THE CULTIVATOR. 
151 
A new locomotive power is on trial in New-Jersey, invented by Mr. 
Emmons, designed to be employed on rail-ways. The propelling power 
consists of springs, of which 500 are attached to the machine. The 
speed is alleged to be from 80 to 100 miles an hour! 
Rolian Potato ,—In our July number, we spoke of the remarkable pro¬ 
perties of this new variety of the .potato, and stated that an esteemed 
friend had obtained a few of these tubers, at considerable expense from 
France. A letter before us advises^ He received fifteen, of the size of 
common potatoes, very much grown on their passage, and planted them 
about the first of June. They were gathered in October, the vines still 
green, and the product was two barrels; but the crop had suffered from 
cows, from pigs, and from drought; but for these drawbacks our friend 
thinks he should have had five barrels, from the fifteen seed potatoes. 
He proposes to make all the crop he can next summer, and to send the 
product to the seedsmen, that they may be extensively propagated, con¬ 
sidering them a great acquisition to our husbandry. We have been 
kindly furnished with a brace of tubers, by Mr. Van Benthuysen, who 
brought them with him from France. 
Cutting up Corn .—We find in the Genesee Farmer notable proof of 
the superiority of cutting up corn, over topping it, as is yet the common 
practice, furnished, we believe, by Mr. Gaylord. “We know,” sajs 
the narrator, “ of two pieces of corn, owned by the same individuals, 
planted nearly at the same time, and both equally promising, when 
their progress was stopped by the frost of the 5th. One of the pieces 
was immediately topped, and the other was, as soon as possible, cut up 
by the bottom and stacked. They were both husked a short time since, 
and the owners assured me, that, contrary to the expectation of many 
who witnessed the different modes of curing, they should get at least 
one-third more sound corn from the cut up, than from that which was 
topped and left on the hill.” How much sound corn has, according to 
this test, been lost to the state, by persisting in the old mode of topping 
corn, and how many thousands of dollars might have been saved by a 
different course ! A little book farming would, have explained the cause 
of this wonder—would have satisfied our farmers, that the true food, 
which enlarges and matures the corn,the elaborated sap —alwaysdescends 
but never ascends; that by topping corn, no secretion takes place in the 
grain after the leaves above are cut off 1 —and lhat we immediately de¬ 
prive it of further nourishment, while by cutting up the entire stock, 
the grain continues to draw sustenance, for some days, from the leaves 
and stock above it. A plant can never increase in size above its upper 
leaves. Strip the leaves from a branch, and you stop its growth until 
new leaves are unfolded, and if there is not vigor enough in the plant 
to unfold them, the limb dies. As a further proof that the stock feeds 
and ripens the grain, after it is cut at the ground, we state a fact re¬ 
cently communicated to us. Mr. Hoyt, of this city, cut some corn at 
the ground for experiment, last fall, while the grain was in the milk, 
and before it had become even partially glazed, and after it had been 
cured in stook, he planted some of it, and ten-twelfths of it grew. 
Potash from the Beet. —M. Dubunfaut, a French chemist, has disco¬ 
vered that the beet, after extracting the sugar and molasses, will yield 
good potash, but whether from the residuum of the molasses, after dis¬ 
tillation, or from the pomace, we do not understand. The product 
is about one pound from 100 pounds of the beet root. At this rale of 
yield, the beets annually manufactured into sugar in France would af¬ 
ford about 15,000,000 pounds potash, worth from eight to nine millions 
of francs, or from one and a half to one and three-quarter millions of 
dollars. So say the prints. 
Fine Arts at Geneva. —M. de Candolle, the celebrated botanist, had 
borrowed from a Spanish gentleman a very valuable collection of draw¬ 
ings of American plants, from which he was lecturing. He announced 
to his hearers that the collection had unexpectedly been sent lor, and 
expressed his regret at the circumstance; on which the ladies who at¬ 
tended his lectures, offered to copy the collection. The drawings, 860 
in number, and filling 13 volumes, were actually copied in a week, by 
114 female artists; this number volunteering in a city containing a po¬ 
pulation of but 14,000. The fact speaks highly favorable of the pro¬ 
gress of this elegant art among the Genevese, and of the spirit and taste 
of the female portion. It is well enough to say here, that drawing 
constitutes a branch of education in Prussia, Bavaria, Wirtemburgh, 
and in many other of the German states, even in the primary or com¬ 
mon schools. It is not only an elegant, but a useful accomplishment, in 
every department of life, and it is one which might, with great pro¬ 
priety, be more extensively cultivated among us. It affords instructive 
recreation to the young, in hours of relaxation, when the mind most 
wants light and useful employment. 
CONDENSED ARTICLES. 
Inventions .—At the late Kennebec fair, several new implements and 
machines were exhibited, which are favorably spoken of. We abstract 
from the Maine Farmer a notice of the following. 1. Pitt’s Stone Cut - 
ter ^a machine moved by water, steam or horse power for dressing 
stone—which performs the work well, and greatly abridges manual la¬ 
bor. 2. Two Cultivators. The committee speak highly of the utility 
of these upon the farm. We-are pleased to see them coming into more 
general use. 3. An Augur for boring for marl. Whatever tends to 
the discovery and application of marl, promises to be useful. 
Rat Stopper .—A correspondent in the Maine Farmer recommends, 
having efficiently tried it, the deposite of a stratum of blacksmith’s cin¬ 
ders where rats make their holes in cellars or under walls. They can¬ 
not penetrate it. 
To relieve cattle choked, with apples , <§rc. a correspondent in the same 
paper recommends drawing out the tongue of the animal and putting a 
small quantity of gunpowder down the throat. It causes the animal to 
cough violently, and throw out the obstruction in the passage. 
Bee hives, on improved models, so constructed as to enable the pro¬ 
prietor to take honey at pleasure, without destroying the bees, are so 
common, as to leave no excuse for longer employing the old hives which 
render it necessary to destroy the bees in order to get the honey. We 
have heretofore u spoken of Perkins’ patent. A swarm of bees pul into 
one of these in June, has accumulated, by computation, 150 pounds of 
honey. We have received a pamphlet on the management of bees, com¬ 
prising the description of a patent hive, invented by Mr. John M. Weeks, 
of Salisbury, Yt. which evinces, in Mr. W. a familiar acquaintance with 
their habits, and the best modes of management. 
Sugar is said to contain more nutriment in a given bulk, than any other 
know substance.— Parkes. 
Buckweat straw .—A writer in the Farmer and Gardener insists, that 
buckwheat straw “ is better for milch cows than the best timothy hay, 
and that his cows eat it with equal avidity.” Of course, to be palata¬ 
ble and nutritious, it should be taken care of and housed or stacked, 
and not left exposed to the wasting influence of storms, in the field or 
yard. 
Product and profit of a crop of Rida Baga.—R. Gordon tells us, in the 
Farmer and Mechanic, printed at Cincinnati, that he has, the last year, 
raised 1,510 bushels on an acre; that he has fed his cattle upon them ; 
that he fed one pair of working oxen with two bushels of ruta baga, and 
another pair with a bushel of Indian corn, (we presume a bushel of 
ears,) per day; and that he is satisfied two bushels of the Swedes are 
better than one bushel of corn for working oxen, or other neat cattle. 
Here then an acre produces of cattle food what is equivalent to seven 
hundred and fifty-five bushels of corn in the ear, or 377J bushels of shell¬ 
ed corn! If after this our farmers do not believe in the profit of the 
ruta baga crop, why then—let them disprove it in practice. We often 
miss in our corn crop, and other crops ; but this does not prevent our 
trying again, because we know we can succeed. Let us show the same 
perseverance, though we fail once, in the culture of a crop, which there 
is much evidence to believe, will ultimely become very profitable. We 
have kept six oxen more than three months, and in the mean time fat¬ 
tened them, upon ruta baga and a little hay—they would eat nothing 
else. They did not even require water. 
We invite an attentive perusal of Mr. Ball’s communication in to day’s 
Cultivator. Mr. Ball is a young man, and we believe was brought up 
to mercantile business. It will be readily seen that lie has taken hold 
of his new business in the right spirit, and with the prospect of bril¬ 
liant success, and that mind, and system, and capital are all made to com¬ 
bine to increase the profits of farm labor. Mr. B.’s method of keeping 
a journal, so that he can at once ascertain the profits of any field or any 
crop, is worthy the adoption of all who have any ambition to excel. 
Mr. B. has rendered a valuable public service in making this communi¬ 
cation. We accept, with great pleasure, Mr. B.’s offer, and shall look, 
with interest, for its fulfilment. 
In speaking of the short summers in the higher regions of Sweden, 
a traveller remarks, that “ when the snow begins to dissolve, the in¬ 
habitants are in the habit of strewing charcoal over the show, with the 
view of attracting the rays of the sun, and thus hastening the prepara¬ 
tion of the soil for seed.” 
Artesian Wells .—We suggested to our western patrons the probabili¬ 
ty of their obtaining an abundance of good water, by boring. We no¬ 
tice that this plan has been resorted to in the city of New-York, with 
much success, where several borings have been made, and others are 
in progress. Supplies of good water have been obtained at 30, 80, 90, 
100, and 400 feet, soft and pure. One of these wells affords 120,000 
gallons daily, and another 6,000 gallons an hour. 
The division of labor produces a great saving in many of the arts. It 
enables the workman to concentrate his skill upon a single branch, anil 
to perform his work better, and do more, than if his attention was 
drawn to several branches, and it saves time in going from one branch 
to another. It is even adopted to a considerable extent in husbandry. 
