vol,. XVI. NO. ar. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



211 



f pliints, and afierwanls undergo some cliaiige so 

 s to form gliitn. It is npon this cirniinstaiice 

 [lat tlie 0|ieration of lime in the |)r<'[iaratioii fo'- a 

 .'heat crop depends ; and its ascertained enicacy 

 1 fertilizing peat, and in bringing into a stale ol 

 nltivation all lamls alioninling in dry roo:s, hard 

 hrcs, or irn'rt vegetahh; (natK^r.' (Condon.) 



According to ChapiMl, ' linn' forms insulnhle 

 omposts with almost all animal ami vegetable 

 jhstances that are soft, and thns destroys their 

 jrmentative qnaliiie.s. Such coin(ioiinds Uow- 

 ver^ exposed to the conlinned action of the air, 

 Iter in conrse of time, the lime lieromes carhoii- 

 le ; the animal or vegetable matter decomposes 

 y degrees, and furnishes new products as vpge- 

 ible nourishment.' In this view lime presents 

 Vo great advantages for the nutrition of plants; 

 le first, that of disposing insoluble bodies Inform 

 jiuble compounils; the secon<l that of prolonging 

 le action and nnlritive qualities of substances be- 

 ond the term during which they would he re- 

 uned, if these' sulislances were not made to enter 

 ito a combination with limp. Thus a striking 

 vample is furnished by the nutritive qualities of 

 lood as it exists in the compound of liine and 

 lood, obtained from sugar refineries and known 

 5 sugar baker's scums B'ood alone applied to 

 le roots of plants, will destroy them with few or 

 B exceptions ; combined with lirrie, it forms one 

 ■"the most efficient of mannns, as its qualities 

 re moderated, pridonged and given out by degrees. 



Lime has another effect, a mechanical one, in- 

 ^pendent of its ciujuiical ones as stated above, 

 /heie wheat is sown on clay lan<l, the meohani. 

 d effect of lime in opening the soil and rendering 



more permeable, es(pecially if npnlieil in the 

 rm of silecious marl, cannot be too highly ap- 

 eciated. Farmers are well aware bliat on stiff 

 ay lands, itmch of the grain that is sown does 

 )t vegetate. The reason of this i* that air, m- in 

 her words oxygen, is essential to gerniiuation, 

 id clay if a little moist, fortns an impenetrabh' 

 ealhing to ihs grain. The presence of lime 

 •events this ; even the small quantity retaine<l by 

 e kernel when merely rolled in lime after bi'ing 

 seped in brine, will produce this effect more or 

 3S, an<l thus aid the growth of wheat both chem- 

 ully and mechanically. It is well nmlerstood, 

 at in those sections of our country where the 

 il is exhausted of its calcareous matter, by the 

 iplication of stable nianure, a most vigorous 

 owtli of straw can be obtained, but the berry 

 ill be of the most inferior and worthless kind ; 

 sembling in quality those grains, of which glu- 

 1 forms otdy a minor and sniiordinate portion. 



such cases it is evident the che nical action of 

 ne is wanting to furnish the ingreilients that in 

 e vessels of the plants are converted into this 

 culiar and indisiicnsable substance. The vast 

 lount of calcareous matter in the wheat soils of 

 ;stern New York, have hitherto prevented unich 

 ;eiilion to the subject of lime as a renovator of 

 B soil, and rendered its application generally un- 

 cessary ; but we think the time in many places 



many farms has arrived, when mor: attention 

 ould be paid to the subject, and series of exper- 

 leiits instituted to ascertaiji the effect of lime on 

 5 soil, and the kind, and quantity most suitable 

 d beneficial per acre. Perhaps no constituent 



the soil is of more importance to the farmer 

 in lime, and tlie umlerstanding of its nature and 

 es, should, if possible, be commensurate with 



utility and vr.lue. 



Ancient Agi{iculti;iik. — From the earliest 

 accounts of the eastern nations, we have reason 

 to think that agriculture has at all times, been 

 un<ler.st()Ocl by tlien) in considerable perfection ; 

 seeing they were always supplied, not only with 

 the necessaries, but the luxuries of life. As soon 

 as ihe descendants of Abraham were settled in 

 Palestine, they generally became husbandmen, 

 from the chief of the tribes of Judah, to the low- 

 est branch of the family of Benjamin. Hi:,'h 

 birth or rank at that time did not make any dis- 

 tinction, for agriculture was considered as the 

 most honorable of all employments. Witness 

 the illustrious example of Gideon, Saul and Da- 

 vid. 



The Chaldeans, wlio inhabited the country 

 where agriculture doubtless had its birth, car- 

 ried that art to a degree of excellence unknown 

 in former times. They cultivated their soil with 

 great care, and found out some means of restor- 

 ing fertility to an exhausted soil, by having plen- 

 tiful harvests in succession, and they were not 

 obliged like their predecessors to change situa- 

 tions to obtain a sufficiency for themselves and 

 their numerous flocks and herds. The Egypt- 

 ians, who, from the natural fertility of their coun- 

 try, by the overflowing of the Nile, raised every 

 year vast quantities of corn, were so sensible of 

 the blessings resulting from agriculture, that they 

 ascribed the invenlioti of that art to Osiris, their 

 chief God. They also regarded Isis, their sec- 

 ond deity, as the discoverer of wheat and bar- 

 ley, whicl) before grew wild in the fields. Their 

 superstitious gratitude was carried so far, as to 

 worship those animals that Were employed in til- 

 lage ; and even to the produce of their hands, 

 as leeks, onions, &o. 



It is also related of the ancient Persians, on 

 the most respectable authority, that their kings 

 laid aside their grandeur once every month, to 

 eat with husbandmen. This is a striking in- 

 stance of the high estimation in which they held 

 agriculture. It was a saying of theirs, that he 

 who sows the ground with care and diligence, 

 acquires a greater degree of religious merit, than 

 he .could have gained by the repetition of ten 

 thousand prayers. 



MsTHOn OF CONVE!!TING VEGETABLE MATTER 



INTO Manure. — Much has been said of late on 

 the subject of converting leaves and other veo-e- 

 tables into manure. That leaves and other veg- 

 etable substances can be rendered of immense 

 value to the farmer, by their conversion into ma- 

 nure, the experience of many has fully demon- 

 strated. The following plan was recommended 

 some years since, by H. Browne, Esq., a cele- 

 brated Chemist, who stated in a paper present- 

 ed to the " Society for the encouragement of 

 Arts," &,c., that he had found from numerous 

 trials, made for several years in succession, by 

 many of his friends, as well as by himself, the 

 very great utility of the composition, as well as 

 its cheapness, with the capability of its beinir 

 made in any situation and in any quantity. The 

 mode of making it, is as simple as it will be 

 found productive. It is nothing more than 

 green vegetable matter, decomposed by quick 

 or fresh burnt lime. Upon a layer of vegetable 

 matter, about a foot thick, a very thin layer of 

 lime, beat small, is to be laid ; and so on, vetre- 

 table matter, then lime, alternately. After they 



have been put together a few hours, the decom- 

 position will begin to take place— and, unless 

 prevented by a few sods, or a fork full of vege- 

 tables at hand, the mixture will break out into 

 a blaze, which must, at all events, be avoided. 

 In about twenty-four hours, the process will be 

 complete, and you will have a quantity of ashes 

 to lay on your land any time you wish. Any, 

 and all sorts of vegetables, and weeds of every 

 description, if used green, will answer the pur- 

 ()ose. They will doubly serve the farmer, as 

 they will not only be got at a small expense, but 

 will in process of time render his farm far more 

 valuable, by depriving it of all noisome weeds. 

 Mr Browne states that he made a ciilculation 

 with clover, grown for the purpose, and that one 

 acre, at a single cutting, when decomposed by 

 the above process, yielded a sufficient quantity 

 of ashes to manure four acres. lie states that 

 the vegetables should be used as soon after they 

 are cut as possible, and the lime as fresh from 

 the kiln as the distance will allow. It appears 

 that on these two circumstances mainly depends 

 the goodness of the composition. We think this 

 plan is worthy of further experiments, and we 

 should be happy to communicate to the public 

 the result of any trials made for the purpose of 

 testing its utility. — Farmer's Cabinet. 



Grinding oi.d Garments into new. — Sir 

 Geo'ge Head, in his Tour through the Manu- 

 facturing Disiricts, gives the following account 

 of a new trade carried on at Dewsbury ; liter- 

 ally tearing to pieces musty old rags, collected 

 from Ireland, Scotland and the Continent, by a 

 machine called the ' devil,' till a substance very 

 like the original wool is produced. This, by the 

 help of a small addition of new wool, is re-spun 

 and manufactured into sundry useful coarse ar- 

 ticles, such as the wadding which the Messrs 

 Stulze & Co., introduce within the collars of 

 their fashionable coats, and various descriptions 

 of drugget, horse-sheeting, &c. The trade or 

 occupation of the owner, his life and habits, or 

 the tilthiness and antiquity of the garment it- 

 self, oppose no bar to this wonderful process of 

 regeneration, whether from the scare-crow, or 

 the gibbet, it makes no difference ; so that, ac- 

 cording to the transmutation of human affairs, 

 no doubt it frequently does happen, without 

 figure of speech or meta|)hor, that the identical 

 garment to-day exposed to the sun and rain in 

 a Kentish cherry orchard, or saturated with to- 

 bacco-smoke on the " back of a beggar in a pot- 

 house," is doomed in its turn, " perfususliquidis 

 odoribus," to grace the swelling collar, or add 

 dignified proportion to the chest of the dandy.- 

 Londun paper. 



Roasted Apples. — The following mode of 

 roasting apples will make a rich dish, of rather 

 an insipid one ; Selecl the largest apples; scoop 

 ont the core without cutting quite through ; fill 

 the hollow with butter and fine soft sugar ; let 

 them roast in a slow oven, and serve thera up 

 with the syrup. 



Mr Jabez Foss of St. Albans, has raised from 

 one bushel of seed the present season, fifty-one 

 and one-half bushels of rye, measured as it run 



into the half bushel from the winnowing mill. 



Somerset Journal. 



