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THE GENESEE FARMER. 



VThat an association there would be between a pear and a 

 plug of tobacco ! If ever ttiis world is to return to its Eden- 

 like purity, and ignorance and crime be icnown no more, 

 then first must tobacco, as well as intoxicdting drinlcs, be 

 banislied from the daily use of our young men. And when 

 tliis is done, then will universally commence the culture of 

 those fruits and flowers that you have so long and earnestly 

 recommended to the readers of the Fariner. Eichaed 

 Johnson. — East Groveland, 2f. Y. 



"We give the above a place in our columns, not 

 because we think the strictures called for by any- 

 thing we have said, or that we have "polluted 

 our pages" by giving the best method of raising 

 tobacco. Had we recommended the use of tobac- 

 co, or even its general growth, then the case 

 would have been far diiferent, and there would 

 have been some propriety in the censure so liber- 

 ally bestowed ; but, so far from this, although it 

 is not our business as editors of an agricultural 

 journal, to tell, men what they shall eat or what 

 they shall drink, yet we have dropped a word or 

 BO against the use of tobacco, and even in the arti- 

 cle complained of stated " we did not wish to see 

 tobacco raised here as a common crop." We have 

 often wished that, if men would smoke and" chew 

 a noxioiis weed, one could be discovered nasty 

 enough to suit, and less exhausting to the soil than 

 tobacco. But when our readers solicit information 

 on the growth of any crop, wo do not feel at lib- 

 erty to withhold it because we may think the use 

 of the article deleterious. We have now several 

 letters asking the best method of gi'owing hops ; 

 and as we feel under obligation to answer these 

 inquiries, we hope our correspondent will not 

 accuse us of encouraging the use of beer. We 

 suppose tobacco will be grown as long as there is 

 a good naarket for it ; and if we tell how it can 

 be grown with the least possible injury to the soil, 

 we shall accomplish some good: but if the world 

 would follow our example as well as our advice, 

 there would be little need for the information. 



Inquires anlr QlnsvotvB. 



SUPEKPHOSPHATE OF LiME. — In your May num- 

 ber, Silas H. Meacham inquires where the super- 

 phosphate 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 article and 

 saving his 1^ cents to expend in agricultural 

 works. 



The plan I adopt to dissolve bones, is to have 

 them ground -as tine as I can, put them into a 

 wooden vessel, pour on as much water as will wet 

 theni, 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, 100 lbs.;atlcent per lb.,.. $1 00 

 Suljiliuric acid, 40 lbs., at '2J4 cts. per lb.,. . 1 00 

 Water, 80 lbs., 



And wo have 220 lbs. of thd manure for. . $2 00 



and I have not much doubt a better article than 

 the one made by the Zinc Company. 



Last year I raised some mangel wurzels, and 

 manured some of them with this manure put in 

 the bottom of the drills, and they were better 

 than where I put barn-yard^anure. 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 manui'e made that is so cheap as this super- 

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



We have often recommended our readers to 

 preserve bones, and convert them into super- 

 phosphate of lime ; but, as many farmera have no 

 bone mill in their neighborhood, and getting sul- 

 phuric acid is somewhat troublesome, it would be 

 a great advantage to have a good article that could 

 be purchased 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 aj 

 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 

 contain but 45 per cent., the mineral-made super- 

 phosphate of lime will be the best article for man- 

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

 crops which are particularly benefitted by phos- 

 phate 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. 



The term " dissolving bones with acid," is apt 

 to convey a wrong impression of the process. The 

 acid does not dissolve them, but simply converts 

 the phosphate of lime into a bi-phosphate, or 

 super-phosphate, of lime. This it accomplishes 

 by abstracting a portion of the lime, setting free 

 its'phosphoric acid, which unites with the unde- 

 composed phosphate, converting it into the bi- 

 phosphate of lime. 



The value of the change is this : Phosphate of 

 lime is insoluble in water ; bi-phosphate or super- 

 phosphate of lime is exceedingly soluble : so that, 



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