180 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



DFC. O i 4 



POUDRETTE. ! 



Nf.w York, Oct. 21st, 1840. 

 Mr J. Brerk, Eilitor of the JV. E. Farmer : 



Dfar Sir — I was desired, a tew days since, to 

 send a barrel of Poudrelte to your care for Mr 



J B , of C , Mass., which I did ; and 



sent one also to the address of Joseph lircck & ('o., 

 as the editors of the New England Farmer: they 

 were put on board of schooner Benjamin Bigelow, 

 Baxter, master, on the 10th inst., and I hope yon 

 will use that sent for vonr use in a manner to sat- 

 isfy yourself as to the vnhie of the article prepared 

 by the " jVeio York Poudrdte Compiniy'" ; as I 

 wish it to stand or fill by its own merits, and not 

 to be judijed of by that fiirnislicd by others. In 

 order to give you an idea of the opinion entertain- 

 ed of it by those who have used it several years in 

 succession, I will give you an e.xtruct from a letter 

 B'ritten by a practical farmer of intilligence, char- 

 acter and wealth residing on Long Island, (Wni. 

 Wickham Mills, Esq.,) who has used it three sea- 

 sons with very favorable results — and especially 

 so on wheat the past season. .Mr Mills says in a 

 letter dated August 9th, 1840, that "My wheat 

 came in well where I used powdrette last fall. It 

 stood the winter well, and the berry is fine; but 

 where I used bnne, about the same cost per acre, 

 in Ihe same field, it was winter killed, and very 

 much shrunk, and I should judge not half the num- 

 ber of bushels per acre. Where I used it this 

 spring the results are very favorable. I used it 

 on corn, side by side with the best yard manure, 

 and so far it is decidedly the best, and I have no 

 reason to doubt that it will continue so through 

 the season. I also used it in my garden, and it 

 never looked better. I have a good opinion of it, 

 especially for spring use ; and I should like to use 

 some of it on wheat this fall, as it did so well the 

 past season." 



Where Mr Mills is known his opinions and 

 statements are highly appreciated. You will also 

 find a statement of his in the pamphlet which I 

 send you, together with several letters from other 

 gentlemen, practic;il farmers, of Long Island. 



There has been much inquiry, and I may say 

 douhl, as to its value lor after crops, or for grass 

 when applied to wheat on seeding down. Many 

 pers ins suppose that Poudrette will not be a last- 

 ing manure. This is a question that could not be 

 satisfactorily answered by mi^, as I knew of no one 

 who could speak from experii'm-.e, until this season, 

 on account of the recent introduction and use of 

 Poudrette. I am now, however, able to speak -di- 

 rectly on that subject, and will give you one case 

 in point, out of several. 



Mr Brewster Wood, of Huntington, L. I., becSrrve 

 a share holder in our company in December, 18.57. 

 In the year 1838 he used 150 bushels; and from 

 his son, who worked on the t'arni, I have the fol- 

 lowing statement, viz : 



" We used poudrotlo on corn in 18:)8, half a 

 pint to the hill,* along side of corn manured with 

 stable manure, in what was considered equal value, 

 and found that the poudrette pioduced the best 

 corn. We tried it in that wiy throe seasons in 

 succession, with similar results. We also used it 

 on wheat, applying 30 bushels in the fall and 30 

 bushels in the sprinj;. The wheat was very good, 

 and the grass following it was first rate. It has 

 been mowed two years and the second crop was 



*The ordinary quantity used lor corn ie about one 

 gill, ui a handful tu the lull. 



better than the first. In 1639 we cut a crop of 

 hay and then of clover in the fall from it. We al- 

 so used poudrette on buckwheat — about 10 bushels 

 to the acre, and its effects were beyond our e.'ipec- 

 tations ; whilst on a small piece adjoining, where 

 no poudrette was used, there was not more than 

 half a crop. A fine crop of oats was raised where 

 poudrette had been usod on corn the year before." 



1 might increase these statements if it were ne- 

 cessary, but it appears to me that it is not, as every 

 farmer who will reflect one moment must come tu 

 the conclusion that it must be a valuable manure 

 in all cases, but especially so to those who have to 

 transport their manure to any considerable distance ; 

 and hy way of illustrating its value to those living 

 at a distance from a supply of manure, 1 will give 

 you on the next page a comparative statement, 

 showing the economy of using poudrette instead of 

 stable manure, and also the additional economy to 

 those who purchase stock in the "New York Pou- 

 drette Company." But in order to a fair compuri- 

 son. It is proper to state that a bu.^hel of poudrette 

 may be estimated equal in value to one of our city 

 cartloads of street manure, and a bushel and a half 

 of poudrette as equal to one of our manure cart- 

 loads of stable manure, as it is sold here to the 

 farmers at 50 cents per load. 



I will now suppose three farmers, residing on 

 Long Island, or in Connecticut, or elsewhere, at 

 the distance of two, three or four miles from the 

 landing, who are disposed, each, to manure ten 

 acres of land every year for 5 years, and are obliged 

 to bring their manure from this city. Farmer 

 A uses stable manure, farmer B purchases poudrette 

 annually, and farmer C takes stock in the New 

 York Poudrette Company — and the accounts will 

 stand sometlring as follows at the end of five years : 



No. 1. A manures 10 acres with 20 city cart- 

 loads of stable manure at 50 cts. per load, .$100 



Freight by sloop to the landing, 20 cts. per 

 load, 200 loads, 40 



Haulage from landing on to the farm, 2Cc. 

 per load, 40 



Haulage of the same from landing to the 

 farm, '<''5 cts. per load, 26 25 



liags, 50 per year for 5 years, or 250 at 

 22 cents, ' .55 00 



Total cost to a share-holder to manure 

 10 acres for 5 years, .'S5G1 25 



Sliowing a saving over B who purchares pou- 

 drette annually, of $120; and over A who uses 

 stable manure, of $338 75. This great economy, 

 however, is not the only advantage which the shire- 

 holders in this company have ; it is indeed only 

 the beginning of it, as the share-holder will be en- 

 titled to an equal quantity, or enough to manure 

 his ten acres for thirteen years after the eX|,irat!on 

 of the first five years, with the cost only of trans 

 portalion and bags ; whilst A and B must encoun- 

 ter the same outlay every year. 



I havf' endeavored to make this comparison in a 

 rnanner not to be questioned; and it is within the 

 facts where it speaks of the cost of transportation 

 and haulage of stable manure, and it may be relied 

 on ; and should you find any tiling in it of interest 

 to those who cultivate the soil, you are Jt liberty 

 to use it as best suits you. 

 Respectfully, yours, 



D. K. MINOR. 



Total cost of manuring 10 acres as above 

 per year, . . . . . . $180 



5 



Total cost for 5 years, . . . $900 



No. 2. B manures 10 acres with 30 bushels of 

 poudrette per acre; 300 bii. at 35 cts., $105 00 



Freight on 300 bushels at 5 cts. per bu. 15 00 



Haulage from the landing to the farm, 7 

 lo?.ds of 43 bu., at 75 cts. per load, 5 25 



Bags to transport it in — .50 bags at 22c. II 00 



Total cost of manuring 10 acres with 30 

 bushels of poudrette per acre per year, IJG 95 



5 



Total cost for 5 years, StiSl 25 



No. 3. C purchases three shares of stock in the 

 New York Poudrette Company, which give him 

 300 bushels of poudrette annually, or the necessa- 

 ry quantity for 10 acres — and his account will 

 stand thus: 



Three shares of stock in the N. Y. P Co., $300 00 

 Interest on the cost of 3 shares for 5 yrs. 



at 7 per cent., 105 00 



Freight on 30(1 bu. per year or 1500 bu. at 



5 cents, 75 00 



ORCHARD GRASS^(Dachjlis Glomerata.) 



In England, where this grass is extensively cul- 

 tivated, it is called " Round-headed Cock's-foot 

 grass." It was introduced from Virginia into Brit- 

 ain about the year 1780, though it was little known 

 or cultivated for many years after. This grass has 

 been cultivated in small quantities in dilTcrent 

 parts of the United States ; but from the many in- 

 quiries relative to its habits and worth, vve con- 

 clude there is but little known of it in this country. 

 Professor Low says, " it is justly held to be amongst 

 the superior pasture grasses, and is suited lor fo- 

 rage as well as for herbage. It is more nourish- 

 ing in spring than in autumn, and requires to be 

 closely cropped ; for, when suffered to grow, it ri- 

 ses in tufts and patches, and loses greatly of its 

 nutritive particles. Oxen, horses and sheep eat 

 this grass eagerly. (Cocksfoot should always be 

 sown in combination with other grasses, as the rye 

 grass, the mea<low fescue (fcstuca prntinsisj and 

 other finer grasses." 



George Sinclair, gardener to his grace the Duke 

 of Bedford, ascertained from accurate chemical ex- 

 periments, that the proportional value which this 

 gras-!, at the time of flowering, bears to that at 

 the time the seed is ripe, is as 5 to 7, nearly. The 

 proportional value which the grass of the latter 

 moth bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 

 C to 10 ; and to that at the time the seed is ripe, as 

 G to 14 : G4 dr. of the straws at the time of flower- 

 ing afford of nutritive matter 1.2 dr. The leaves 

 or latter moth and the straws simply, are tneretbre 

 of equal proportional value; a circumstance which 

 will point at this grass to bo more valuable for per- 

 manent pasture than for hay. The above details 

 prove that the loss of nearly one third the value of 

 the crop is sustained if it is left till the period 

 when the seed is ripe, though the proportional val- 

 ue of the grass at that time is greater, i. e. as 7 to 

 5. The produce does not increase if tlie grass is 

 lefc growing after the period of flowering, but uni- 

 formly decreases ; and the loss of the latter moth, 

 which (from the rapid growth of the foliage after 

 the grass is cropped) is very considerable. These 



