216 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
July, 
be used, would be cheaper than board fence, but with 
us, has the double advantage of using up our other¬ 
wise useless wire, and prevents the large snow-banks 
that often drift to the extinction of any winter grain 
that may happen to lay contiguous to a fence. 
By the way, now I have my pen in the ink on the 
subject of fencing, let me say a word on live ones. I 
saw a long length of perfectly impregnable fence, 
when traversing Columbia county last fall, made of 
privet, the domestic locust, and white cedar—one - 
fourth perhaps of the latter. It was a boundary, sub¬ 
ject to the depredations of cows on the highway; but, 
as the proprietor informed me, impervious to their at¬ 
tacks. 
Along the public thoroughfares in the valley of the 
Connecticut, I have observed some of the most beauti¬ 
ful of hedges, formed wholly of the thorny locust I 
have mentioned. The long dangerous spurs, made 
them disagreeable to hogs, and marauding cattle, 
while their foliage was pleasing to the eye, and they 
were an efficacious protection to the enclosure. Why 
would not our Osage orange and this locust, interspers¬ 
ed with the Michigan rose, be at once a cheap, perma¬ 
nent, and splendid fence, for the vicinage of the far¬ 
mer’s house, and ultimately his acres'? S. A. Cana- 
joharie. ■ ■ *s > 
Sowing Corn for Fodder. 
We have labored for some years past to induce far¬ 
mers not only to sow corn for fodder, but to do it right. 
We observe repeated recommendations in the agricul¬ 
tural papers to sow broadcast , and in a late volume 
of the Transactions of a State Agricultural Society, the 
writer of this paragraph is quoted as recommending 
broadcast sowing. Now, it happens that we have re¬ 
peatedly for several years, pointed out the great infe¬ 
riority of broadcast sowing, to planting in drills, which 
is simply this : Sowing in furrows or in drills requires 
only about one-half or two-thirds of the amount of seed 
needed for broadcast sowing, a consideration of some 
importance when it is remembered that at least four or 
five bushels per acre are required for the latter mode, 
Drills, by admitting the cultivator, leave the ground 
clean and mellow, and this greatly adds to the growth 
of the crop; they admit of easier harvesting ; and yield 
about one-third more fodder per acre. 
The greatest difficult}' with this crop is curing it 
'properly before stacking. The leaves may become 
perfectly dry while a large quantity of water remains 
in the stalks,which causes fermentation and the complete 
loss of thevalue of the fodder when placed in large stacks. 
The remedies are early sowing, so as to give the warm 
weather of late summer a chance for drying the fodder; 
stacking in large shocks in the field till wanted in win¬ 
ter, or in numerous small stacks if drawn off the ground; 
building moderate sized stacks, with a liberal applica¬ 
tion of salt to successive layers as they are deposited, 
and building each round three rails, set upright to serve 
as a ventilator. 
There are very few farmers who do not run short of 
good succulent pasture early in autumn. An acre or 
two of ground for soiling at that season, would be al¬ 
most invaluable. Any good soilwill answer—moi3t is 
best; plow and furrow three feet apart—strew along in 
each furrow from a hand basket, at the rate of two or 
three bushels per acre—cover by harrowing—run the 
cultivator between when the corn is a foot high,—and 
the whole thing is done. Fourteen tons of green fod¬ 
der, and five to seven of dry, may be had from a good 
acre. This month will do for sowing, but the earlier the 
better. —— 
Seasonable Hints. 
There are a few important items in the farmer’s 
practice, which are not unfrequently omitted from for¬ 
getfulness, at the present busy season of the year, and 
which it may be useful to remind some of our readers 
at the present time. 
Weeds in pastures are often overlooked, till they 
have ripened their seed, and scattered enough for a 
plentiful crop another year. Some of them will be 
destroyed by cutting with a scythe before or when in 
blossom—others will need grubbing at the roots. A 
few houra expended in this way will not only prevent 
a loss to the soil by growing unnecessary herbage, but 
give the fields a neatness of appearance, which every 
good farmer ought to take pride in seeing. 
Ruta bagas and other root crops often cost double in 
cultivation by leaving them at the first hoeing till the 
weeds have got the ascendancy. The first dressing 
should be given when the plants are not more than an 
inch high. 
The best hay is that which is made without becom¬ 
ing too dry ; but to prevent moldiness, it should be 
moderately salted. The intermixture of the salt is 
more perfect when it is frequently applied in succes¬ 
sive layers. One peck to a peck and a half is not too 
much for a ton of hay. Let farmers see that a suffi¬ 
cient supply of salt is on hand before commencing hay¬ 
ing, and then it will not be so likely to be neglected. 
Those who have young fruit trees on their ground, 
should not forget that it is vitally important to keep the 
ground mellow to a good depth for some distance about 
them—and that for newly transplanted cherry trees, 
mulching is indispensibly necessary to prevent the 
death of the trees that so frequently occurs after they 
have expanded their leaves, from the drouth and heat 
of midsummer. If plums show the commencement of 
the black excrescences, cut them off very promptly, and 
repeatedly as fast as,they appear, washing the wounds 
with chloride of lime, which from the trial we have 
made, is much better than salt, copperas, or any other 
application for protecting the spread of the disease and 
healing the wounds. Remember, now is about the time 
to watch for the peach borer, so as to cut him out tirne- 
A Californian Vineyard. —“The Pacific,” a 
San Francisco newspaper, states that Mr. Wm. Wolfs¬ 
kin of Los Angeles, has a vineyard of 35 acres, with 
about 1000 plants to the acre, from which he makes 
each year from 34,000 to 35,000 gallons of wine, 
at SI per gallon would make the produce about $1, 
per acre. 
