San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1879-03-15
or Interest to Farmers.

O Interest to Farmers.
MEASUREMENT OF CoRN.-The follow
ing rules for measuring corn in the ear
have stood the test in Illinois, and always
been found to hold out when tested
properly: For good corn, take the di-
mensions in cubic feet, and multiply by
four and divide by nine; the result is
bushels. For poor Qight) corn, multi
ply by three and divide by seven. %, in
other words, two and half cubic feet
make n bushel of poor light corn. An
other: Get the number of cubic feet
in crib, multiply by four, cut off the
right hand nslre, and the remaining
figures will be the bushels in shelled
corn. This is the simplest and most
correct. .
LIVE AND WIRE FENcEs.-J. Wilkin-
son, Of McHenry county, Illinois, II
capital newspaper correspondent upon
practical topics, makes comparison
between live or hedge fences, and fences
made of wire, and concludes, that, as a
matter of economy, farmers cannot af-
ford hedges for main lines of fences,
because of the draft upon the soil for
forty feet each way from the fence. On
the other hand, although three years
ago he was very much prejudiced
against barbed wire fences, he now be-
lieves in them as satisfactory and eco
nomical, after considerable experience
and observation. He finds there are
actually less animals injured by barbed
wire fences than by board and rail fen
ces. Ho observes that many are using
posts, thirty or forty feet apart, with
barbed wire, and are we'll pleased.
How TO UTILIZE OLD FRUIT CANS
Perhaps one of the most appropriate
uses of an old fruit can that can be de-
vised, is to make / contribute to the
growth of new fruit to fill new cans.
This is done in the following manner
The can is pierced with one or more
pin holes, and then sunk in the earth
near the roots Of the strawberry, or to-
mato, or other plants. The pin holes
are to be of such size, that, when the
can is filled with water, the fluid can
only escape into the ground very slow
ly. Thus quart can, properly ar
ranged, will extend its irrigation to the
plant for period of several days; the
can is then retilled. Practical trials Of
this method of irrigation leave no doubt
of its success. Plants thus watered
flourish, and yield the most bounteous
returns throughout the longest drouths.
In all warm localities, where water is
scarce, the planting of old fruit cans, as
here indicated, will be found profitable
as a regular gardening operation.-Sci-
entic 4merica'n
INSTRUCTIVE FIGUREs.-C. E. Thorne,
farm superintendent at the Ohio State
University, after giving statement OF
the comparative yield of certain varie-
ties of corn, makes the following sensi-
BILE observations concerning the selec-
ton of corn for seed: Good seed
must go hand in hand with good Guilt
walton, but with good seed and good
cultivation our corn yield certainly
ought to be doubled. For instance, 1
find it easy to select ears of corn weigh
ing pound each. Seventy Of these
ears would make bushel. Corn plant
ed in hills, four feet apart each way,
gives 2.722 hills to the acre. If each OF
these hills should produce three such
ears of corn, the acre would produce
ll6 bushels. Now, i fully believe nine
farms out of every ten in our state are
capable of a yield very nearly approach
ing this, but it is only to be attained
through that higher education which
STALL induce more thorough work, and
closer attention to details of every de-
srrip,iop than is nov given by one far
mer out of ten thousand
PEUu is noted for the finest breed OF
mnJes in America. The plains Of Car