THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



475 



servants of the farm ; therelbre, by beginning a 

 Ibnnight sooner, and extending the season of 

 harvtst over six weeks inslead ol lour, it is evident 

 that these regular servants would cut a nrnicli 

 greater proportion ol his crop — in lact, one-half 

 more. By this he is rendered ies'j dependent on 

 those extraneous '■'helps''' or " takers,'''' who, imhe 

 seasons ol' hurry and anxiety, fix their own 

 terms. 



How often do we, especially in the north, be- 

 hold a force of reapers in almost every field. The 

 reason is this : the wheat, oats, and t>arley, are 

 olteji ripe at one time, and aware as the (armer 

 is of liie injury which strons winds and showers 

 would do them, he has to hunt up laborers at 

 any price. And, after all this extra expense, ii is 

 extremely probably that, having the whole of his 

 harvest upon his hands at once, he is compelled 

 to let some part of his gram have too Utile or 

 some too much weather. By commencing his 

 wheal harvest a loriniirht earlier, these evils 

 would have been prevented ; by the time that 

 his barley and oats were ready, most or all ol' his 

 wheat would have been cut, and some ol it fit for 

 the stack, and that, too, by the exertions of his 

 regular workmen only. And being neither pressed 

 lor lime nor laborers, his harvest would have 

 been finished at a less expense, and his grain 

 secured very probably in a much better condi- 

 tion. 



To assign a value for these advantages i;!, as 

 has been said before, lor the farmer himself ; and 

 it will not be an insignificant one. For ii begin- 

 ning harvest a fortnight earlier enables him to 

 save a crop from spoiling once in a lileiime, — il 

 the improved quality of his straw as Ibod lor his 

 Slock allows him to plough out an acre more, or to 

 pasture anoiher acre of clover with leeding stock, 

 instead of mowing il lor his lean stock, every 

 grain saved, every extra bushel of corn produced, 

 and every extra head of slock fed, is a benefit lo 

 the wliole commumiy as well as to himsell^ — is so 

 much added to ihe gross produce and wealth ol 

 llie country. There being, in fact, an increased 

 return without an increased outlay. 



BONE-DUST. 



From Jackson's Treatise on Agriculture. 

 Bones, which have now become a very import- 

 ant manure, are composed ol earthy salts, chiefiy 

 phosphate of lime, with a little carbonate of lime, 

 phosphate ol magnesia, and abuut one-hall of 

 decomposable animal mailer. Those of fat younu 

 animals are allowed to be the best.* They are 

 less beneficial lor clay lands than light soils, and 

 less efficacious in wet than in dry seasons. In 

 the improved districts ol Scotland, bone-dust if 

 coming inio very general use as a manure lor tur- 

 nips, and mills lor crushing bones are general in 

 many parts ol the country. There has been no 

 improvement in Scoiiish agriculture so universally 

 adopted as that of applying bone-dust to land in- 



* The following table gives the ordinary proportions 

 of the ingredients composing bone-dust: — 

 Earthy and saline matter - 40 ^ 

 Cartilage and jelly - - 40 > parts in 100. 

 Fatty matter -. , - 20 ) 



tended for the production of turnips, and it seems 

 better qualified than any manure hitherto tried (or 

 biingiiig waste land into cultivation. It is light, 

 and can be carted lo a great distance at linle ex- 

 pense, one wairon load ol 100 bushels being loiind 

 nearly equal lo 40 cart-loads ol liirm-yiird manure. 

 It is asseried by some, that its efficacy remains 

 diirinir the whole roiaiion, and even alier it. On 

 I)asioral farms it will be Ibund exceediuL'ly n.-elul ; 

 as, raising a ttener crofi of lurni[)s, it will greatly 

 improve the condition of the stock. 



in corroboration ol' the above remarks, we quote 

 ihe following : — " A farmer obtained a lorty years' 

 lease of a tract of poor land in a hiLrh eiiuaiion 

 near Hociidale in Lancasliire, on which, afier fenc- 

 ing and draining, he erected a bone-nnll, and be- 

 i^an manurinif the hind at the rate of from 100 to 

 130 bushels per acre. The consequence of this 

 was, that he let off, in a \e,w years, more land than 

 paid the rent of the whole, and retained a large 

 lamiin his own hand.'"* 



In the wolds of York and Lincoln shire?, it is 

 stated that " before tiones were extensively used 

 in turnip husbandry, many thousands of acres 

 were annually sown for iliat crop wiihoiit any 

 manure whatever. The turnips upon such unma- 

 nured land were consequenily very indifferent, and 

 the benefit of lee<iing sheep on their tops was 

 very trifling. But since ihe use ol bones has 

 hecome general, the turnip crop has increased 

 lenlold. All the succeeding grain crops have been 

 much larijer, and upon the l()uror five shift system, 

 there is no doubt the land will go on progres- 

 sively improving, requiring a less quantity of 

 hones annually, from iis increased fertility and 

 power. "t 



From experiments made regarding the efficacy 

 of bone-dust contrasted with farm-yani dung, on 

 soils of a light sandy nature, the result has been 

 unilbrmly in favnr of Ihe first, one and a half 

 tons of bones being equal to twenty tons of dung. 

 To ascertain the eH'ecis of large and small quan- 

 liiies, from 20 to 100 bushels per acre, in various 

 fimounts, have been applied, and it has been found 

 that the crops are not increased when laid on be- 

 yond a certain quantity. By being applied in 

 large quantities, alihi)iigh not immediately benefi- 

 cial, bone-dust has been found to render land 

 exiraordinartly produciive (br a great length of 

 time. We quote the Ibllowirig rules (br its appli- 

 cation : — 



" 1. On drylands, limestone, chalk, light loams, 

 and peat, bones are a highly valuable manure. 

 2. That they may be applied to grass with great 

 ■rood effect. 3. That on arable lands, they may 

 he laid on fallow for turnips, or used for any other 

 subsequent crops. 4. Tliat the best method of 

 using them when broad-cast, is previously to mix 

 ihem up in compost with earth, and let them lie 

 and ft^rment. 5. That, if used alone, they may 

 he either drilled with the seed or sown broadcast. 

 6. That bones which have undergone the process 

 of fermentation, arc decidedly superior in their 

 immediate efTects to those which have not been 

 fermented. 7. Thai the quantity should be about 

 twenty bushels of dust, or forty of large bones, 

 increasing the quantity if the land be impover- 

 ished. 8. That upon clays &nd heavy loams, 



* Journal of Agricultbre. 

 t British Husbandry. 



