1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



491 



AKTIFICIAIi GUANO. 



I enclose a recipe for a new fertilizer, which 1 

 intend jireparing this week liy way of trial. The 

 cost of the raw material is about $10. 



Valentine'3 Recipe for Artificial Gdano. 



No. 1. Drv Peat 20 bushels. 



No. 2. Woad Ashes 3 " 



No. 3. Fine BoneOust 3 " 



No. 4. Ca'cinetl Piaster 3 " 



No. 5. Nitrate Soda 40 pounds. 



No. 6. Sul'hate Ammonia S3 " 



No 7. SulplateSoda 40 " 



If peat cannot he obtained, use garden mould 

 or clean virgin soil. 



MIXING. 



.Mix Nos. 1, 2 and .3 together ; then mix Nos. 

 5, 6 and 7 in four or five puils of water; when 

 dissolved, add the liquid to the mixture of 1, 2 

 and 3. as in making mortar ; when thoroughly 

 mixed, add No. 4, the calcined plaster, which 

 will absorb the liquid, and bring the whole to a 

 dry state. 



Mix under cover, in a dry place. Pack so as 

 to exclude air. 



Product, one ton, which will manure 7A acres 

 of land. 



I think the artificial guano would be improved 

 by the addition of a bushel each of poudrette 

 and dried blood, and shall try its effect. — Gar- 

 dener's Monthly. 



Rem.\rks. — Will Dr. Reynolds, of Concord, or 

 some other chemical friend, tell us what they 

 think of the above, to be used as a fertilizer ? 



OOAIi ASHES AS A FERTILIZER. 



The editor of the Boston Commercial Bidletin 

 says he has seen several communications and ed- 

 itorial discussions in the New England Farmer, 

 and is disposed to add to the common stock of 

 information by the following remarks. He says: 



To solve the question affirmatively would be 

 of great importance to farmers and gardeners, 

 especially those living in the vicinity of cities 

 and towns where coal is used for fuel. Without 

 any pretensions to a practical knowledge of the 

 subject, we are tempted to give our experience 

 in a small way. Upon a half-acre of land, partly 

 in grass and partly cultivated, we have tried the 

 experiment as follov/s, with great success : 



In November we cleared out of the cellar ash- 

 es made the previous season from seven tons of 

 anthracite coal mixed with the ashes of one-half 

 cord jellow pine wood used in kindling ; to this 

 was added equal parts of borse manure and loam, 

 well mixed together. A part of this was used at 

 the time upon a piece of grass ground more than 

 twenty years in the sward, ])ut on about two inches 

 thick as a top-dressing, which has this year pro- 

 duced two crops of fine grass, in place of white 

 weed and othtr nuisances, and the ground has 

 shown no signs of being affected by the dry 

 weather. The balance lay in a heap till spring 

 and was used on the cultivated ground both for 

 spreading and in the hill. 



Results. — While in former years the early po- 

 tatoes planted from the same kind of seed have 

 invariably rotted before the time for digging, this 



year there has been the most productive crop of 

 the largest and best quality. The sweet corn av- 

 erages nine feet in the stalk, the leaves of a clear 

 green, and the ears perfectly filled, and so with 

 all the other vegetables in the garden. We be- 

 lieve coal ashes have been rejected without a fair 

 test. The great hue and cry made about their 

 destructiveness to the trees on our Common, in- 

 stead of leading to careful investigation, resulted 

 in a summary condemnation. The same result 

 might have followed, if lime, plaster, or even 

 wood ashes had been used, as the coal ashes were, 

 — to the depth of two feet or more, unmixed with 

 loatn or sand. We hope the experiment will be 

 fairly tested, as everything which helps build up 

 the la'mer's manure heap is beneficial not only 

 to him, but to those who depend on him for 

 their vegetables. 



HOME EDUCATION". 



Whatever defects there may be in home edu- 

 cation, it is certain that the exceptions are rare 

 where the moral training of the mother is not ac- 

 cording to her her best capacity, for the benefit 

 and advantage of her offspring. Her influence 

 is often counteracted by the habits and examples 

 of the father ; but in such case she is not respon- 

 sible if her care and teachings are of no avail. 

 Home education, where the parents are united 

 in sentiment, leaves its impression upon the mind 

 and heart which can never be totally obliterated. 

 The principal cause of departure from the path 

 of right is evil associations. The poor mother, 

 engaged in her household affairs, dependent upon 

 her labor for a livelihood, has little time to de- 

 vote to her children ; and as soon as they are 

 able to walk by themselves, they seek plavmates, 

 and the youthful mind is readily impressed for 

 good or evil, according to the disposition of the 

 ussoci; lions. The effect of these impressions is 

 more lasLing in most cases than the influence and 

 example of parents. If children were early 

 less suljject to such influences, there would bo 

 less vice in the world. Home education is t'^e 

 best for the youthful mind. The most det' >•- 

 mined man in every situation of life will, to V\\q 

 latest period of his pilgrimage, be influenced ly 

 the early teachings of his mother, if the exam])."? 

 and the habits of the father are in unison with 

 her counsel and instruction. 



Small Feet in Peru. — L'Lhiion Medical 

 states that the ladies of Lima are noted for their 

 extremely small feet, the secret being that the 

 infants of the female sex undirgo, as a rule, am- 

 putation of the little toe of each foot. So gen- 

 eral is the custom, that many women think that 

 five toes on each foot is a state of things pecu- 

 liar to the male sex. It is said that a Peruvian 

 surgeon is going to London and Paris, where ho 

 expects to make a fine harvest. He warrants 

 the ladies the tiniest and most graceful foot, by 

 meaiis of the above named amputation, and con- 

 finement to the house of only one week. The 

 writer adds, th >t a custom of this kind prevailed 

 pretty generally in Paris, some years ago, kept 

 up by a very reprehensible complaisance of a 

 surgeon, who had acquired some celebrity touch- 

 ing the silly mutilation. 



