TillE CULTIVATOR. 
always divided into halves,and should invariably be 
subdivided into quarters, and this is the case where 
picking is done by the box or bushel. Then the 
amount picked, and the condition of the hops of 
each will show tor themselves. One man and four 
gk’ls, are a complete force for a box. The man, 
or tender as he is called, cuts the vines at the hill, 
takes up the pole, and places it on the lug with 
one end resting on the ground. The lug is a pole 
running lengthwise of the box, elevated about two 
and a half feet above it, and supported by uprights 
nailed at each end of the box. It is the business 
of the tender to keep his girls well supplied with 
hops; to see in general that each and ail do their 
duty, and that his hops are kept clean and free 
from leaves and stems; to clear his poles from 
vines, and stack both poles and vines in a neat and 
workmanlike manner. 
Girls pick by the week, box or bushel. The 
latter, (after trying both.) presents itself tome as 
altogether preferable. Then we pay those. who 
earn their money, and those who do not surely 
ought not to have it. I have known girls paid by 
the week, and all the same price, while A. would 
accomplish double or tripple that of B. This is 
too unequal A smart girl will pick two quarter 
boxes, or twenty bushels per day. and even more, 
and at two cents per bushel, (the price usually 
paid) good wages can be made. Though many, 
in picking by the week, would not got more than 
one-fourth the above quantity. J am told they 
do not pay quite as high as this in Sangcrsfield, 
Madison, &e. 
Once a day at least, or as often as the boxes are 
filled, they are emptied into large hags to be con¬ 
veyed to the ldln for drying. In very warm 
weather, care should he taken that the hops do 
not settle or pack in the box, as they will soon 
heat and are liable to become injured. But when 
they are picked by the box, the tender is relieved 
from all responsibility of this kind, as the girls 
seem to understand the stirring up process, not 
allowing their hops to settle enough to heat. 
I reserve for another article, some remarks on 
the most important part of this business—that of 
drying. An Otsego Hop-grower. 
On the Culture of Indian Corn. 
As a great part of my life has been spent in ag¬ 
ricultural, horticultural and botanical pursuits, I 
hope I shall pe able to make some suggestions of 
value to American farmers, and to assist them in 
reforming some of the erroneous practices, which 
retard the progress of the profession. 
I saw the Indian corn growing for the first time 
in this country in 1851 and ’52, and immediately 
came to the conclusion that the present system of 
cultivating it ought to he abandoned. Upon an¬ 
alysing it botanically, I find that it bears staminate 
and pistillate flowers on the same plant; such 
plants belong to the 19th class mouceeia. All 
farmers ought to know that the staminate flowers 
are the male, ,and grow on the top or panicle of 
the stalk, and that the pistillate flowers are the 
female, and grow on a cob. and form what is 
| termed the silk. The male flowers contain a co- 
I loved powdeivcalled pollen, and when it is ripe the 
anthers which enclose it burst, and the pollen falls 
on the female pistils, or silk, and its influence is 
transmitted along the silk to the cob, where the 
seed is to grow. But wdien the pollen falls, some 
goes i-ff with the wind, some is lost on the ground, 
and some goes to fertilize the pistillates of other 
plants; so that if white and yellow corn are glow¬ 
ing in the same field, both kinds will often appear 
on the same cob. 
It is evident that a full supply of pollen, and a 
long cob, are requsite to a fine crop; and to se¬ 
cure this, I would advise farmers not to check the 
growth of the plant by cutting off its roots with 
plows and cultivators. When the plant is six 
inches or two feet high, it has roots of the same 
length, and by passing a plow between the rows; 
you are sure to injure the roots, and thus retard 
the growth of the stalk and the cob. and injure 
the pollen. The most obvious use of the root is 
to fix the plant in the soil, and maintain it in its 
proper position; but the most important use of it 
is that of absorbing from the soil that moisture 
and food, which the development of the plant actu¬ 
ally requires; but the plowing interferes with both 
these functions It is the spongelets at the ends 
of the fibrils, that bring in the nourishment, which 
is conveyed by the tissues of the fibrils to the main 
root, and then distributed to all parts of the plant. 
These delicate roots are spread over the entire 
surface of the ground at no great depth ; so that 
when you stir the ground to such a depth as a 
cultivator must necessarily do. you deprive the 
plant of its food, and check its growth. 
My mode of growing corn is to spread manure 
broadcast; then plow the ground as deep as possi¬ 
ble. and plant the seed, taking care not to cover 
it too deep. The weeds must be kept down with 
a hoe, when they are young, and if the soil is in 
good condition, that is, well plowed, well manured, 
and well drained, the crop will be a.gojod one. I 
have seen good land which was entirely useless, 
because it was not drained, on farms where-stone 
is abundant, and if such farmers would build 
drains instead of plowing up their corn, they 
would labor to more advantage. 
One acre of corn, cultivated in the following 
manner, came under my observation: The ground 
was plowed as deep as a team of oxen could do it. 
and thoroughly harrowed. The seed, which bad 
been steeped in tobacco water, was then sowed in 
drills, and covered not more than an inch deep. 
The weeds were kept down with a hoe. and though 
the land had not been manured for years, and had 
never grown a good crop before, it produced 70 
bushels of shelled corn, worth 75 cents a bushel, 
and 450 bunches of stalks, worth 44 cents a bunch. 
There was very little.hog corn. The cobs were 
from 9 to 13 inches in length, from 8 to 12 rows 
of corn on the cob, and from 50 to 70 kernels in a 
row. Had the corn been cultivated with a. plow, 
the product would have been much less John 
Moore. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
Milktng in Winter. —’Fresh cows come in 
towards the close of -winter, and the teats often 
become badly cracked by exposure fo ldm:. cold 
winds. This effectis increased by the contraction 
and drying of the varnish formed by the saliva of 
the calf. To prevent this difficulty, always wash 
the teats, before milking, with the hand, and af¬ 
ter the sucking of the calf. It will dry during 
milking, and leave the udder clean and soft Cold 
wafer is much better than milk, which acts not 
unlike the calf’s saliva.. If the soreness is consid¬ 
erable, apply fresh unsalted butter. 
