6 



THE farmehs' register. 



made to increase the quantity by the application 

 of ashes. Lixiviated aslies are valuable, as ihey 

 contain silicate ol' poiash and sails of phosphoric 

 acid, (p. 228); but ihose vvliich have not been 

 lixiviaied are much nDore so. Boih lands are so 

 highly es'eenied, as manures, in Germany, th'it 

 they are iransmiiied to the distance oC twenty- 

 lour miles. In situations, which admit of water 

 or rail-road transportation, they might be carried 

 to still greater distances, vviih decided advantage. 



it is not very material whether potash or soda 

 is furnished to soils, from which the alkalies have 

 been extracted, fur these buses are readily substi- 

 tuted lor each other, where there is a deficiency 

 of either, (p. 149.) Potash may even be'substilut- 

 ed, in many cases, not only by soda, but also by 

 lime and magnesia, (p. 200.) This shows what 

 a powerlul ellort is made by nature to supply 

 plants with alkalies, by substituting alkaline 

 earths, where they are entirely deficient. 



I have heretofore adverted to the high estimate 

 formed by Liebig, as to the value of human excre- 

 ments as a manure. Of these urine is by far 

 the most valuable part. Urine contains several 

 ingreJienls, which are extracted from the ashes ol 

 wood, such as sulphate of potash and soda, and 

 phosphate of soda. It contains also phosphates 

 of ammonia, magnesia and lime, and several 

 other valuable ingredients for the nourishment of 

 plants. Liebig estimates 100 parts ol the urine 

 of a healthy man to be equal to 1300 parts of the 

 fresh dung of a horse, (p. 240.) The saving 

 and application of this manure is, iherelore, of 

 very great importance. But if not properly taken 

 care oi it is subject to great los?. During putre- 

 laciion, carbonate of ammonia is formed, which 

 volatilizes, and passes off in the form oi' gas, and 

 the urine becomes alkaline. In this way nearly 

 one half of the urine is lost, (p. 237.) Liebig 

 informs us that the carbonate of ammonia, form- 

 ed during putrefaction, may be converted into a 

 salt, and thus fixed in the soil. This may be 

 ejected by strewing a field with gypsum, and 

 then sprinkling it with urine. It may also be 

 neutralized and converted into a salt, which has 

 no volatility, by the chloride of calcium, sulphuric 

 or muriatic acid ; or super-sulphate of lime, ([). 

 238.) As the value of this manure will be so 

 greatly increased, by preventing the ammonia 

 from escaping, which is formed during the putre- 

 fiictive process, this should never be neglected. 

 Yours, truly, A. Beatty. 



TO KEEP SKIPPERS FROM BACON. 



It is stated in the " Plough Boy," an agricultu- 

 ral paper recently commenced in South Carolina, 

 that if a small piece of sulphur is thrown on the 

 fire every day the i)acon is smoking, it will effec- 

 tually prevent skippers and bugs Iron) enierinsr. 

 We consider this an important matter, and we 

 are strongly disposed to believe the remedy a good 

 one. — £Jx. paper. 



The remedy may be, and po doubi is, a good 

 one, but we doubt its propriety, believing that 

 the fumes of the brimstone will impart a bad fla- 

 vor to the bacon. — Ed. Ky. Far. 



[If the remedy be effective in preventing skip- 

 pers, no fear need be entertained ol a disagreeable 



odor remaining. We have heard that as good 

 effect may be produced by throwing a few pods 

 of red pepper on the fire once in two or three days 

 during the smoking of the bacon. The latter 

 plan has been tried several years in our own 

 house-ki eping ; and whether that or some other 

 cause operated, there were no skippers in the ba- 

 con. In one case, salted fish in barrels, placed in 

 the meat-house after the smoking was finished, 

 was lull of skippers, while the bacon remained 

 free.— Ed. F. R.] 



PAPERS ON CHEAT AND SPELT, OR DARNEL. 



[In our recent remarks on spelt, we had to refer 

 to the Ibllowing articles from memory alone, not 

 having seen them since soon after their first pub- 

 lication, and having lost our volume of the Ame- 

 rican Farmer containing them. Our friend, Dr. 

 G. B. Smith, the then editor of that work, has since 

 kindly supplied the lost volume; and from it we 

 copy below the whole correspondence which 

 brought out the before published lacts in regard lo 

 darnel, and its recent introduction into this coun- 

 try. It should be observed, that the writing of 

 the first of these articles, was induced by a pre- 

 ceding long discussion in the American Farm- 

 er on the convertibility of wheat to cheat. — Ed. 

 F. R.] 



Prince George Co., Va,, June 6, 1882. 



Mr. Smith. — Notwithstanding all the iacts and 

 arguments that have been brought forward in the 

 controversy on the origin of cheat, that has lately 

 occupied your columirs, it is highly probable that 

 the writers on both sides, and their readers, with- 

 out an exception, retain the same opinions as at 

 first. We are always too partial to the reasons 

 that support our side of any question, to allow lair 

 play to those on the other ; and thence it follows, 

 that when the reasons are strong, yet vulnerable 

 on both sides, no amount of authority, or ex- 

 tension of argument, can convert partizane, or es- 

 tablish the truth. Believing it, therefore, utterly 

 useless, I shall abstain from adducing the reasons 

 that have satisfied my mind that cheat is not the 

 product of degenerated or damaged wheat. But 

 however ineffectual argument may be, a lew ex- 

 periments, made and observed carefully, will 

 serve to decide this interesting and important con- 

 troversy ; and I invite your correspondents, and 

 others who lee! interested in the decision, to aid 

 iu this mode of obtaining it. Perhaps more sa- 

 tislactory experiments ^than the one 1 shall pro- 

 pose, may be thought of by others: but this 

 alone will suffice to prove that wheat may be 

 changed to cheat, if indeed that opinion is correct. 



Select a soil supposed to be the most lavorable 

 to the production of cheat. This I consider to be 

 on some sandy slope, which is subject to be too 

 wet in winter and spring. Let a small space, 

 (now clear of growing cheat) be broken up and 

 stirred at different times, from August to October, 



