436 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



is the common sentiment, whenever we hear his 

 name uttered. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DOMESTIC MANURE HEAP. 



Messrs. Editors : — I am one of quite a numerous 

 class, an owner of a house and half acre of land 

 in the vicinity of Boston, where I am trying to 

 raise fruit and vegetables for family consumption. 

 Having anatural fondness for the business, and 

 aided materially by a constant perusal of your valu- 

 able journal and some experience, I have been tol- 

 erably successful. My strawberries, this year, 

 blossomed well, but produced but little fruit, ow- 

 ing, perhaps, to the dry weather. Raspberries 

 were productive and good. Currants bore much 

 less than last year. Apples and pears promise 

 well. Squashes, particularly the marrow, I find it 

 difficult to raise, grubs and other insects taking the 

 life out of them, and the blossoms prove unproduc- 

 tive. 



Like most of my neighbors, I have no stable, 

 hog pen, or other manufactory for manure, and 

 finding it necessary, to insure good crops, to have 

 a supply of this article, I wish to inquire through 

 you the best method of decomposing weeds and 

 other vegetable matter, so as to make a good 

 dressing for plants. To collect this matter in 

 piles and wait for its decomposition is a slow 

 process, and after all, the product is not what is 

 wanted. Stable manure is expensive to buy, and 

 what I need is a domestic manure heap, which can 

 be constantly increased and made serviceable, 

 without at the same time offending the olfactory 

 organs of the family and neighborhood. In other 

 words, a cheap and proper supply of manure is what 

 is wanted, and if you can give your readers a recipe 

 for such an article, you will confer a favor on 

 many who do not wish their vegetables to "cost 

 more than they come to." l. t. s. 



BrooJdine, Aug., 1852. 



Remarks. — We can tell our friend what course 

 many people pursue under circumstances similar 

 to his own, and find "material aid" in it. In 

 some convenient spot, draw away the earth from 

 the centre to the circumference, of a space eight 

 or ten feet in diameter, so as to form a basin — 

 much as the masons sometimes do in forming a 

 mortar bed. Conduct the sink water to it, soap 

 suds and all other waste water from the house. In 

 this throw the rakings from the paths, the weeds, 

 fine chip dirt and saw dust from the wood pile, 

 leaves, and in the autumn the vines of tomatoes, 

 cucumbers, potatoes, squashes, melons, and in 

 short every thing that may be gathered (and con- 

 siderable may be) in the management of half an 

 acre of land. If a good deal of vegetable matter 

 is collected and you desire a rapid decomposition, 

 sprinkle quick lime in small quantities occasionally 

 upon the heap as you are adding to it. Overhaul 

 it and mingle thoroughly with the fork, adding a 

 few pounds of gypsum during the operation. This 

 mode of collecting and making manure requires 

 constant care and a steady hand, but, as the mer- 

 chants say, it will pay, and pay well. Those who 



have not tried it will be surprised how much may 

 be accumulated in a year. During the summer 

 the "mine" may be surrounded by pole beans, 

 which will yield a treble tribute — hide the defor- 

 mity, form a pleasant group in the garden and 

 supply the table with a wholesome and seasonable 

 vegetable. 



You may also find much benefit in the use of 

 special manures. A little guano, applied in the 

 right way, will prove of great service. It is com- 

 pact, easily transported and applied, and for the 

 garden is an economical dressing. Thoroughly 

 mingled with moist soil, it may be advantageously 

 applied to any plant of the garden with good re- 

 sults, generally. Mingled with moist loam it may 

 be scattered upon borders and lawns, and will 

 soon produce a visible effect, in giving them a fine 

 dark green appearance. But leached and applied 

 in a liquid form we think better. 



Other concentrated fertilizers may be used ; 

 such as bone dust, gypsum, ashes, &c. Ashes 

 will scarcely come amiss on any soil ; its potash is 

 needed everywhere. 



With these helps, and a judicious management 

 of the "domestic manure heap," with an eye to 

 the Beautiful in the arrangement of walks, flower 

 beds, groups of trees, flowering plants, roots, vinos, 

 &c, and a careful, neat cultivation of them all, 

 what a charming adjunct may an half acre become 

 to a well ordered home ; what delightful associa- 

 tions shall spring up in the hearts of the children 

 who pluck its flowers, while the parents walk in 

 its cooling shades, happy in the affections of 

 those whose tastes have been gently formed by 

 the influences of the garden. 



A half acre ! a little world in itself; teeming 

 with life and invitations to be virtuous and happy, 

 with scope enough for the exercise of all your rural 

 art and taste, and a convenient safety-valve for 

 any superabundance of physical energy. 



Good old Izaak Walton commended certain de- 

 lectable meadows and fruitful fishing grounds to 

 those who "loved virtue and angling" — and in 

 imitation of his sage counsel we commend the gar 

 den to those who love a delightful occupation, 

 fresh and instructive scenes, and happy influences 

 about them. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 WHITE BLUEBERRIES. 



Mr. Brown : — Tn answer to your inquiry, if the 

 white blueberries that I left at your office were cul- 

 tivated, I state that they were not. I found them 

 growing wild in a pasture in this town. They are 

 also growing wild in Rochester, N. II. I cannot 

 learn that any trial has been made to domesticact 

 them, and I can see no reason why they can not 

 l>e ameliorated and improved in size and produc- 

 tiveness. I intend to secure the plant for trial, 

 and shall also sow seed, which I think is the pro- 

 per method to improve the fruit. 



I think the time will come when the wild, in- 



