124 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
manufacturer to clip the tar off from one or more large 
letters. The proper place to brand is on the top of 
the rump; that the mark may be seen from any position 
the sheep may chance to be in, and that it may not be 
obliterated by their crowding together. The size of the 
letter need not exceed two inches in length, and should 
be put on without handling the sheep at all. The tar 
should be in a shallow vessel with a handle; the sheep 
should be in a close pen, (easily made with feeding 
boxes,) when they may be branded and counted in a 
very short time, without laying hands on them. 
In cutting fodder , I have used for several years an ad¬ 
ditional hopper to my cutting box, one end narrow 
enough to rest on the bottom board of the machine box, 
the other to be from two to three feet wide, according 
to the length, which may vary to accommodate loca¬ 
tion. The broad end to rest on a saw horse with legs 
of sufficient length to elevate it some six or eight inches 
higher than the machine box; but latterly as I have no 
occasion for moving my machine, I have built a platform 
to come on the back side as far forward as the knives, ex¬ 
tending back about six feet, and about four feet wide, with 
the back end elevated so as to allow whatever we are cut¬ 
ting to slide towards the knives. With such a fixture, 
you may place a large quantity within your reach, and 
one man can cut about as fast as two men can with 
nothing but the hopper attached to the machine. Da¬ 
niel S. Curtis. Canaan Centre, Jan. 4th, 1847. 
Indian Corn at the North. —As I uniformly ob¬ 
tain from 65 to 80 bushels of corn per acre, without 
having it “ cost as much as it comes to,” permit 
me to offer a few hints on its cultivation. 
Whoever would be highly successful in growing In¬ 
dian corn in a climate like that of New-York or New- 
England, must give it such soil, situation, and treat¬ 
ment, as will induce a vigorous, and rapid growth from 
the time of planting until the grain is perfected. 
Young plants, like young animals, in order to grow 
rapidly, should not only have an abundant supply of 
food, but food suited to their age; hence the practice of 
applying a portion of well rotted manure or compost 
directly to the hill at the time of planting, having pre¬ 
viously plowed under a quantity of long or unfermented 
rpanure spread broadcast. The amount of manure 
needed for an acre depends in a great measure upon the 
state of the soil, but it is always desirable to have the 
land in such a state as not to require more than 25 ox¬ 
cart loads to the acre, exclusive of that applied to the 
hill. The quantity of fine manure or compost applied 
to the hill, should vary according to the materials used 
and wants of the soil, from half a shovel full to a single 
handful. 
As among the best materials known for this purpose, 
may be named well rotted manure from the barn-yard 
or hog-pen, together with night-soil, domestic guano, 
ashes, and plaster; the proportion of each will depend 
in a great measure upon the nature of the soil cultiva¬ 
ted; it is impossible to give any arbitrary rule that will 
suit every location, but it may be observed however, that 
the more powerful and highly concentrated the mixture, 
the more care necessary in applying it, and a less quan¬ 
tity should be used. 
Much judgment is requisite in preparing the land for 
planting. Some of the poorest as well as some of the 
best crops that have ever been raised, have been grown 
on green sward plowed but once. While one farmer 
selects a brittle, friable sod, which he turns in angular 
furrows, not too deep, at the same time using a subsoil 
plow if necessary, and has a first rate crop, another 
(who, by the way, does not read the Cultivator,) se¬ 
lects a damp, tenacious soil, and although he applies a 
liberal quantity of manure, buries it 7 or 8 inches deep 
under a flat dead furrow, and the result proves him to 
April, 
be about as successful as was the crow in the fable, 
which attempted to imitate the eagle by carrying off a 
lamb. The cornderives little or no benefit from the ma¬ 
nure under such circumstances. 
The kind of corn I cultivate, is a yellow, eight-rowed 
variety, of medium size, with small stalks, and although 
such a variety would no doubt produce more by being 
planted in drills, yet it is found best, on the whole, to 
plant in hills, not to exceed two feet apart; making 
rows only one way; the rows three feet apart; and at 
this distance and with this variety, three stalks may be 
allowed to remain in each hill. 
The seed is prepared for planting by being soaked 
about twelve hours, and then rolled in plaster. The 
Steep for soaking the corn is made wholly with refer¬ 
ence to forwarding its growth, and not for keeping 
off crows; the boys are allowed the pleasure of doing 
that. The rolling the seed in tar. and the like substan¬ 
ces, often proves an injury to it, and although the crows 
may not eat the corn thus treated, they frequently pull 
it up and leave it on the surface which is quite provoking. 
As soon as the corn is up so that the rows may be 
plainly discerned; let a well constructed harrow, with 
fine sharp teeth, be passed through, taking care to rec¬ 
tify any hills that may be disturbed; after this use such 
implements as the nature of the soil may seem to de¬ 
mand, the object being to keep the earth loose and free 
from weeds. It may also be. necessary to give the hills 
a slight earthing with the hand-hoe, twice during the 
season. 
The next thing claiming attention, is the selecting of 
seed for the following year, which should be done by an 
experienced hand, as soon as the earliest ears have 
ripened; and as like produces like, select such ears as 
you would wish the whole crop to resemble, and in a 
few years it will in a great measure do so. 
By pursuing this course, (if you have a variety suited 
to the location,) there will be no danger of its u running 
out ” or u degenerating;” and I am warranted in saying 
this, from the fact, that the same corn has been con* 
tinued on the farm I cultivate for forty-five years* 
Little Farmer. Otsego Co., N. Y., 1847. 
Green Wood vs. Dry.— Mr. Thomas, in his con¬ 
tributions to the editorial department of your January 
number, has made some calculations designed to show 
the comparative value of green and dry wood for fuel. 
His calculations are based on the supposition that 
every cord of green wood contains 11 more than six bar¬ 
rels of water;” and that the heat necessary to boil and 
evaporate these six barrels of water, or more, which, 
he says, might be made “ available,” by burning dry 
wood, is lost, wasted, and made unavailable, when 
green wood is burned; and hence arrives at the conclu¬ 
sion that the farmer who burns twenty cords of green 
wood in a winter, as, he says, many do, u also performs 
the needless task of evaporating sixty barrels* of water, 
which,” he calculates, u is equal to heating to the boil* 
ing point no less than six hundred barrels,” &c. If 
there is “ any mistake or error in these calculations, w 
he requests they may be pointed out. This is the ob¬ 
ject of the present communication. 
That there is a difference in favor of dry wood on the 
score of comfort and convenience, no one who has expe¬ 
rienced the comforts and convenience of a wood-house, 
well stored with dry wood, will be disposed to deny. 
But it will be hard to convince a great many farmers 
that the difference in point of economy is any where near 
so great as the calculations of this writer would repre¬ 
sent; especially where it is used in an open fire-place. 
He says “ In the consumption of every cord of green 
wood, six barrels of water are made to boil, the heat of 
* This mistake may have been in the manuscript, or have origi¬ 
nated with the printer—it should be one hundred and twenty bar¬ 
rels. T- 
