"The advantages of the drill are very great in the opportunity afforded for hoeing the land, but when the system of horse or hand hoeing is not practised, much of the benefit of drilling is lost. After the seed has been sown it should be covered by the use of the harrow, but the less the land is worked the better, and especially upon strong soils. The roughness of the surface will be rather desirable than otherwise, for protecting the wheat-plant during the winter months.

For sowing spring wheat the soil need not be brought to as firm a condition as for the autumn sowing, but the difference is only one of degree, and such as enables us at once to see the cause which renders greater solidity essential for autumn sowing.

"When wheat is sown upon land which is not sufficiently firm, the plant fails in the severe weather of winter; on the other hand, when the seed has a more solid seed-bed in which to establish itself, the roots are enabled to become more fibrous in form and vigorous in action, and in this manner they obtain a secure hold upon the soil from which the winter frosts can not dislodge them. The great necessity then for a firm seed-bed for autumn wheat is to insure the stability of the plant during the winter; consequentlty there need be no surprise that in spring we are less anxious about our land-pressers.

BARLEY.-The soils in which barley flourishes most luxuriantly are free-working loams, and it is not uncommon for such land to be distinguished as barley-land. This preference arises from the natural habit of growth in the barley, 'which requires a considerable freedom of action for the development of that bunch of fibers of which its root consists. In the preparation of land for its growth this has to be remembered; for, if the character of the soil is not naturally of the description required, we are compelled to adopt measures for rendering it so, as much as possible. The firmness which was so necessary for wheat is objectionable here, and the more completely it is destroyed the better.*

Upon the lightest class of barley soils there is great danger of the manure being washed through the soil; on such lands, therefore, the use of the plow is avoided at this time (spring), as the inversion of the soil would favor the loss of manure, and the aid of a cultivator suffices to loosen the soil for the seed-bed.Other soils are brought into a sufficiently loose and free condition for sowing, by means of a single plowing, but by far the larger breadth of our barley soils requires further preparation. I do not know any kind of grain which suffers so much in its quality as barley from being sown in an unfavorable seed-bed.

The best qualities of barley, as well as the

* That is to say, within four or five inches of the surface. According to my experience any loosening of the subsoil by double plowing on light land, in a dry climate,

is prejudicial to the barley crop.-Ed. Journal.

largest crops, are produced from soils very free and open in their character, and these indicate the condition to which we should endeavor to bring any soil upon which this crop is to be sown. To promote the same freedom in the soil, the seed should always be sown when the land is dry; for as we have seen in the preparation of wheat, that a wet seed time was conducive to that increased firmness of the soil which was then our object, so now, when we wish to avoid this effect upon the land, we should in every way avoid the cause.

"The use of the drill is very generally preferred for sowing barley to every other mode. The depth for sowing the seed is not subject to the same variations as in the case of wheat; one inch may be considered sufficient in all soils to secure its healthy germination."

OATS. The natural energy of the root of the oat renders this crop admirably adapted for sowing on old sod-land. Prof. T. recommends plowing up an old sod in the fall and leaving it till seed time in the spring. During this interval frosts are almost certain to have crumbled the surface and produced a nice light mould for the seed; such land will then present the most desirable seed-bed for oats-a soil well charged with vegetable matter, firm beneath, yet easy of penetration for the rooting of the plant, with a surface light and free in its character for the germination of the seed. This firmness of land for the root must be distinguished from the hardness with which wheat will contend after it has once made a fair growth.

He recommends leaving the land rather rough after sowing, and says, "I have known the greater portion of a crop of oats blown off the ground, simply from the field having been rolled instead of being left rough from the harrow. Upon such land the seed must always be buried deeply, say two inches, for this gives the plant a better opportunity for securing itself to the spot."

"PEAS. The pea requires a free and loose soil for its successful growth, and it is upon soils of this character that it is chiefly cultivated. The land can scarcely be rendered too free for their growth, and hence soils which do not need to be plowed a second time are improved by the use of the cultivator in the spring, unless the manure is thus brought to the surface, in which case a drag will be preferable. The seed-bed best suited for peas may therefore be described as a deeply-worked and well-cultivated soil, fine in texture, loose and free; the seed should therefore be sown when it is dry, so as not to prejudice the conditon of the land.

"The depth at which the seed should be sown will vary from two to three inches, according to the time of sowing and the nature of the land; the earliest sowings and the lightest lands having the seed deposited at the greater depth. Drilling is, beyond question, the best mode of depositing the seed so as to

allow of cultivation between the rows during growth. The plan of double rows, 9 or 10 inches apart, with an interval of 18 or 20 inches between them, is advisable because of the greater facility for cleaning the land, and the greater support which the peas gain from the neighboring row. Three bushels of seed to the acre is the usual quantity sown.

"GRASS AND CLOVER SEEDS.-These seeds are small in size, and proportionately weak in their powers of growth; for which reason they require the greater care to secure their healthy germination. A depth and condition of soil which may be suitable for larger and more vigorous seeds is really destructive to their growth. Experiments prove that seeds of this

class should be laid as near the surface as possible, so that the covering of the soil shall be of the thinnest character. A slight covering, however, is desirable for the purpose of retaining moisture; for seed placed upon the surface is naturally subject to the drying influence of the air, which, after germination has commenced, may so check the growth as to prove destructive to its existence."

Sugar from the African Imphee.

PROF. HOYT,-Dear Sir:-Seeing in your valuable paper a kind of general invitation to tillers of the soil to communicate their experience for the benefit of the public when it possessed any of the requisites for so doing, and believing in the principle, I enclose a few hasty remarks on my experience and views of cane culture. I have raised crops of cane for five consecutive years, and after succeeding beyond my most sanguine expectations, I fully believe, that with proper information, the general cultivation of cane may be carried on as safely as any of our now staple crops, subject of course, like wheat and all others to partial failures in

unfavorable seasons.

If every one who has succeeded to any considerable extent, would freely communicate, through some generally available medium, to the public his experience, such information would soon be obtained by all so disposed. I may, perchance, have discovered something that others have not happened to, and others again something that all, except the discoverers, remain in ignorance of, and although each and every one embarked in the investigation might ultimately attain the highest perfection, yet how much toil and perplexity, as well as

time, might be saved by a free interchange of experience. I realize this by my own experience-by the days and weeks of untiring effort to succeed in some point that five words from one who had learned it before, could have saved and made the problem as easy as Columbus making the egg stand on end.

I believe our syrups and sugars can be produced at home, of good quality, and hundreds of thousands of dollars saved by so doing, saying nothing of the extra comfort, and the ladies thousand sweeter smiles occasioned by the plentiful supply; and also that it can be manufactured without any expensive machinery, bringing it within the reach of all of common means and capacity.

This I regard as a very important feature; anything like an ordinary sugar refinery involves so much expense as to be useless to the masses. So far as we can to advantage, we should produce all articles of common necessity, and especially at this time, which will probably try men's purses as well as "souls.” By making the production of cereals for export our main business, we are by degrees exhausting our rich soil, and in some degree overstocking the markets, thereby depressing prices.— By cultivating cane, or any new crop we can produce to advantage, the direct tendency would be, by pressing a smaller quantity on the market, to advance the prices. Perhaps if only half the wheat and pork had been produced in the Northern States, the past year, it would have sold for about the same amount; and if so, and the labor of producing the other half had been expended in producing something else of equal value, what an immense amount would have been gained. At this critical period we more than ever need to know and avail ourselves of all our resources to be, as far as God and nature vouchsafe the means, Indepen

dent.

Having been a citizen of Wisconsin for 26 years, hoping it to be my home for life and the repository of my ashes after death, I feel an interest, and, still further, a pride in seeing the State A No. 1, in every useful and honorable

dark he will go into the hole to see what is the matter. It is not necessary to put anything in the hole, but it is better to do so, for it will often tempt him to go into the trap when other

wise he would not.

This work can be done by the boys, who will find it good sport, besides keeping them employed; and it would not be a bad idea I think to pay them a trifle per head for the gophers they catch, and let them earn a little pocket money, which is much better than giving them money in any other way; the boys will feel much better to know that the money they spend was earned, and it will teach them the value of money and give them habits of industry.-E. A. RIEHL, in Valley Farmer.

WHAT SPRING CROP SHALL WE SEED WITH ?— In reply to this question, the Prairie Farmer says: It is the experience of most prairie farmers with whom we have conversed on this subject, that oats is the best crop to seed with -for the reason that the foliage shadows and protects the plants from the sun. The earlier in the spring the oats and seed are sown, the better."

We had supposed that, in the majority of cases, oats were the worst crop to seed with and that for the very reason assigned by the Preirie Farmer for their being the best. The dense foliage smothers the young seed plants. Perhaps we are mistaken on this point, and should be glad of the experience of our read

ers.

STOCK REGISTER.

Skim-Milk Calves.

MR. EDITOR:-In the April number of the FARMER is an article under the above heading, copied from the Massachusetts Ploughman, and endorsed by you, which is so contrary to my own experience and reasoning, that I feel obliged to spend a few hours of time appropriated for rest, to answer the same. The essence of the article alluded to is, (clad in a great deal of nonsense that calves ought to be raised by sucking the cow, instead of by hand, and on fresh milk instead of skim milk for a great many calves.

Experience teaches different. My way is, when the calf is born I let the cow lick it dry; next I tie it, with a leather strap around his

be necessary to give the calf a finger in the mouth, but it soon learns to drink without. Some of my neighbors let the calf suck for about three days, but the older the calf is the handier it will it be to learn to drink. A calf will drink a half pail of milk in a few minutes, and the cow will give her milk freely down, but when the cow is accustomed to have the calf suck, she will hold the milk back, and it is much less trouble to take the milk to the calf than to bring the calf to the cow, wait till it has sucked, and bring it back to his pen.

After the above mentioned time I begin gradually to feed the calf with skim milk-first about half and half, after a few days all skim milk. Calves will grow well by feeding them skim milk, but fresh milk will keep them fatter. Two cows will raise two calves well, and supply a family with five or more children with all the butter and milk they need. Besides skim milk, I give my calves always a little hay and often a drink of fresh water.

A

Calves born in March I turn out with the rest of the cattle about the first of June, and from that time give them only some sour milk in the evening to make them come home, they will never attempt to suck their mothers. neighbor of mine assures me that other calves fatted up the first year over grow themselves, and afterwards never make big oxen. Some may claim that calves sucking the cow is more natural, but is not culture an improvement of nature, and to make the best and most profitable use of things, the great aim of farming, would it not be more natural to see the prairies ornamented with wild flowers, than to turn them over and raise food for man?

I and my neighbors raise as good calves by hand and skim milk as I have seen in East Florida, where calves suck their mothers for two years, and twenty-five cows will hardly supply a family with milk for about six weeks in summer.

"When milk is in great demand, calves may