154 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
I would recommend under-draining to the serious attention of every 
farmer. Without it, the richest portion of my farm would be unpro¬ 
ductive, and I have observed many fine fields, not only lying useless, 
but disfigured by cat-tails, rank weeds, &c. which a few dollars expen.d- 
ed in judicious draining, would make the most profitable and ornament¬ 
al part of the farm. In making drains, I have dug a ditch 3£ feet deep 
and two feet wide, and filled half full, with round stones, taking care 
to leave a number of places for the water to pass, or else placing large 
stones upon each side and laying a flat stone across, leaving but one 
passage for the water, and fill up with earth. Both kinds appear to 
answer well, but I prefer the first, as by dividing the water into several 
streams, there is less fear of undermining. 
My crop of ruta bagas has not been so large as some I have seen no¬ 
ticed in the agricultural papers, yet it has been extremely profitable, 
and as food for stock, has far exceeded my expectations. I have made 
no positive experiments in feeding, to ascertain its relative value, but I 
have no doubt from what I have observed, that it is worth half as much 
as corn for fattening, and for milch cows and sheep, I know of no ar¬ 
ticle of food that will compare with it. By the aid of the drill barrow 
and cultivator, the cost of raising, per acre is certainly not so much as 
corn, while the producers about twenty times as much. I sowed the 
present year 2J acres, the 20th June. The ground was laid in gentle 
ridges 2 feet apart, and the plants, when thinned out, stood 10 inches 
from each other in the rows. I think 1 foot by 2 k would have been 
better. At harvesting I measured off 12 square rods, and found the 
product to be 100 bushels, which would give 1,333-j bushels per acre. 
My average crop, how r ever, fell considerably short of this owing to ear¬ 
ly drought and the insects ; yet this shows what may be raised under 
favorable circumstances. 
I cannot Close this communication without urging upon every man 
who tills an acre of ground, the importance of taking an agricultural 
journal. It has been of incalculable benefit to me, and much of my 
success in farming is to he attributed to the knowledge I have obtain¬ 
ed from the pages of the Cultivator. Yours with respect, 
L. CHANDLER BALL. 
Hoosick Falls, Rensselaer County. 
NEW JERSEY HUSBANDRY. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir,—I subscribed for the Cultivator the second 
year of its publication, and obtained at the same time the first volume, 
consequently being still a subscriber, I have the whole series to the 
present time. Each successive number is received and read with in¬ 
terest, and I hope not without profit, and.as long as it continues to main¬ 
tain its present high character, I shall be a subscriber. I could earnest¬ 
ly desire that it might be widely circulated in this neighborhood, for I 
know no place in which it would be productive of more good, or in 
which an improved system of husbandry is more required, asm few de¬ 
tails will suffice to show. I have resided here a little upwards of two 
years, and in that time have been much around the country. I have 
never seen manure applied to the ground in an unrotted state, and have 
seen but one farmer raise a crop of corn without tending it with the 
plough, both which customs I understand to be condemned by almost 
every contributor to your valuable periodical. I firmly believe that at 
least one-third of the manure is lost by leaving it in heaps until it is 
rotted. I would prefer to haul it out in its crude state, spread it on corn 
or root ground, and plough if in, let it rot under the surface of the soil, 
and then plough it up and harrow it through thesoil. One way in which 
I have seen unrotted manure applied, appeared to be very beneficial 
both in the crop and the ground; it is a practice purstied by at least 
two scientific farmers in Pennsylvania; I have not yet tried it, but in¬ 
tend so to do, as soon as possible. The manure is saved through the 
year in the barn yard, and kept well covered with straw, until immedi¬ 
ately after harvest, when it is hauled out and spread pn clover, for corn 
the ensuing spring. The theory is, thatmore of the good qualities of 
the manure sink into the ground than rise in the atmosphere ; a rank 
growth of clover and weeds is produced, and is suffered to increase as 
long as possible in the spring, so as to get the corn planted in season. 
Two of the finest crops of corn I ever saw in Pennsylvania or this state,. 
were raised in this way, and they were followed by excellent wheat, | 
except the last season, the wheat being cut off by the fly. 
Respecting the instrument called the Cultivator, I was quite amused 
to see the manner in which it was used here in one instance. After 
corn was planted and up, two cultivators were turned in, and the field 
tilled both ways (the corn being planted in hills) this was repeated at 
a proper interval, and the field was in beautiful order, mellow and 
clean, not a weed to be seen ; while in this condition two ploughs were 
put in, and the soil thrown to the corn both ways, and left so till the 
time to sow rye; that being sown, the hills were harrowed down with 
the triangular corn harrow ; mirabile dictu! you are ready to exclaim, 
and well you may. By throwing earth to the corn, the plant was ne¬ 
cessitated to throw out fresh roots, and then dragging away the earth 
again, these roots were rendered not only useless but positively injuri¬ 
ous. Hilling corn also increases the effect of drought upon it, both by 
turning off the rain and by increasing the depth that the rain has to pe>- 
netrate to be beneficial. 
This region of country is well calculated to he one of the most pro¬ 
ductive in the state; it abounds in marl, both the green sand and calca¬ 
reous, or shell marl; the former is dug in many places within two feet 
of the surface,, and the latter generally about six feet; the first is sold 
at the pit for 314 cents a load of 20 bushels, and the last at 50 cents per 
load. The application to the soil of both kinds is about the same in 
quantity, ranging from 5 to 25 loads per acre. The greatest distance t6 
which they have hauled from this neighborhood is about 12 miles.— 
The general use of marl here is quite recent, and no doubt as it be¬ 
comes better known, the use of it will be greatly extended ; and the 
time will come when it will be as much an article of commerce as lime. 
This last spring I purchased a farm here of between 50 and 60 acres, 
entirely worn out; the soil of part of the farm is sand, and the rest 
gravel, no clay any where about it. The farm has once been produc¬ 
tive, and I judge.therefore that it- can be made productive again. Up 
to this time I have spread marl (both kinds) over about one quarter of 
the farm, and if you think this communication worthy a place in the 
Cultivator, I will from time to time give you the result of ray endeavors 
to improve my place. 
Considering marl, lime, and plaster of Paris, or gypsum, as stimu¬ 
lants merely, due attention will be paid to clover and grass crops, and 
barn yard manure; the last being composed of all the refuse of the 
farm, applied in a crude or unrotted state. 
I should be gratified to receive any suggestions that you can make in 
regard to the proper improvement of my farm. Or suggestions from 
any of your subscribers, would be gladly received, and acted upon if 
consonant to my own views. Yours, with much respect, 
E. H. YANUXEN. 
Long Branch, N. J. Nov. 17th, 1836. 
MAXWELL’S PATENT SELF-FEEDING CORN-SHELLER. 
The Hand Corn-Sheller, of which the above is a view, consists of a 
frame two feet six inches square, and three feet six inches high, in the 
centre of the upper part of which, is a cast-iron plate with teeth in it, 
fixed on an inclined shaft, which gives to the plate an angle of about 
15 degrees; over this, are the several apartments or avenues, with 
springs, for receivihg the ears of corn. The ears resting on the plate, 
and being confined sidewise, acquire a rotary motion, that brings all 
their parts in contact with the sheller. The wheel in the above view, 
gives motion to the sheller, by means of a pinion one-fourth the diame¬ 
ter of the wheel, the plate making four revolutions to one of the hand. 
The larger machine calculated for power is similar to the above, ex¬ 
cepting in the shelling plate, which is of a conical form, with compart¬ 
ments all around for receiving the ears. 
A power machine, recently sent to Washington for exhibition contain¬ 
ed twelve compartments for receiving ears, and with one horse power, 
is capable of grinding 500 bushels or more per day. The patent, or 
single rights, for sale by the inventor. 
JAMES MAXWELL, 259 Bowery, New-York. 
CULTIVATOR, OR HORSE HOE. 
Below is a figure or drawing of Bement’s Cultivator or Horse Hoe. 
It has been much improved of late in manufacture as well as by the 
addition of new fashioned points or shares, which render it a very use¬ 
ful implement on the farm, and will be found particularly useful in the 
beet culture, which is now very justly engaging the attention of some 
of our enterprising agriculturists. With the aid of the Horse Hoe and 
