I 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
advance of all others not embracing this means of im¬ 
provement. We have had excellent exhibitions at Mt. 
Holly, but heretofore our members and the distribution 
of premiums have been restricted to this county; at 
the last quarterly meeting, that restriction was removed 
from the constitution of the society. By this change, 
persons from any county in our State or Union, by asso¬ 
ciating with the society, may contribute to our annual 
fairs, and compete for the various premiums; the ob¬ 
ject being to bring forth the finest productions, and 
Burlington county has determined not to be beaten.” 
Yield of Corn.— -Being absent when your paper first 
arrived, it was not until to-day, that I observed the 
omission to mention the number of bushels of corn per 
acre, in the second article of No. 18 of the Country 
Gentleman. It is from 55 to 60 bushels shelled, on 
fields of 8 to 10 acres; and in one instance, but a frac¬ 
tion less than 65 bushels, where the ground was tho¬ 
roughly underdrained. 0. Lansing , May 7, 1853. 
Corn for Fodder. —In perusing one of your late 
numbers, I saw an article on this subject. Now the 
q uestion naturally arises which is the most profitable kind 
to sow for this purpose. I have raised several crops with 
good success, from our eight-rowed yellow; but having 
spent some three years among the corn growers of Ohio, 
it occurred to me that the Ohio corn would he just the 
thing for us to sow for fodder. About the first of June, 
1852, I plowed about one-fourth of an acre of ground. 
I then procured half a bushel of Ohio corn, and sowed 
it on half of the above named ground, and sowed the 
balance to the same quantity of our eight-rowed yellow. 
And now the contrast. The yellow grew well; but com¬ 
pared with the Ohio, it was small. In the ground where 
the Ohio was sowed, stood a row of Plum trees—the 
highest one was between 11 and 12 feet; and by the 
15th of September, not a particle of them could he seen. 
The com was cut and fed to my cows, and kept green 
until severe frost. Is not the Ohio corn the most profita¬ 
ble to sow for fodder? T. S. M. Westmoreland, 
Oneida Co., N. F. 
Answers to Inquiries. 
Stones for Drains —In some of my fields are wet 
spots of an acre or two, which I am anxious to drain, 
bilt there is no tile in this region “'of country, and as 
timber is too valuable to be used in that way, I am at a 
loss how to go at it. The land is undulating, affording 
a pretty good fall to carry the water off, and there .is 
plenty of stone at hand. Now how would it do to make 
“blind ditches ” of stone; what depth and width should 
the ditches be; what the best mode of cutting them, and 
how' near together; how deep the filling of stone in the 
ditches, and what size should the stone be used? G. 
Bardstoivn, Ky. 
Tiles form the most perfect drains in all kinds of soils, 
but in all others, except those partaking of the nature 
of quick-sands, stone may be substituted. Tile drains 
are the most easily constructed, but as stone cost noth¬ 
ing in most, cases, they compensate in part for the in¬ 
crease of labor in making them. 
The mode of construction must vary with the nature 
of the soil. They are most easily and safely made in 
clayey land, which is so adhesive that little difficulty 
ever occurs by the earth falling in among the stones. 
On such soils, the stones may he filled in so as to reach 
within a foot or so of the surface. But on sandy soils, 
possessing little tenacity, and where there is great dan¬ 
ger of the earth “ caving in ” among the stones, eighteen 
inches or two feet of earth should be placed above, and 
every precaution used to prevent the disaster just spoken 
of; such as a layer of very small or fiat stones on the 
top, or a layer of clean gravel; and in addition to this, 
we have formed a covering of slabs (of some durable 
wood) placed on the stones, barely sufficient to preserve 
the earth in its place, before the coating of straw or in¬ 
verted turf is applied. 
If the quantity of water to be drawn off is quite small, 
a promiscuous filling in of small stones, will afford suffi¬ 
cient drainage; but when it is large, a special channel 
must be made for the current. This is accomplished- by 
depositing a row of stones on each side of the bottom, 
so as to leave a channel in the center some two or three 
inches wide, and the same in height. This is covered 
with broad or flat stones, and the rest then filled in pro¬ 
miscuously. If the bottom of the ditch is of soft sand, 
it will be necessary to lay a harder foundation in the 
first place, of flat stones, or of durable slabs or boards 1 — 
the same care will he needed if the descent is rapid, so 
as to endanger it by washing the bottom earth. 
The depth of the ditching should not be less than two 
and a half feet; three feet would be better; and where 
the whole surface needs draining, they should not be 
more remote from each other than thirty feet, unless the 
soil is gravelly; in which case forty feet will answer. A 
width of ten or twelve inches at the bottom will be ne¬ 
cessary to admit of laying the stone channels properly. 
If the stone should not be more than two or three inches 
in diameter, they will he better than larger, affording 
more numerous interstices, and lessening the danger of 
becoming choked. No stones larger than five or six 
inches in diameter should ever he put in under any cir¬ 
cumstances. -—-— 
Time to Sow Plaster. —I see that one of your cor¬ 
respondents asks the best time to sow plaster on mea¬ 
dows or pasture, and wheat. I have been greatly bene- 
fitted by the use of plaster for the last thirty-five years, 
and on different kinds of soil, in different towns and 
counties. I have found it most effectual on sandy and 
gravelly soils—sandy loam nearly as good—less on clay 
soils. The best time of using, after long experience, is, 
from the middle of April to middle of May—best sowed 
every spring, one bushel per acre, or two bushels once 
in two years, to save labor. For wheat, roll the seed 
before sowing. Plaster corn when first up. Drop it in 
the hill with potatoes, and when beginning to set. A. 
K. Barrett. Magnolia, Rock co., Wis. 
Guano and Bone-dust. —Tn answer to L. H., who 
inquires for information relative to the application of 
these manures, we would refer him to page 52, 2d co¬ 
lumn, and page 131, 3d column, of the Country Gentle¬ 
man ; and page 87 current volume of the Cultivator. 
One hundred pounds of Peruvian guano are thought by 
chemists to be worth about one two-horse load of stable 
manure, provided the guano is applied in the best man¬ 
ner ; that is, one load of stable mnnure is about equal 
in value, to one dollar and a half in guano. Experience, 
in most cases, gives nearly the same results, and our 
correspondent can infer from this which will be the 
cheapest. Bone dust dissolved by sulphuric acid, and 
thus converted to a super-phosphate, is nearly or about 
as powerful as guano, better for some crops and not so 
good for others, and may be applied in the same way. 
Undissolved dust will vary in effect with its fineness, but 
it is not so powerful by several times, as the super-phos¬ 
phate. — 
G. S. M‘C., Brockviile, C. W.—For Devon Cattle, 
see advertisement of the Messrs. Wainwright, pub¬ 
lished in the recent numbers of this paper. We know 
of no new Oxfordshire or Improved Cotswold Sheep for 
sale in this vicinity. --— 
What is the best work on flowers, plants and shrubs— 
their propagation, management, &c. D. D. D. 
The “Companion to the Flower Garden,” by Mrs. 
Loudon, edited by A. J. Downing. 
The Water Bam. —I saw in your last paper, a re¬ 
quest for information concerning the Hydraulic Bam? 
I have had one in operation two years next July, and 
am perfectly satisfied. We bring the water one hun¬ 
dred and thirty-six rods, and elevate it one hundred and 
thirty-five feet, with thirteen feet fall. It discharges 
a gallon in three minutes. The drive pipe is forty feet 
long, one and a half inch bore—the small pipe half 
inch. The Ram is No. 5, and the cost about $15. The 
most expense is the pipe. It goes from fall until spring 
without stopping once, and all that ever steps it is when 
