THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



243 



cording to the size of the house,) with sulphur, 

 anJ place ihein on the lop of tiie flues, or pipes, il 

 flues are not used, leti leet apart, and siait the 

 fires ; the heat of tlie (lues or pipes will lioat the 

 sulphur, and the vapor will rise and fill ihe house 

 compleiely full, so much so that in the niornin^f 

 you will smell it quite stronjr, when you enter the 

 house: by lollowing up ihis o'eihod a week or 

 ten days, ihe red spider will make its exit. A 

 dry heat is ihe red spider's element, and they 

 make rapid proj^ress if iliis is nOl counteructpd hy 

 moisture and sulphur, which compleiely destroys 

 ihen). J. W. KussELL. 



Mount Auburn Cemetery, Feb., 1841. 



We can attest to ihc certainly of Mr. Russell's 

 plan for deslroyiiiir the red spider, one of the most 

 desiructive insects which inTest green-houses, 

 hot beds, and hot-houses ; sulphur and a plenty 

 of moisture are the only thiiiirs which have ever 

 enabled us to get rid ol ihis pesi. — J^d. 



REMARKS ON SALT AS MANURE, AND FOR 

 STOCK. 



Extract from tlie London Farmars' Magazine. 4 

 We alluded 10 several experimenle which had 

 heen instituted by iVJr. BlHckwood, in this neigh- 

 borhood, lor the purpose o( ascenaining the rela- 

 tive meriie of salt as a manure in raising potatoes, 

 turnips, &c. ; and we are now enabled to say that 

 the result of this year's crop of turnips, goes far 

 to establish the fact that salt prepared in a com- 

 pound, and applied in the way which we formerly 

 described, will bear a comparison with the best 

 dpscriplion of farm-yard manure in this particular. 

 For not only has Mr. Blackwood againsucceed- 

 ed in obtaining a very large crop, but we can a'so 

 hear testimony to the fertilizing properties of the 

 compound from our own experience, having this 

 season, from its application, produced filteen acres 

 of very fine turnips. In the compost which we 

 applied there was mixed seventy-five bushels of 

 salt, or at the rate of five bushels at^ acre, and 

 we remarked, after the fermentation had proceeded 

 for some lime, that the texture and nature of the 

 compost chansed as it wpre, and the whole mass 

 assumed a moist and rich appearance, which we 

 ascribed to the operation of the salt in the mixture. 

 It cannot however be expected that we are pre- 

 pared to enter into a chemical analysis of this 

 substance, or scientifically explain the manner and 

 way in which it operates in the compound so as 

 to produce these results. Our present obje'ct is 

 rather to direct attention to the subject, for should 

 this composition prove of general applicability, 

 and we have no reason to apprehend the contrary 

 f>om the success which has attended Mr. Black- 

 wood's practice for the last six years, it will then 

 be of the utmost imporiance to the agricultural 

 community, that a knowledge of its beneficial 

 influence as a manure orstimulant should be wide- 

 ly disseminated amongst them, ft will be ob- 

 served, that a general want of success has hitherto 

 attended the numerous experiments instituted 

 upon salt for agricultural purposes ; but then these 

 were never performed in such a manner as to 

 prove satisfactory, for the great secret appears to 

 be in submitting ihe compost to that degree of 



heat which is necessary to produce fermentation, 

 and the process should be continued for some 

 weeks previous to the mixture being applied to 

 the land, so that the salt may either be decom- 

 posed or undergo some change from the fermenta- 

 tion which seems necessary for developing its 

 fertilizing |)roperties. Now the majority of those 

 who have been in the practice of testing the pro- 

 perties of salt have either applied it to the soil in 

 Its mineral state, or have simply diluted it with 

 some li(]uid ; and even when a compound was 

 formed of earthy matters and other substances, 

 ihe salt was simply mixed with these ingredients 

 before being applied to the land, or at all events 

 without any atiempt being made to produce that 

 fermentation which appears lo be essentially 

 necessary to the success of the whole operation ; 

 hence the reason why reports of experiments on 

 the use of salt as a manure have hitherto been as 

 different as the soils on which they were made. 

 We are aware that it has frequently been asserted 

 by learned and scientific men, that salt is only 

 a stimulant and possesses no nourishment, but 

 may excite the vegetable absorbent vessels into 

 greater action than usual. We are not prepared 

 to controvert this assertion, but the result of seve- 

 ral experiments would go far to establish a dif- 

 lereni view ol the matter. In proof of this we 

 may be allowed to relit^r to an experiment which 

 is related by Dr. Holland, well known by his 

 agriculiural survey of Cheshire. " After draining 

 a piece of sour rushy ground about the middle of 

 October, he ordered soiue refuse salt 10 be spread 

 upon a part of the land at the raie ol eight bushels 

 to the acre, and in another sixteen bushels. In 

 a short lime the vegetation disappeared totally, 

 and during the month of April following not a 

 blade of grass was to be seen. In the latter end 

 of the month of May a most flourishing crop of 

 rich grass made its appearance on that part where 

 the eight bushels had been laid. In the month of 

 July the other portion produced a still stronger 

 crop. The cattle were remarkably fond of it ; 

 and during the whole of the ensuing winter 

 (which is ten or twelve years since) and to this 

 day, the land retained, and yi t exhibits a superior 

 verdure to ihe neighboring closes." As further 

 confirmatory of the above experiment, we may 

 mention a circumstance that was related to us by 

 Mr. M'Nab, the distinguished manager of the 

 botanical garden near Edinburgh. 



For the purpose of exterminating the weeds 

 with which the walks of the garden were infested, 

 and if possible prevent their growth, Mr. M'Nab 

 applied a pietiy large quantity ol salt to their 

 surface, which had the dtsiied efltxt during ihe 

 first season, as not a single vveed could be seen ; 

 so powerful indeed had been its operation, that 

 part of the box-wood edging with which the salt 

 had come in contact gave way. But afiervvards, 

 instead of having any efleci in checking the 

 weeds, it lended rather to promote their growth, 

 as they appeared during the second and third sea- 

 sons in greater abundance and luxuriance than 

 they had ever done belore. It would thus appear 

 that salt is susceptible of undergoing certain 

 changes, both befiDre and after being applied to 

 the soil ; but belore we can arive at a just conclu- 

 sion with respect to the mode in which it operates 

 60 as to become a fertilizer, science must lend 

 her aid to practice, and both must be combined to 



