalks therefore cost noth- 
