FARMERS' REGISTER 



5y 



vegetable and furnish "an ample supply of car- 

 bon" lor its nutriment and yrovvtli. Such must 

 have been his course of reasoning. 



Sir, under a settled, technical rule of chemical 

 law, the sulphuric cicid of the plaster will have 

 contbined with the lime, its base, in definite pro- 

 portions ; and the addition of mure of the same 

 base to the acid, or of more of the same acid to 

 its base, will [>roduce no chemical action whatever; 

 nor will the circumstance, that the lime added 

 contains carbonic acid, enable it to exert amj influ- 

 ence upon the plaster (sulphate of lime) ; lor no 

 set of double affinities can possibly, in this case, 

 operate to produce the " mutual action" on which 

 " Scnex" builds his theory ; because, the base of 

 the plaster is already possessed of the equivalent 

 of its acid ; and it will neither take more nor part 

 with its own; and its base and that of the carbon- 

 ate beinn: the same substance, and, moreover, the 

 acid of (he sulphate being stronger in its affinity, 

 as regards the common base, than that of the car- 

 bonate, there can be no play of double affiiuiiies 

 between them ; and consequently no decomposi- 

 tion, or "mutual action,''' can possibly occur ; and 

 hence the theory of "Scnex," and his exposition 

 of the "cause of greater value of gypsum on limed 

 land," are radically and palpably erroneous. 



The solution which I propose is simply and con- 

 cisely thus : the oxalic is the only acid which will 

 act upon sulphate of lime ; this acid is present in 

 the "sorrel and peat," and in all lands which pro- 

 duce the "sorrel and peat;" this acid raaj', when 

 present in lands, prevent the action of sulphate of 

 lime, bj' its known action upon this substance, by 

 changing its constitution, and consequently iis 

 character, Irom a sulphate to that of an oxalate, 

 whose virtues, as a manure, are not known ; and 

 thus, it may, and will of necessity, defeat the 

 action of the " sulphate.^''* 



JJy the addition of lime, previously to tliat of 

 "plaster," the oxalic, or possibly other acid, if 

 any in the land, will be neutralized by the lime, 

 and the plaster will be protected in its constitution, 

 and proper character ; and thus it will be enabled 

 to perlbrm its office as a manure, sui generis ; at 

 least, so liir as the lime, previously applied, had 

 been sufficient to furnish an equivalent base to the 

 oxalic, or, possibly, other acid in the land; and 

 hence the " cause of greater value of gypsum on 

 hmed land." Quod erat desideratum. 



In the consciousness that 1 have no motive for 



my critical review of the paper of "Senex" but 



that of correcting what I consider erroneous, and, 



moreover, that 1 find much to admire in his paper, 



1 have the honor to be yours, 



Joseph E. Muse. 



BI(i SQUASHES. 



From the Boston Journal. 



We lately stated that a squash was exhibited at 

 the Horticultural room in Boston which weighed 

 115 pounds! This we thought a pretty large one; 

 but a New Heaven paper chronicles one raised by 

 R.Johnson, of i^iiddleion, weighing 150 pounds. 

 This, thought we, on reading the paragrajjh, is 

 surely a nr.onster, and Massachusetts must give 



way. We reckoned without out our host, how- 

 ever, for a squash raised in Lincoln, by Daniel 

 Weston, may now be seen at the provision store 

 of William Clark, in Court street, near Bowdi in 

 pquare, weighing one liundied and sixty-one pounds 

 avoirdupois ! Who can beat that '} 



* See ' Essay on Calc. Man.,' 2d ed., p. 92, where 

 our view of this subject is presented. — Ed. F. R. 



AN ESSAY ON THE BEST AND CHEAPEST MOt)E 

 OF RAISING AND FATTENING PORK. 



From tlie 3Iaine Farftier. 

 After a suitable building is prepared for a pig- 

 gery, the farmer who wishes to enter into the pork- 

 raising business, should select a thrifty variety of 

 swine for his purpose. Experience has abundantly 

 proved that the large-boned variety are not th6 

 best or most profitable kind, nor are the small 

 Chinese or Newbury white breed the best for him 

 who has a plenty of food lor his swine. In this, 

 as in most other pursuits, the middle vvay is best. 

 Here it may be well to remark, that no animal 

 improves more by crossing than swine. A judi- 

 cious selection should be made of females or 

 breeders. It will be Ibund that there are generally 

 some in every litter that are not duly mixed. An 

 indiscriminate preservation of sows lor breeders 

 should never be done, lor much, very much de- 

 pends upon the form, disposition, &c. None should 

 ever be allowed to have a second litter which 

 were uneasy, which devoured their offspring or 

 were cross to their pigs. In regard to breeding; 

 it will be necessary to observe that a suitable pldce^ 

 should be prepared for them to bring forth in. If 

 the time of farrowing is in cold weather, the pen 

 should be made warm and comfortable. The 

 straw flimished them should be cut or made small 

 or short, and not much in quantity, lest the pigs 

 should be suffocated or destroyed by being over- 

 laid when they have crawled under it. It may 

 also be welJ to remark here, that sows go with 

 young sixteen weeks, and are more exact in the 

 time of their gestation, than most other females. 

 The owner should note the time that the female 

 has been to the male, and also when the eixteeii 

 weeks will expire, in order that he may know 

 when to pay particular atention to the sow, and put 

 her in good condition for farrowing. In England, 

 old males and females are considered the best for 

 breeders, provided they are not over four years old. 



I am satisfieil that this is true. I also know by 

 experience tlrat they should not be kept very fleshy 

 or fat. 



In regard to the time when pigs should be 

 broughtTorth, in order to be most profitable, there 

 is a diversity of opinions among breeders. I am 

 of the opinion that pigs that come in September 

 are the most profitable for wintering, in order to 

 be fattened during the next fall. Those that come 

 in the spring, eat during the summer what other^ 

 hogs should have. They also eat much more in 

 the winter, than those which come in September, 

 and, in foct, they will eat more during the next 

 summer. As all young animals mature fast at a^ 

 certain age, the Septeniber pigs will, when fatten-' 

 ed and slaughtered at the usual time, weigh nearly 

 as much as ilie earlier ones. 



Some suppose that very early pigs, say such as 

 are farrowed in March or April, are profitable to 

 raiee and butcher in the ensuing fall, but it take^ 



