Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1854-12-07


weather. 10 topping and blsdlng The risk
to the blades in bad seasons in particular il
very great. Corn may be Gu. up, and shouIt
be as ea,ly as the blades cen be safely pull
ed. In the case of the premium generousI
o offered in Talbot county by that accomplish
ed, intelligent, and Jealous friend OF agricul
,ufe, Edmund Ruffin. Esq +, TO ascertain which
mode Of saving fodder is least injurious ,e
the corn, The very excellen, report Of Mr.
Holiday, Of ,ha. county, showed, according
to nv recollection, that corn cut up, no
only lost less in weight than by snv o,hel
process of saving the fodder, but actually
less than when j, was left TO stand on the
stalk in the field until gathered. 1t may be
convenient to have few blades, and Ger.
tainly 1t often l.. but give me as a general
rule the noble plant as il grew, robbed ONLY
Of its grain. both for the stock and the ma
nure yard as well as for the subsequent III-
age of the field on which i, grew. The di(.
ference between topping and blading and
cutting up corn would hardly be stated too
strong by ing it was The difference be-
tween insuring the capacity 10 winter good
herd oil stock, and having some blades saved
for The horses, the work stock Of The farm.
There is another lllle practical matter de-
serving word and here again give you
rather our recent practice in New Castle
county than any theory on the subject.
From some approximate estimates made
by the Agricultural Club Of New Castle
county. We sscerlsined that the damage to
the grain crop, The whea, and oats, was no.
much less annually than the ,aXes of The
county, and much of this was occasioned
by damage to ,be grain while in shock; we
were then in the habI. Of wind-ro"ing our
grain. The club recommended in very
strong terms substituting the round shock
double capped; that is, pIacing ten sheaves in
a round bunch, with the arms hugging the
tops well together; then take shesf and
placing the butts agsins. The breast, break il
down a, the band, thus forming an angle
like the arm ben, a. ,be elbow, throw this
over the top of the shock, and with second
sheaf fashioned in the same wey, lay il al
right angles across the fist, thus forming a
complete quadrangu|ar architectural roof -
By publications On he sahjec: and offering
premiums al our agricultural exhibitions for
the best shocker Of The round shock with a
double cap, we almost in single season IN
.r"duced the round shock into general favor;
the wind-row is hardly now to be seen
II will successfully protect from The wea-
lher if put up r ght, al least my own expert
ence with bearded wheat is TO The effect hat
there is li,,le or no danger TO be spprehend-
ed. In 1916, The harvest weather was bad;
my agricultural journal shows that it rained
every dav for one week, and some days all
day, ye, subsequently hauled large field
OF wheat shocked 10 this way without even
throwing off The caps. The present season
my wheat was out month, as left it when
shocked and wen, over my corn, rut my oats
ard did other work, and though it ralned
with US more or less on several days, haul
ed at The end Of month directly from the
field and hreshed, and did no. see the first
grown head. !, is best 10 60 around occa-
sionalIy and see the caps are well on.
am told that our Virginia friends, in
eastern Virginia, do not even bind a sheai
Of wheat. My friend, Mr.. WIIoughby
Newton, told me he had no. hand on his
farm that knew how to bind sheaf Of whea,
They carry i, up loose as i. is cut, and shock
or stack j, in small stacks. !! would strike
US that it must be a slow process, and very
awkward handling i, in all subsequent ope.
rs,ions; but am told this plan has many
friends, and in practice it may have more to
rec ommend it than strikes US al first view
Hands will get great dexterity in binding
hsve seen them, and no doubt you have
many of them in Montgomery county, ,ha
when hard pressed by the machine would
bind as they walked, only Stacking their pace
as they paused for an instant 10 take up The
gsvil, then throwing the band round and ty-
ing j, as they walked on.
While in England las, summer, dining
with some Of their agriculluris,s, conversa
ton happened to turn on their grea. loss o.
grain from the weather in harvesting, sug.
gested the round shock with its architecture
roof, " hich ] saw was new to them. An
EnglIshman is slow 10 believe, and especisI
ly to believe that any way bu, his own way
is The righ, way. finally told them ~ woulo
no, attempt 10 convince them by argument,
bu, if there was any whea. handy, woulc
like TO show them the round shock, The
"Americsn shock" as called 1t, with i,s
architectural roof "Agrced," said ,hev
and we adjourned from the table TO the barr
floor, where a. once erected several sh hock.
in about the time as they admi,,ed il woult
take to wind-row it. They expressed grea
a mirs,ion Of the shock, seemed much TAX cir
with it, without dissenting voice, end al
proposed to try it this harvest, and come
promised TO report to me the result.
As the two matters ] have mentioned ar.
SO emuen,ly practical, will add one wort
*NorE.-The above paragraphs in reference t.
saving fodder were omitted IN the delivery, thu
good farmers OF Montgomery having, as the autho
saw, almost invariably conformed their practice t.
that above recommended,