‘Pie RURAL NEW-YORKER 
751 
Late Cultivation of Corn 
T HE DUST MULCH.—Experience and observa¬ 
tion have convinced us that it does not pay to 
discontinue work in the cornfield merely because 
the corn has been cultivated three times, which some 
writers claim is enough. In fact I don't believe it 
is possible to spend too much time in the cornfield, 
provided conditions are such that the work will be 
a benefit to the crop. It is extremely necessary, es- 
White Oak Acorns Used in Making Meal. Fig. 275 
pecially in dry weather, that a mulch of fine soil be 
kept on top at all times to prevent the soil from dry¬ 
ing out and allowing the moisture to escape. If it is 
desired to continue the cultivation after the coni 
gets too large to use a one or two-row cultivator 
the soil must be stirred frequently. If 
the .soil is allowed to get dry and hard 
and remains so for some time it will 
likely do more harm than good to try 
any more cultivation until after a good 
rain. It is only necessary to cultivate 
often enough to keep up the dust 
mulch and keep out weed growth, but 
the soil should be loosened after every 
hard rain that would cause the soil 
to bake if not worked. 
THE SMALL CULTIVATOR.—The 
best tool for this purpose is a small 
one-horse cultivator that will pass be¬ 
tween each row without crowding too 
close to the corn. Some of these are 
made with small shovels after the 
same fashion as the larger cultivators, 
and some are made after the pattern 
of a spike-tooth harrow. Either is 
good for this kind of work. The user 
should keep in mind that it is not well 
to try to cultivate very deeply, nor 
too closely to the corn after it gets 
large, as there is danger of root prun¬ 
ing. This is of especial importance 
when giving a cultivation when the 
ears are shooting, which is one of the 
most beneficial if it is properly con¬ 
ducted. It can also be made the most 
destructive if the cultivation is carried 
to the extent that the roots are severe¬ 
ly pruned, for the corn needs all its 
roots to feed and water the growing 
ears. 
THE DOUBLE SHOVEL-PLOW. — 
We have not entirely discarded the old-time double 
shovel-plow for use in late cultivation, but it should 
be used with care if used at all, and I believe there 
are better tools to use for this purpose. When I 
think that conditions justify the use of this tool I 
prefer to cultivate the field both ways, going omy 
once through each row. This allows me to keep 
pretty well away from the hills, and after the field 
is cultivated the other way there will be only a 
small square of soil where the hill stands that has 
not been cultivated. This gives the advantage of a 
little deeper cultivation than would be practical 
with the other tools named, and does not disturb 
the hills nor prune the roots to any noticeable ex¬ 
tent as will be the case where deep cultivation is 
practiced after the corn plants get so large that the 
ground is well filled with roots. 
USING THE HOE.—I don’t advocate the use of 
the hoe in the cornfield very strongly. Time is too 
valuable in the present age to waste it on such slow 
methods. If the corn has had sufficient cultivation 
at the right time there should be but few if any 
weeds there later in the season, and I have known 
it to do more harm than good to try to take them 
out, especially out of the hill after they get large 
and the weather is dry. If there are only a few of 
them and the owner does not wish them to seed it 
will be all right to do so if he is not particular what 
happens to the hill of corn in the disturbance that 
will follow pulling out the weeds. d. p. 
Putnam Co., Ohio. 
White-oak Acorns as Food 
[The Missouri Botanic Garden Bulletin for Feb¬ 
ruary, 1924, gives the following interesting account 
of the use of acorns as food. The accompanying illus¬ 
trations picture the acorns and a finished product pre¬ 
pared from them.] 
O NE of the principal foods of the North Ameri¬ 
can Indians was meal made from white-oak 
acorns. Unlike turkey, squash, tobacco, and Indian 
corn, this food has never become popular with the 
white man and is seldom heard of today, though 
our white oaks continue to yield heavy crops and 
the few remaining Indians from Wisconsin to Wash¬ 
ington still make use of them. The process of manu¬ 
facture varied with the different tribes and with 
the species of oak from which the acorns were 
taken. The following dispatch from a Washington 
paper describes the process still in use by the Klic¬ 
kitat Indians of the Pacific coast: 
“The Klickitat Indian acorn harvest has begun. 
The acorns, as gathered, are preserved for future 
use in peculiar storing places called chuck-ahs. 
These are large baskets of long willow sprouts 
closely woven, six feet high and three in diameter. 
They are set upon stone and stick platforms several 
feet from the ground. They are well braced and the 
outsides of the baskets are coated with pine boughs 
laid point downward to shed off rain and snow. The 
pine needles also keep out squirrels and woodpeck¬ 
ers. As the baskets are filled, bark roofs are con- 
a mush, usually combined with maple sugar and 
often with the further addition of venison. 
With a modern kitchen equipment the acorn meal 
can easily be prepared at home. After husking the 
acorns they should be ground in a hand-grist mill 
or food-chopper. The meal is then mixed with hot 
water and poured into a jelly bag. The bitter tan¬ 
nin, being soluble, will be taken out by the water, 
but sometimes a second or even third washing may 
be necessary. After washing, the wet meal is spread 
out to dry and then parched in an oven. If it has 
caked badly it should be run through the mill again 
before using to get it into shape like cereal products 
used in making biscuits or muffins. 
In cooking, acorn meal may be used in the same 
way as cornmeal. Its greatest fault is its color, 
muffins made from it being a dark chocolate brown 
The taste suggests a mixture, of corn men U'and pea¬ 
nut butter, and some people relish it at once, but 
others, it must be confessed, have to be educated 
to it. Because of the high oil and starch content of 
the acorn, it is very nutritious and is reported to 
be easily digested. Only acorns from white oaks 
should be gathered, as those from the black oaks 
are too bitter. The white oaks have flaky gray bark 
and leaves which are not spine-tipped. Typical 
Missouri representatives of this group are the white 
oak, the swamp oak, the bur oak, and the chestnut 
oak. The small pile of acorns shown in the picture 
made nearly two quarts of meal. 
William Perkins, the man who makes five dollars grow out of the soil where most 
people have to jump in order to get one. 
istructed to tightly cover them. When the acorns 
are desired, a hole is made in the bottom of the 
basket so that they can roll out. 
“The acorns are bitter and cannot be eaten in 
their natural state. When properly cooked and pre¬ 
pared they are palatable. The first hull is cracked 
and removed when the kernel is pounded or ground 
to fine meal. Soft sandstone mortars once were 
used for grinding, but now modern equipment is in 
the possession of every family. After grinding, the 
next process is removal of the bitter tannin. The 
Indian chief makes a long, shallow basin in clean 
washed sand in which are laid a few flat, fern-like 
ends of fir boughs. 
“Small stones, heated white hot, are placed into 
kettles of water. The water so heated is mixed with 
acorn meal to a consistency of porridge. This mix¬ 
ture is emptied into sanded molds, and as the hot 
water runs out into the sand it carries away the 
substance causing the bitter taste. The meal then 
is washed clean of sand and worked into dough. 
The pasty cakes are baked flat, and when cooked 
possess the oily taste of peanut butter.” 
The Indians of Massachusetts parched the fresh 
acorns and stored them in that condition. The early 
records of the Pilgrims tell of the discovery, during 
their first hard Winter, of such a store buried in 
baskets in the ground. The meal was used in va¬ 
rious ways. Probably the commonest was to make 
it into hoe cakes which were baked in the ashes, but 
the Indians of the Great'Takes region boiled it as 
Notes from New England 
LANTING McINTOSII APPLES— 
There has been much discussion 
in New England the past year about 
the advisability of planting McIntosh 
Red apple trees. Some growers have 
contended that this variety has been 
Over-planted; others argue the con¬ 
stantly increasing popularity of the 
McIntosh will lead the public to con¬ 
sume all the fruit which is likely to be 
offered it for many years. It is true, 
of course, that some orchardists have 
plunged rather heavily in McIntosh 
the last few years. Planting has been 
particularly heavy in Middlesex Coun¬ 
ty, Mass. It is also true that this va¬ 
riety is rather more subject to certain 
diseases than the older varieties com¬ 
monly grown. For a time it appeared 
as though this fact would militate 
greatly against success with this va¬ 
riety, but experiments made by a rep¬ 
resentative of the State College have 
shown that with proper spraying there 
is little to fear in this respect. No fruit 
grower should start planting McIntosh 
Reds, however, unless he is prepared 
to give them unusual care. He should 
satisfy himself by every possible 
means that he is a progressive grower, 
and is able to supply himself with the 
equipment needed to conduct orchard 
operations along modern lines. It is unquestionably 
true that the McIntosh is very exacting. The fruit 
must be harvested very promptly when it reaches 
the proper stage of maturity. If there is not suffi¬ 
cient labor to handle the crop when it is ready, or 
if other demands of the farm are too pressing, great 
waste is sure to result. Experiments have shown 
that McIntosh Reds should not be planted on lands 
which are relatively low; that is, in a valley or near 
Muffins Made from Acorn Meal. Fig. 277 
the seashore, because in such situations the extreme 
susceptibility of this variety to fungus diseases 
makes it unusually hard to manage. Moreover, the 
prospective planter should use care in the selection 
of his soil. The McIntosh needs a soil type even 
lighter than that which is best for the Baldwin. 
The advice which must be given to those who are 
about to plant McIntosh simmers down to this. You 
