1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



187 



England. Were I to name the kinds of stock for 

 a farm, I would say a good Morgan horf^e, Devon 

 or native cattle, South Down sheep, Suffolk pigs, 

 and Dorking or native fowls. By native fowls, I 

 mean those beautiful old-fashioned fowls that were 

 generally found on most farms in New England 

 thirty years ago. But I am getting off from my 

 subject, and will stop before I get to writing my 

 dislike of all over-growii combinations of ugliness 

 and bones. 



Rye for early spring feed would no doubt be 

 good for sheep and lambs. I have not tried it my- 

 self, but have heard those who have, speak of it in 

 high terms. T. B. Buffum. 



JVewport, 1 mo. 3, 1856. 



For the New England Farmer. 



NIGHT SOIL-GAS LIME. 



Mr. Editor : — Every farmer has some method 



by which he performs his labor; he plows his 

 ground about such a time, and about such a depth, 

 and uses about so much manure to the acre. He 

 is either governed by his own judgment, or by the 

 ■way his father did before him, or by his neighbor, 

 or, perhaps, by some theory advanced in some agri- 

 cultural journal which he may read. 



Now, what we all need, is the right method, or 

 that method, by which from a given amount of la- 

 bor and cost, we can attain tfie greatest results. — 

 We need more light, more freedom of opinion, a 

 greater interchange of expression in our agricultural 

 experiences. I have enjoyed much pleasure, and 

 derived some benefit, I trust, in perusing the Far- 

 mer the last three years, and although there has been 

 some opinions expressed, some theories advocated, 

 which I could not endorse, yet, if farmers in gener- 

 al were to adopt and practice much that comes to 

 us in it, we should not only be wiser, but it would 

 soon be manifested by our elongated purses. 



But my object in writing, is, to gain some infor- 

 mation. Living in the outskirts of a city, I hauled 

 and mixed with other manures, last winter and 

 spring, some thirty or forty loads of night soil. Now 

 I wish to inquire if you or any of your correspon- 

 dents can tell me its relative value compared with 

 other manures, and for what kinds of soil it is best 

 adapted, (a.) The course I pursued with it was to 

 mix it in the spring with the barn-yard manure, 

 (say one part of the former to five of the latter,) 

 hauled out the fiill previous, a large share of which 

 was poor soil carted into the yard as an absorbent. 

 It was then plowed in fpr sugar beets, carrots and 

 onions, and mostly plowed in for corn, but a little 

 was put in the hill to give it a start in the first part 

 of the season. I used about twenty cart-loads to 

 the acre, and had good crops. But if others have 

 used it more successfully by a difierent manage- 

 ment, I should be happy to hear of it. 



Will you please inform me of the nature of 

 leached lime, and if of any value for wheat crops, 

 and for what kind of soils it is best adapted, (b.) 



JVewburyport, Jan., 1856. J. M. M. 



(b.) If by "leached lime," you mean gas lime, 

 that is, the reufse lime of gas works, it should not 

 be wasted. Some writer says it may be used with 

 good effects under the following circumstances : 



1. It maybe used directly upon mossy land, upon 

 naked fallows, and in spring, when preparing for 

 turnips. 



2. In composts, in which the whole of the soluble 

 salts of lime will have a tendency to be converted in- 

 to gypsum by the action of the air ; and consequently 

 the benefits which result from a large apphcation 

 of gypsum will be obtained by laying such composts 

 upon the land. 



3. As it appears to contain only a small propor- 

 tion of caustic lime, it may with safety be mixed at 

 once with barn-yard or other animal manures, 

 though not in too large quantity. It may also prove 

 a valuable admixture with guano, on which its ac- 

 tion would ultimately be to fix rather than to expel 

 the ammonia. 



4. Strewn sparing over the young turnip plants, 

 it is stated that it prevents the attack of the turnip 

 fly ; and harrowed in, when the ground is naked, 

 if the quantity be considerable, slugs and wire 

 worms disappear from its efl'ects. 



5. If appHed in too large quantity, it is liable to 

 be injurious to crops of young grain. But grass 

 lands, though at first browned by its application, 

 soon recover and repay the cost by yielding a 

 greener and an earlier bite in the spring. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SNOW-BOUND FRUIT TREES. 

 Mr. Editor : — How is the mild weather affect- 



Remarks. — (a.) We should judge that the 

 night soil you speak of, mixed with other manures, 



ought to afford the highest fertilizer that can be 

 found, and if applied plentifully, on good land, 

 would produce seventy-five bushels of corn to the 

 acre. 



ing our snow-bound fruit trees ? The snow in most 

 sections is so exceedingly drifted as to bury the 

 lower branches of even our largest fruit trees. Far- 

 mers are well aware of the eti'ect of a thaw under 

 such circumstances ; the snow becomes more and 

 more condensed, and presses the branches farther 

 and farther down ; the dark color of the bark draws 

 the heat of the sun, and the surface snow close 

 home to the buried branches is thus melted, and 

 the water taking the submerged part as a spout, 

 runs down till it congeals, when a frozen crust is 

 formed beneath the surface, which bolts them down 

 in the snow-bank, and the branches are now ice- 

 bound as well as snow-bound. Under this double 

 attachment they must succomb; they gradually 

 separate from the tree, and usually break ofl' 

 close home to the parts from which their growth 

 commenced, taking with them a full share of 

 bark. When Spring returns, the unfortunate fruit- 

 grower, in the midst of his injured trees, learns a 

 lesson that he will not soon forget, provided such 

 an old-fashioned winter returns often enough to jog 

 his memory. 



I was impressed with the importance of examin- 

 " ing fruit trees, just now, by seeing to-day on a hill- 

 ' side a voung Northern Spy which had been robbed 



of half its wood by the above process, besides hav- 

 ing the bark below torn ofi' in long stri])s half-way 

 around the trunk. On looking further, I found the 

 branches of a larger tree deeply buried in the snow. 



