INDIANA  FARMER.
Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, mechanics and tl>c  Useful Arts.
D. P. Holloway, W. T. Dennis,)
R.T.Reed.—Editors.       j
RICHMOND, FEB. 1, 1855.
(Holloway & Co.,
i    Vol. IV...,
Publishers.
..No. 7.'
Sowing Corn for Fodder.
Within a few years past, the subject of sowing
corn, broadcast, or in drills, for fodder, has been
repeatedly recommended, and many glowing accounts have been given of the profits of the crop.
Last spring we sowed about three-fourths of an
an acre broad-cast, covering it with a three shovel
cultivator. It received no other attention until
cutting time. It came up well, and grew finely
'till the drouth commenced, which checked its
growth, especially in the thinnest soil. It, however, attained an average height of five feet, or
more. The storm of wind which prostrated
other corn generally, levelled a great part of it
with the ground, and as it never fully straightened up, much of the fodder was lost. The process of cutting it was rather tedious. It was
partly cut with the scythe, but mostly with the
cradle. The latter was the speediest, and placed
it in a neat swath, but left too much in the shape
of stubble. A reaper would probably have done
the work nicely.
We found that by letting it lay a few hours
to wilt and toughen, it could easily be bound into neat bundles. These should be set up into
shocks of convenient size, and well tied together
near the top. Thus treated, they will stand 'till
winter without injury.
One of our Southern exchanges (we believe,)
says it is next to impossible to cure it, owing to
the great amount of sap in the stocks. We can
see no difficulty about the matter, at least we
found none. The stocks should not be cut until
they are fully matured, and then allowed to stand
•in the shocks 'till late in the fall, when it may be
either stacked out or stored in the barn with impunity.
Could we have saved all the fodder neatly,
there would probably have been at the rate of
five or six tons per acre, as it was, we probably
got less than four. We sowed, perhaps, one and
a half bushels per acre, perhaps less, which is
much thinner than what is recommended. Notwithstanding the severe drought about the time
it should have filled, many of the stocks produced small ears of sound corn.
But, will it pay? That is the question. Well,
we will merely give our opinion. Where there
are plenty of meadows, and a fair prospect for
an abundant crop of hay, we could hardly recom
mend it. But whore the reverse is true, it certainly would be a profitable crop, perhaps the
most so of any a farmer could raise. We should •
recommend sowing with a wheat drill, by leaving
out every alternate tooth, which would leave the
rows sixteen or eighteen inches apart. A small
plow could then be run between them, which
would greatly facilitate the growth of the corn.
Our Exchanges.
Moore's Rural New Yorker—Is published
weekly at Rochester, N. Y.—D. D. T. Moore
principal Editor, with some half dozen assistants.
The New Yorker is one of the best papers of the
kind in the country, and as an entertaining and
instructive family newspaper, it is unsurpassed.
Price §2 per annum.
The Countrv Gentleman—Edited by Luther
Tucker and J. J. Thomas, and published weekly
at Albany, N. Y., at $2 per annum, has no superior. The first No. of vol. 5th is before us,
with Joseph Harris, late of the New Yorker, as
an additional Editor. Few papers of any elass
deserve more encouragement.
The Maine Farmer—Has reached the 23d
volume. It is* published in Augusta, Me., by
Joel Holmes, Editor, and is well worthy of liberal patronage throughout the East, though not
precisely suited to our locality. Price S2 per
annum.
The Ohio Farmer—Hails from Cleveland,
0., with Thomas Brown as Editor and proprietor. It is an excellent paper, and well deserving what it seems to receive, a liberal support.
Published weekly at 32 a year.
Ohio Cultivator.—This ably conducted and
well established paper is published semi-monthly,
at Columbus, O.—Price $1 a year. It is edited
by M. B. Bateham and J. D. Harris, and is
well adapted to the wants of the Western farmer.
The Prairie Farmer.—This large monthly
octavo is published at Chicago by J. AMBROse
Wright and Dr. Kinnicott, Editors. This paper is a credit to the city and State from which it
emanates, and we hope the conductors are well
rewarded for their labors. Price, 81 per annum.