470 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Being, as yet, undecided as to the course I shall 



have to pursue in introducing the lamp to the 



public, I shall, with pleasure, attend to inquiries 



directed to Dr. Charles Siedhof, Lancaster, Mass. 



Charles Sieduof. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE NORTHERN SPY APPLE. 



Mr. Editor : — Cultivators need not be told that 

 this apple is one of the best and most beautiful of 

 spring apples ; but they probably have yet to learn 

 whether it will do well in New England. At pre- 

 sent there is a diversity of opinion as to its success 

 here. Some cultivators are ready to condemn it, 

 others to give it a longer trial, and a few think its 

 success is certain. But I see little said of it in the 

 agricultural journals. Why this dearth of facts 1 

 Has any one yet fruited it on the young and vigo- 

 rous tree ? If so, was the fruit fair, and what was 

 the soil and its position'? I think if you or some 

 of your correspondents would answer these queries, 

 your readers would be grateful. 



For freshness and tenderness in the spring, this 

 apple is unequalled, though it will not keep so long 

 as the Roxbury Russet, and cannot therefore sup- 

 plant it. It is a fruit which has excited more in- 

 terest than any other for the past few years, and 

 so much has it been admired, that any new facts 

 concerning its culture among us will bo seized with 

 avidity, though perhaps with some fear of disap- 

 pointment. L. 



Roxhury, Aug., 1852. 



Remarks. — We have no apple trees of the kind 

 mentioned in bearing yet, but know where there 

 ares ime; will see them and collect the facts. — 

 There is plenty of knowledge on this subject among 

 our intelligent correspondents, and some of them 

 will undoubtedly communicate it for the public 

 benefit. 



SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. 



In your May number, Silas H. Meaciiam inquires 

 where the supherphosjmate of lime of good quality 

 may be obtained, and what is the price. You say, 

 in answer, "It is being manufactured by the New 

 Jersey Zinc Co., and is for sale in New York city 

 at 2£ cents per pound," (price of guano.) This 

 manure may be manufactured by Mr. Meacham, 

 or any other expert farmer, for less than one cent 

 per pound, and the certainty of having a pure ar- 

 ticle and saving his 1£ cents to expend in agricul- 

 tural works. 



The plan I adopt to dissolve bones, is to have 

 them ground as line as I can, put them into a 

 wooden vessel, pour on as much water as will wet 

 them, generally till it rises to the upper surface ; 

 then pour in sulphuric acid 40 lbs. to 100 of bones; 

 stir them frequently, until dissolved. After the 

 bones are dissolved, I mix them with as much earth 

 as will enable me to spread it over the field. The 

 cost will be — 



For Bones, 



Sulphuric acid, 



Water, 



ICO lbs., al 1 cent per lb ....«;] 00 

 40 lbs., HI 2A cis. per lb-,. . 1 00 



eo lbs., 



manured some of them with this manure put in the 

 bottom of the drills, and they were better than 

 where I put barn-yard manure. The above amount 

 of this manure is sufficient for an acre of wheat, 

 which it will improve to the satisfaction of the 

 farmer. The timothy after my wheat thus dressed 

 was the best I ever cut; I think it paid four or 

 five times the cost of the manure. There is no 

 manure made that is so cheap as this superphos- 

 phate of lime. — S. G. — London Britain, Pa. 



We have often recommended our readers to pre- 

 serve bones, and convert them into superphosphate 

 of lime ; but, as many farmers have no bone mill 

 in their neighborhood, and getting sulphuric acid 

 is somewhat troublesome, it would be a great ad- 

 vantage to have a good article that could be pur- 

 chased ready for use at a reasonable price — two 

 and a half cents per pound we think an exorbitant 

 one ; and, as it is manufactured from a mineral 

 phosphate of lime, and contains no organic matter, 

 the bone-made superphosphate would be a superior 

 article for wheat and other grain crops. It is 

 said, however, that the mineral contains 90 per 

 cent, of bone-earth phosphate, and as bones con- 

 tain but 45 per cent., the mineral-made superphos- 

 phate of lime will be the best article for mangel 

 wurzel, beets, ruta bagas, turnips, and all crops 

 which are particularly benefited by phosphate of 

 lime. 



The method of dissolving bones as recommended 

 by our correspondent, is a good one. It is prefer- 

 able to mix the water with the bones previous to 

 adding the acid, than to mix it with the acid be- 

 fore applying it to the bones. — Genesee Farmer. 



And we have 220 lbs. of the manure for. .$2 00 



and I have not much doubt a better article than 

 tin; one made by the Zinc Company. 



Last year I raised some mangel wurzels, and 



AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. 



A letter writer for the Republic says : — "A trip 

 of six hundred and fifty miles, from the northern 

 to the southern extremity of France, justifies me 

 in the expression of my opinion that God's sun 

 does not shed its rays on so fair a land, or one so 

 thoroughly cultivated. The whole country is lit- 

 erally a garden. Every square foot, from the 

 mountain-top to the lowest ravine, is made to pro- 

 duce something, if it be susceptible of it. Their 

 mode of planting or sowing their crops, whether 

 on plain or hill-sida, produces the finest effect on 

 the appearance of the landscape ; the place allot- 

 ted for each crop is laid out in squares or parallel- 

 ograms with mathematical precision, and, wheth- 

 er large or small, the best garden could not be di- 

 vided with greater accuracy. As there are no 

 fences or hedges, and as the different crops are in 

 various stages of maturity, you can imagine the 

 variety of hues that meets the eye, and the mag- 

 nificence of the panorama that stretches out in ev- 

 ery direction as far as the vision can penetrate. I 

 am sorry to add in this connection, that seven- 

 eighths of the agricultural labor is performed by 

 females, while two or three hundred thousand stal- 

 wart men in uniform are idling away their time in 

 the barracks of the cities^ and villages. In the ab- 

 sence of fences, cattle, secured by ropes, are driv- 

 en about their pasturage by females ; and sheep 

 are confined within the required limits by boys, 

 assisted by a shepherd's dog. Speaking of cattle, 

 reminds me that, notwithstanding fresh pork is 

 abundant enough in market, both in England and 

 France, I have not seen a live porker in either 

 country." 



