350 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



■[iroduce an average, we might expect to find in a 

 hundred pounds of the mixture, something like 75 

 pounds ofsiHca, 12 pounds alumina, 6 pounds of 

 potash, 1 or 2 pounds of soda, a little lime, oxide 

 of iron and other unimportant matters. The last 

 samples, such as our friend speaks of, consisting 

 largely of felspar and mica, with only scattering 

 grains of quartz, might be more than twice as rich 

 in the alkalies. If so, they would contain, to the 

 one hundred pounds, at least 12 pounds of alkali. 

 It is manifest that the silica would possess no val- 

 ue, unless for amending clay or peat lands, and 

 for that purpose it could be had at a cheaper rate, 

 in the form of sand or gravel. The alumina 

 would be of a little value for amending sandy soils 

 provided there were no clay beds near, as 40 

 pounds of alumina are equal in retentive power to 

 100 pounds of clay, pure clay being a silicate of 

 alumina, 40 pounds of the former to 60 of the 

 latter. The principal value of the granite dust 

 would be in the alkali, say from 6 to 12 pounds to 

 100 pounds of the crushed granite. 



It should be considered that the potash spoken 

 of above is not the carbonate of potash, such as can 

 be procured for agricultural purposes at 7 or 8 

 cents a pound. It is nearly twice as valuable as 

 carbonate, provided that it will oi)erate as prompt- 

 ly. My impression is, that the potash, in the form 

 in which it exists in crushed granite, will act surely, 

 that the plants will gradually take it up, but not 

 as promptly as when applied in the form of a car- 

 bonate, as in the potash of ammonia, or in un- 

 leached ashes. But it would seem that a bushel of 

 crushed granite would contain quite as much alkali 

 (if it were of the felspathic kind, more than twice 

 as much) as a bushel of wood ashes. Could any 

 inexpensive way of crushing it be devised ? The 

 Californians make out to crush a kind of quartz 

 rock far harder than our granite, but perhaps they 

 see more gold in the quartz than the farmer does 

 in his crops ; and we have heard that "money 

 makes the mill go," or something like it. One 

 thing is certain ; if it should turn out that granite 

 is a good manure. New England would have a 

 right to be the richest country in the world. Let 

 us hear from any who have tried it. Our mechan- 

 ics would be glad to be constructing the mills .to 

 crush it, should it appear that they will be 

 wanted. In cases where it has been applied with 

 good effects, was it applied unmixed with other 

 matters, or after it had lain for years and become 

 enriched by various mixtures ? We want to know 

 all about it. J. A. N. 



For the New England Fanner. 



SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. 



Mr. Editor : — A few weeks ago, I saw an arti- 

 cle going the rounds of the papers, stating that if 

 cotton cloth which had been saturated in oil, was 

 exposed for a given length of time to the direct ac 

 tion of the sun's rays, spontaneous combustion 

 would take place. Allow me to present a case 

 which may, in the main, substantiate this state- 

 ment ; and, as facts are everything in this day of 

 theories, may serve to give to it additional weight. 



Some years since, a Httle sister came running in 

 to the house, full of excitement, declaring that she 

 certainly "smelt fire in the barn chamber." We 

 hurried out into the finished loft of a large barn, 

 and commenced an anxious search, for the smell of 



burning cotton was distinctly perceptible as soon 

 as we entered. After a general overhauling of old 

 rubbish, we discovered the fire in one of the bar- 

 rels in which we kept our waste rags. Some ways 

 down in the barrel, and under other rags, was a 

 large piece well on fire, smouldering like tinder. 

 I examined the piece and its situation with care, to 

 learn the origin of a fire in so strange a place. 

 There was nothing on which to ground the least 

 conjecture, excepting the fact that the jiiece on fire 

 smelt of oil, and what remained of it appeared 

 oily. Now whence came the fire ? It is my im- 

 pression that nothing had been emptied into the 

 barrel for some days previous ; the barrel itself 

 was close under the eaves, though the sun — it was 

 summer — could have no direct access to its con- 

 tents. No child was ever allowed to play with a 

 match about our premises, and no family could be 

 more careful in the use of them. These are the 

 facts, and others may draw from them what infer- 

 ences they may, but for ourselves, we made a stand- 

 ard rule in the family, never for the future to drop 

 anything into the rag-bag containing a particle of 

 oil, but to de])Osit such refuse in the proper place 

 for combustion — the fire-place. Now it does not 

 seem to my mind at all improbable that some of 

 the incendiary fires which are charged against the 

 morals of the community, may have an origin sim- 

 ilar to this ; for we know that oiled rags are fre- 

 quently thrown as nuisances into out-of-the-way 

 jjlaces, or dropped into the general deposits for 

 waste cotton material ; and by-and-by, it may be 

 that some thousands of property are suddenly an- 

 nihilated, and the public mind is shocked, and ner- 

 vous people are alarmed at the presence of some 

 unprincipled incendiary in their midst. We hope 

 that every prudent householder will look to it, that 

 there may be no such incendiary lurking about his 

 premises. J. G. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SAVE YOUR BACON. 



About a couple of years ago, we were entertained 

 at the house of a friend with a good, old fashioned 

 dinner of eggs and bacon. We complimented our 

 host on the superior quahty of his bacon, and 

 were curious to inquire the way to like success 

 in the preparation of a dainty article of diet, though 

 one that is better fitted for the palate of an epicure 

 than for the stomach of a dyspeptic. To our sur- 

 prise we were informed that that portion of our 

 meal was cooked eight months before. Upon ask- 

 ing for an explanation, he stated that it was his 

 practice to slice and fry his bacon, immediately up- 

 on its being cured, and then pack it down in its 

 own fat. When occasion came for using it, the 

 slices slightly refried, had all the freshness and fla- 

 vor of new bacon, just prepared. By this precau- 

 tion, our friend had always succeeded in "saving his 

 bacon," fresh and sweet, through the hottest of 

 weather. J. G. 



Marhlehead. 



Lo^t; for Trees. — We love trees. They seem 

 like things of life. They stand like sentinels while 

 we sleep, and whisper to us through the day. It 

 seems as though they were our kindred, and we 

 hold converse with them as we watch their swaying 

 branches through the long summer days. 



