The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-04-11
does not possess the power of spread
ing itself like that pest of sOutheFn

does not possess the power of spread
ing itself like that pest OF SoutheFn
fields"
Our experience with the chufa dates
back to the spring of 1855, when u
small package of about dozen tubers
was received from the Departments at
Washington. They were planted in
the garden, soil very rich, and the
product, which was really wonderful,
carefully saved and planted the follow
ing spring as 6eld crop. Aud their
cultivation has been continued with
the exception of two years during the
war, when the seed was lostl without
interruption to the present time.
Therefore, whatever may be said in
this paper is the result of twenty years
practical experience. That experience
has shown that in some respects the
habits of the plant here and in Europe
are widely different. For instance, it
is represented that there the plant
grows to the height of about three
feet, whereas here it seldom attains
more than half that height. Againin
the mode of culture. 1t is there the
practice, as We learn from the Agrieul-
tural Report, to plant ''in lunches two
feet apart each way, ten or twelve tu-
bers in each, about six inches ssunder;"
whereas, our experience has taught us
that a single tuber, one foot apart IN 4
drill, Is much better. Other depart
ures from the European custom have
also been found necessary in adapting
il to our American soil and climate.
While the nhufa Is highly relished
Uy All Kinds of stock and poultry. us
principal and greatest value is as
feed for hogs-for making pork. It's
exceedingly nutritious, sweet, oily and
pleasant to the taste of ''both man and
beast" There is no food that hogs are
so fond of, nothing on which they will
grow and fatten so rapidly, nothing on
which they can be iattened aud made
into pork so cheaply. One season, as
an experiment, we planted in the same
field sweet potatoes, peanuts, cow-peas
and cSufas. About the first OF October
the hogs were turned into the field
with the privilege Of helping them
selves to such as they liked best, and,
notwithstanding their well known
fondness for sweet potatoes and pea
auts, they at once commenced on tho
chufas, and would not touch either po-
tatoes. peanuts or cow-peas -1atll. the
supply of chufas was exhausted or too
short to meet the demands of appetite.
Hogs will also leave corn to feed on
chufas; and actual experiments have
established the fact that, In flesh pro-
ducing qualities, the chufa is fully
equal to corn; and when we take into
consideration that on given amount
of land the chufa will produce four 70
six times US much as corn, the adYau-
tage of the former for making pork Is
conclusively established. Land that
will produce twenty-five bushels Of
corn to the acre will yield one hundred
TO a hundred and fifty bushels of chu-
fas. A bushel of chufas, after having
been washed and dried, will weigh
from forty to forty-six pounds, vary
ing according to the quality OF the tu-
bers. II grown in rich and suitable
soil, and properly cultivated, the tu-
bers will be large and firm, and will
weigh, thoroughly dried, forty-sia
pounds to the bushel, which may bs
considered the standard weight. TAX
ing this as the standard, and estimating
the yield of corn at twenty five bushel'
per acre, and that of chufas at one hun
dred bushels the lowest fgure), ant
we have in pounds this result: Corn
fourteen hundred pounds; chufas, tor
ty-six hundred pounds; being as 40 Z
IA in favor of chufas. On richer land
the produce of each will, of course, b
correspondingly greater land-tifac-wff
yield fifty bushels Of corn per acre vii
produce two to three hundred OF chu
fas, aud go on. Hence we have well-au
thenticated reports of three, four ans
even five hundred bushels of chufas Il
the acre. But it is unsafe to calculatl
on such crops. On good ordinary lane
I one may reasonably expect produc
/ of hundred to hundred and fift,
bushels; and more than that will sci
! dom be realized.