ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 535:, 



got down to the clear sand, as white as 

 the sand on the sea shore, we came to the 

 conclusion that that was not good for 

 anything, and we used it to grade up 

 around my house, intending to spread 

 some soil over it in order to make the 

 grass grow. Very much to my surprise, 

 this sand that we had taken from two and 

 a half to three feet below the surface, 

 that was entirely barren, as we supposed, 

 threw up a rank growth of barn grass 

 that lasted one year. We thought if it 

 would bear barn grass we would wait and 

 see what else it would bear. That barn 

 grass went out the next year, and up 

 came a growth of witch grass ; and from 

 that day to this, fifteen years or more, 

 that ground has grown witch grass every 

 year, without a particle of manure. 

 What does this show? It shows that 

 these fertilizers, particularly liquid man- 

 ure, go down further than we have any 

 idea of, and that we are losing more 

 every year than we are aware of, by not 

 having it in the bottom of our barn-cel- 

 lars. 



MANURE, Garden Refuse as.— Green 

 stuff, such as cabbage leaves, radish and 

 beet tops, and the like, should not be 

 allowed to dry. Let them go while fresh 

 to the pig-pen or to the compost heap. 

 Young weeds — and old ones ought not 

 to be found in the garden — should have 

 the same destination. By saving all the 

 refuse of the garden in a heap by itself, 

 or putting it in the pig-pen, a surprising 

 accumulation of valuable compost will be 

 found at the end of the season. 



MANURE, Hen. — A mixture of hen- 

 dung, unleached wood-ashes and plaster, 

 frequently has a wonderful effect on corn. 

 If the ashes and the hen-manure are per- 

 fectly dry, no decomposition or chemical 

 change will take place when they are 

 mixed together. But if moist, more or 

 less ammonia will escape, and the plaster 

 will not hold it. The only advantage of 

 mixing these articles together, aside from 

 the ease of applying them, is probably 

 this : When the dry hen-manure is thor- 

 oughly broken up fine, and mixed with 

 the ashes and plaster, and applied in the 

 hill, the moist soil soon induces chemical 

 action. This produces more or less heat 

 immediately under the seed and favors 

 germination; carbonate of ammonia 

 would also be given off, and would be 



absorbed by the soil immediately in con- 

 tact with the roots of the young corn 

 plants, and would, if everything is favor- 

 able, cause them to grow rapidly and 

 assume a dark-green color. But care 

 must be used in applying the mixture, or 

 it may do more harm than good by burn- 

 ing the roots. It should be well mixed 

 with the soil, and not come in direct 

 contact with the seed. Some persons 

 apply it on the hill after the plants are 

 up, just as they frequently apply the plas- 

 ter or ashes alone. 



MANURE, Leaves as. — Forest leaves 

 are excellent to supply the stable-yards, 

 and, where straw is scarce, also the cow- 

 stables and hog-pens. They can be 

 most conveniently gathered after the first 

 snow, or at least before the wintry blasts- 

 have scattered them. They then lay 

 compactly, and, being moist, can be han- 

 dled with greater facility. Leaves absorb 

 large quantities of liquid manure, and are 

 an excellent fertilizer in spring. They 

 can be gathered, too, when other labor 

 about the farm is slack. 



INSECTS, to Destroy.— In some sea- 

 sons the vegetables in our gardens are 

 almost annihilated by worms of several 

 species. Fall plowing, or spading the 

 ground just before frost sets in, and strew- 

 ing the ground with fine salt in the; 

 spring some time before the seeds are 

 sown, are said to be sovereign remedies- 

 against these petty but powerful depre- 

 dators. 



Some vegetables are offensive to all in- 

 sects, such as the elder, especially the 

 dwarf kind, the onion, tansy, and tobacco, 

 except the worm that preys on the plant. 

 The juice of these may therefore be ap- 

 plied, with effect, in repelling insects ; and 

 sometimes the plants themselves when 

 green, or when reduced to powder, par- 

 ticularly the latter, when made into snuff. 



Set an onion in the centre of a hill of 

 cucumbers, squashes, melons, etc., and it 

 will effectually banish the bugs. 



To destroy on trees, plants, shrubs, etc., 

 tie up some flour of sulphur in a piece of 

 gauze, and dust the plants with it 



LETTUCE, SNAILS, to Protect from. — 

 If the beds are surrounded by a slate or 

 board edging, made to stand five inches 

 above the ground, and occasionally coat- 

 ed with a paste made of train-oil and soot r 



