44 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
“ That cattle feed best, on Swedish turnips when they are fed 
alone.” 
And, we add, that with us they may be grown as a second crop 
after clover. 
It should be borne in mind, that the price of labor in Britain is 
much less than with us; that the mangel wurtzel crop requires 
great labor, in May and June, before the seed of the Swedish tur¬ 
nip is sown; and that this labor, with us. is a matter of no little mo¬ 
ment. It is probably advisable that the farmer should sow the beet 
or turnip, or proportions of each, according to the quality of the 
soil which is to be appropriated to them. 
We shall speak of the culture of the Swedish turnip in our next. 
Sheep Worms. —We hear that many sheep have been lost during 
the winter, by the worm in the head. This worm is believed to 
proceed from a fly, which deposits its eggs in the nostrils of the 
animal in the summer months, where it hatches, makes its way into 
the head, and often causes death. The general preventive has been 
the application of tar to the noses of sheep; but the operation re¬ 
quires to be often repeated, and the common mode is attended with 
so much trouble that it is often neglected. A sheep master has 
suggested a mode both simple and effectual. It is to take a log or 
logs, dress them six inches broad upon the upper side, and bore 
holes, with a large augur, two or three inchess deep, and at short 
intervals, the whole length; fill these with salt, and apply tar with 
a brush, as often as needed, say once a week, around all the holes, 
and give the sheep daily access to the salt. In this way the tar 
may be effectually applied, with out the trouble of yarding and 
handling the sheep. 
INDIAN CORN. 
All, or nearly all, the accounts we have published of great pro¬ 
ducts of Indian corn, agree in tw'o particulars, viz: in not using 
the plough in the after culture, and in not earthing, or but very 
slightly, the hills. These results go to demonstrate, that the en¬ 
tire roots are essential to the vigor of the crop; and that roots, to 
enable them to perform their functions as nature designed, must be 
near the surface. If the roots are severed with the plough, in 
dressing the crop, the plants are deprived of a portion of their 
nourishment; and if they are buried deep by hilling, the plant is 
partially exhausted in throwing out a new set near the surface, 
where alone they can perform all their offices. There is another 
material advantage in this mode of cultivating the corn crop—it 
saves a vast deal of manual labor. See the communication of Mr. 
Tomlinson, in to-day’s paper. 
There is another question of interest to farmers, which relates 
to the mode of harvesting the crop, that is, whether it is best to 
top the stocks, cut the whole at the ground when the grain is 
glazed, or cut the whole when the grain has fully ripened. We 
have stated the experiments of Mr. Clark, of Northampton, one 
of the best practical farmers of our country, and of other gentle¬ 
men, showing, that the grain suffers a diminution of six or eight 
bushels the acre, by topping the stocks; and there seems to be no 
counterbalancing benefit in the fodder, unless at the expense of 
carrying the stocks to the borders of the field, that they may bo 
secured before the crop is gathered, and before they become blanched 
and half ruined. And it is no protection against early autumnal 
frosts, but rather exposes unripened grain to be more injured. 
Hence so far as regards these two modes, all who have made a 
comparison, seem to concur in the opinion, that stripping the corn 
of its tops and leaves, is a bad practice. William Carmichael, of 
Virginia, has given us in the Farmer’s Register, his experiments 
in this matter, which go to corroborate the conclusion we have 
drawn. He took, promiscuously 100 ears from corn that had been 
topped, and 100 ears from that which had not been topped, grow¬ 
ing side by side. The first weighed, 
on the cob, 50 lbs.—shelled, 41 lbs., and measured 21 qts. 1 pt. 
The other, “ 54 “ “ 46 « “ 26 “ 
Showing a difference of nearly one-fifth in favor of the unstrip¬ 
ped or untopped corn. The fact is, that topping not only prevents 
the further elaboration of the sap, which can only take place in the 
leaves, and which is necessary for the growth of the corn, but it 
deprives the grain of much that is already elaborated, and on its 
way to the grain. If a fruit tree is deprived of its leaves, before the 
fruit has attained its growth, or mature flavor, the fruit will no 
longer grow, nor will it attain high flavor, for its supply of elabo¬ 
rated food, or vegetable blood, is cut off by the loss of leaves. We 
have noticed this particularly in the plum. 
Satisfactory experiments have not been made to determine, whe¬ 
ther it is most advantages to cut the crop when the grain is merely 
glazed, or to wait till it is perfectly ripe. This will depend upon 
the amount of loss, if any, in the grain, by early harvesting,—the 
relative value of the grain and fodder, and the prospect of both be¬ 
ing injured by early frosts—for neither are liable to suffer from 
frost after the crop has been cut and put into shooks. It is to be 
noticed, that in early cutting, the stalks are succulent, and abound 
in elaborated sap, on its descent from the leaves to the grain, and 
that this supply of food to the grain continues to flow probably for 
some days after the corn is in shook, and if so, the grain itself con¬ 
tinues to improve, though we think it likely that the crop under¬ 
goes some trifling diminution. But if frost is likely to intervene 
before the complete maturity of the crop, there is no doubt but the 
corn will suffer less in shooK than it will standing, while the fod¬ 
der will be materially injured by frost. Admitting that there is a 
small lo.-s in grain by early cutting, though it is undoubtedly less 
than when it is topped, the difference in the value of the fodder, 
under the two modes of management, is vastly in favor of early 
harvesting. We do not pretend to calculate to a nicety, the diffe¬ 
rence in nutritious properties, of corn stalks cut in a succulent 
state, early in September, well cured and well housed, and those 
left standing till October or November in the field, but we should 
think it fifty per cent. Well cured corn stalks afford an excellent 
winter food for neat cattle; and when fodder is likely to be in de¬ 
mand, they may be made to contribute largely to the profits of the 
farm. Several of our acquaintance have kept their neat stock al¬ 
most entirely upon this fodder during the past winter, and we have 
done the like, having first cut outs in a cutting machine; and so 
far as we can learn, the cattle kept upon them are in excellent con¬ 
dition. 
The preceding considerations justify us in recommending, that 
in the management of the Indian corn crop, the following rules be 
observed, at least partially, so far as to test their correctness: 
1. That the corn harrow and cultivator be substituted for the 
plough in the culture of the crop. 
2. That the plants be not hilled, or but slightly so—this not to 
prevent the soil being often stirred and kept clean. And, 
3. That in harvesting, the crop be cut at the ground as soon as 
the grain is glazed. 
THE POTATO. 
There is hardly any crop about the management of which a great¬ 
er diversity of opinions exist than this—whether we regard soil, 
seed or mode of planting and culture. The British Board of Agri¬ 
culture, with a view to ascertain the best mode of managing the 
potato crop, addressed a number of queries to the principal farmers 
in the kingdom, calculated to elicit the facts necessary to deter¬ 
mine this point. The circular and the answers were published in 
a large quarto volume, together with the report of the committee 
charged with the arrangement and publication of the facts. The 
statements are so variant, that the committee were unable to re¬ 
commend any particular practice, as that which was most success¬ 
ful in one case, proved defective in other cases. The only impor¬ 
tant fact settled by the inquiry, was, that potatoes differed very 
materially, in some cases fifty per cent, in their nutritive proper¬ 
ties, a consideration as material for the stall as for the table. Since 
the date of that publication, however, very nice experiments have 
been made in Great Britain, particularly in Scotland, and by Mr. 
Knight, and also in the United States. From these we draw the 
following conclusions: 
1. That in this latitude the potato is better, both as to product 
and flavor, when grown on a moist and cool, than when grown on 
a warm and dry soil—better on a moderately loose and friable, 
than on a hard compact soil. 
2. That they do better on a grass ley than on stubble—and bet¬ 
ter with long or unfermented manure, than with short muck. 
3. That medium sized whole tubers give a better crop than sets 
or very large tubers. 
4. That drills or rows should be adapted to the growth of the 
tops, and the condition of the soil—the small growing tops nearer, 
and those having larger tops farther apart—so that the sun may 
