Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 1, January 5, 1884 | Page 8

The weather was so nice the first part of this month that the
farmers did a large amount of plowing. Potatoes are plenty and cheap;
worth from 30 to 40 cents. Apples are scarce, and good ones bring a big
price. Butter is worth from 25 to 30 cents.
S.O.A. KNOX CO., ILL.

SEED CORN AGAIN.
There has been much complaint of soft corn in this section on account
of planting foreign seed last spring, but it is all solid since the late cold
spell.
Those who planted seed of their own raising and got a stand have fair

corn, while much of that which was raised from Kansas and Nebraska
seed was caught by the frost when in the milk. Now we will be in just
the same "fix" about seed next spring that we were last. This county has
lost thousands of dollars this year in the corn crop alone, all of which
might have been avoided by going through the fields before freezing
weather and selecting seed and properly drying it before it froze.
And now right here I want to say that the great secret of good farming
is simply being punctual in attending to the small matters, and I "guess"
Fanny Field would say the same about poultry.
Z.L. THOMPSON. IROQUOIS CO., ILL.
* * * * *
REMEMBER that $2.00 pays for THE PRAIRIE FARMER _from this
date to January 1, 1885; For $2.00 you get it for one year and a copy
of_ THE PRAIRIE FARMER COUNTY MAP OF THE UNITED
STATES, FREE! _This is the most liberal offer ever made by any
first-class weekly agricultural paper in this country._
* * * * *

FIELD AND FURROW.
Says the Iowa Register: One hundred bushels of corn will shrink to
ninety in the crib, and to an extent more than that, depending on the
openness of the crib and the honesty of the neighbors.
The agricultural editor of the New York Times says that no doubt many
farmers who are intending to underdrain their farms would save money
by employing an expert at the first to lay out the whole system and
make a good beginning, and so avoid any possible mistake, which
might cost ten dollars for every one paid for skilled advice.
The New York Times says that lime seems to be a preventive of rot in
potatoes in the cellar. Some potatoes that were rotting and were picked

out of a heap of forty or fifty bushels were put into a corner and well
dusted with air-slaked lime. They stopped rotting at once, and the
decayed parts are now dried up. There is no disagreeable smell about
them.
Cincinnati Gazette: It is remarked that when young hogs are fed mainly
on corn they stop growing at an early age and begin to grow fat; but
that green food makes them thriftier and larger than dry grain. In fact, it
is better to prevent all domestic animals from becoming very fat until
they have attained a fair natural size, particularly breeding animals.
A member of the Elmira Farmers' Club recently expressed the opinion
that bad results would always be found with wheat sown on land into
which the green growth of any crop had just been turned, although it
was believed that buckwheat was the worst green manure. All green
growth incorporated with the soil near the time of seeding will in all
cases be found prejudicial to wheat.
It is announced that Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati will have ready, in
February, an extensive work on sorghum, containing the results of the
latest experiments and experience of the most successful growers, as to
the best varieties and their culture, and also the details of the latest and
best machinery used in the economical manufacture of sirups and
sugars therefrom. The work is by Prof. Peter Collier, whose name is a
guarantee of the value of the book. It will be very fully illustrated.
A Michigan man writes the Michigan Farmer: I have noticed tarred
twine and willows recommended for binding corn stalks. I think I can
propose a better substitute than either for those who are using a twine
binder: save the strings from straw stacks this winter. They are less
trouble than grass and never slip. Tie a knot in the end of the twine with
your knee on the bundle, then slip the other end through in the form of
a bow, take off your knee and the spring of the bundle will draw the
knot tight. Pull the bow and use again.
"Human labor," says Dr. Zellner, of Ashville, Ala., "is the most costly
factor that enters into the production of cotton, and every consistent
means should be adopted to dispense with it." And then the doctor, who

has