VOb. vvi. \o. 4 1. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



J523 



jil l('ss ndlic'sive, nnd make it fiialilc. In lliis 

 is(! a very iilmixlaiit applioation vvoulil he reqiiir- 

 1; mill at the present |>iii;es of lime ami oC land 

 oiilil lie an experiment not likely to lie iimlerta- 

 en liy many of our farmers. 



'J'lie second olijert in to aftord immediate aid In 

 »f;etatioii. In this case, i} we had means of re- 

 jrins the limestone to a fine powder without 

 iloination, it mi^'hl at once he advantageously 

 ppiied, and with permanent lienefit. This iias 

 3en iloiie hy an inteliiffi^nt ohserver in West 

 tockliridge. He has ohlained the ground stone 

 I the form of a fine powder from the mills and 

 lops for sawing and planing marble. The usti- 

 forin in which lime is to he applied among us 

 in a calcined state, and with a view to its im- 

 edi.ite eftecLs. In oriler to apjiiy it advanlag=?- 

 isly, it must he either air slaked, or slaked with 

 ater. It may lie slaked with water in the field, 

 id distriliuted iininediately while warm ; or mixed 

 itii mould, in the proportion of one hiishel of 

 lie to five of riionlil, and spread in that form ; 

 which latK^' form it is, perhaps, more likely to 

 I eqiialiy diflTused. It may be mixed with peat 

 ;rth ; hut in this case it should be allowed a con- 

 Jcralile time for fermentation, in order to render 

 e vegetable matter of peat soluble, and to extract 

 3i\x it the proper food of p'ants. But it must 

 >t he mixed with animal or putrescent manure. 

 i effects in such case are to destroy the animal 

 atter, and leave only the woody fibre, 

 ^n regard to the quantities to be applied there 

 e great di\ersitics of practice. , In England, 

 )on soils comparativrly destitute of calcareous 

 atter, from 100 to 600 bushels have been applied ; 

 e last qnaniity, however, with injury to the land 

 r some time. The English consider that 300 

 ishels are ordinarily a proper dressing for an 

 re, and this is applied at once ; very much lar- 

 r quantities have been applied, but the advanta- 

 s of such copious liming are not always a com- 

 n.sation for the expense. 



The French, and the Germans, of late especially 

 ve been highly successful in the application of 

 rie. The practice of the former differs from that 

 English agriculture ; but its advantages have 

 en fully tested. They recommend the applica- 

 in of about 12 liusliels per year, annually, for 

 ree years in succession, or 40 bushels applied 

 a time once in five years. Tliisis deemed am- 

 !. Jm Ibis case is probably intended 12 bushels 

 unslaked lime, the bulk of which in the form 

 a hydrate, or slaked with water, is iiiore than 

 uliled. The plants on an acre will not take up 

 sixth of this quantity ; but much of it is lost by 

 adually sinking into the soil, or goes to its per- 

 ment improvement. The French method rests 

 )on the highest authority of science and actual 

 periment ; and may be comniended to our fi.r- 

 ers. 



Marts, which contain a good proportion of lime, 

 e of great value in ameliorating soils ; and oper- 

 e in improving soils and supplying calcareous 

 alter, though not in the active and immediate 

 anner in which lime operates. Their applica- 

 m, however, is consiJereil by many as preferable 

 litne. On this subject we want more experi- 

 ice. The Berkshire shell-marls, which have 

 en lecently discovered, contain from 80 to 90 

 if cent of lime. The operation of shell-marl, or 

 iirl containing a large amount of shells in a state 

 ■ decomposition, is much slower than that of 

 lick lime ; but its efl'ects are quite lasting. — 



Whi.'ii applied to heavy soils and soi's iialurally 

 c<ild, it enriches vegetation, hut does not forwanl 

 it. 



Potash, or vegeiabh; alkali, is stated to be of 

 more value than lime in producing the liiimin 

 which is deemed the essential food of plants. — 

 Some value il'at a much higher rate. It has Ihscii 

 apjilied ut the rate of .50 to 100 lbs, t<i an acre ; 

 and, as stated, with great success; but I have no 

 knowledge of any such decisive expriiiients as 

 would justify me in speaking with confid Mice of 

 its effects, or the mode of iis application. Mr 

 Williams's great cnqis of wheat have been assist- 

 ed by fifty bushels of wood ashes spread to an 

 acre ; and a good crop of wheal seldom fiils to 

 be obtained on newly cleared and burnt land. The 

 potash is here present in large quanli(ies. 



Leevlted Jlsltcs and Soapboilers^ fVaste are es- 

 teemed a most valuable manure. A good dnal of 

 lime is ordinarily mixed with them ; and they 

 abound in vegetable alkaline matter, which is 

 highly favorable to the' crop. They should he 

 spread on the su face, and harrowed in. From 

 fifty to one huiidrcu bushels can be safely applieil 

 to the land, though few farmers will feel that they 

 can afford the application at the prices at which 

 they are at present held. They must not be too 

 often repeated on the same land. 



Bone manure, in the form of dust, or small pie- 

 ces and dust iiiterriiixeil, is a most valuable ma- 

 nure. It contains r> large proportion of the phos- 

 phate of lime, which has always proved a most 

 efficient aiil to vegetation. Forty bushelsof crushed 

 bones, or twentyfive bushels of bone dust, to an 

 acre, have been found as efficient as a much larger 

 quantity ; and no advantage whatever lias come 

 from doubling this amount. Bone dust mixed 

 with ashes has been highly efficacious. The best 

 mode of application is to mix them with moulil, 

 or barn-yaril compost ; and if for grain crops 

 spread and harrow them in lightly ; but it is es-^ 

 sential that they should undergo a degree of fer- 

 mentation before they are applied to the land ;: 

 and that the land to which they are applied shoiiM 

 be ilry. The lands on which bone tnannre has 

 been foiiml efficacious have been light, dry, and 

 sandy soils: — upon clayey or heavy soils it has 

 not been useful. If for immediate effect, the bone 

 dust is to be preferred ; if for permanent improve- 

 ment, the crushed hone. At the only mill known 

 in Massachusetts, which is at Roxbury, the nianu- 

 factured article contains a good deal of the dust 

 intermixed with the crushed bones. It is sold 

 here, we understand, at 35 cents per bushel, and 

 large quantities are on hand to be supplied. 



The application of lime, too, should nev.fr be 

 made but ill dry weather, and when the land is 

 dfy ; as otherwise it is opt to be formed int(» a 

 mortar, which is not easy of solution. Lime ap- 

 plied in any form to the land, it is to be remem- 

 bered, is not an enricher of the soil ; and there- 

 fore, if lime alone should lie applied for a succes- 

 sion of yt!ors, and all putrescent or vegetable ma- 

 nures he omitted, the land would hn losing instead 

 of advancing in fertility. It is merely a preparer 

 or evolver of the food of plants. 



Gypsum has not been found of any apparent 

 value to wheat. 



Time of sow[>g. — Of the proper time of sow- 

 ing the wheat crop, opinions are various. Early 

 sowing has been usually recommended, that the 

 crop may be so far advanced as to be out of the 

 way of the hot, sultry and damp weather of July, 



which, if it be not the <'ase of rust and mildew, 

 seems, from its usual coiiicirlence with it, to favor 

 directly tiie developemnnt of this evil. 



Spring wheat has succeeded well when sown 

 as late as the 25th of May or even the first of 

 .luiie. Far.uers in general, however, su; pose, 

 from .such late sowing, the danger of mildew upon 

 the cr<ip is greater; and in such short seasons as 

 the two last, llie crop from such Inte sowing might 

 not always be out of danger fioiii frosts. 



BEET SUGAR. 



We have been wishing for a favorable op- 

 portunity to avail ourselves of the subjoined infor- 

 mation relative to the nianufaiiture of Beet Sugar 

 ill France. We received Ihisinformation through 

 the politeness of D. L. Child, Esq. some weeks 

 since ; and as it is autlieulic, it cannot fail to be 

 interesting and valuable. Mr Child went abroad 

 as an agent for a company in Illinois designing 

 to engage in this business, with a view to procure 

 the necessary information in relation to the cul- 

 ture of the root and the manufacture of the sugar. 



The accounts here given, as to the advantages 

 and success of both, will draw public attention 

 strongly to the subject. If the great discovery re- 

 cently patentsd in England, of which we gave 

 some account in a former jiaper, should meet the 

 public expectations and fulfil what it promises to 

 do, it will give an immense impulse to the busi- 

 ness. By this new method it would seem that 

 12 per cent, or upwards of sugar can be obtained 

 wli re only 5 and 6 were formerly obtained ; and 

 the raw material is so prepared that the manufac- 

 turer can proceed at pleasure at any season of the 

 year. Hitherto there has been a difficulty in 

 keeping the beets from being seriously affected by 

 the weather, so that heavy disajipointments nnd 

 losses have occurred. 



The main question is whether the price of la- 

 bor among us is not too high to think of pursuing 

 it to ndvautiige. Of the manufacture of the arti- 

 cle we are not |irepared to speak with confidence ; 

 but the cultivation of the crop itself for itself is 

 highly profitable for the stall-feeding of animals ; 

 ami perhaps few field crops of vegetables, will 

 pioduce more beef or mutton or more milk and 

 butter to an acre. Twenty tons were raised last 

 year to an acre ; and judicious farmers estimated 

 its value as full five dollars, when the price of 

 English Hay was fifteen dollars. At this rate a 

 good profit would be realized ; and the land left in 

 fine condition for a grain crop. We cannot en- 

 tertain a doubt then, with the habits, frugality, and 

 skill of our people that the manufacture of the ar- 

 ticle may be carried on as cheaply with us as in 

 France. 



Within the last few years, the cultivation of 

 beets and the manufacture of sugar from them, 

 have rapidly increased in France aud extended 

 to Prussia, Russia, Germany, Austria, and Italy. 



They were first commenced in France in 1809, 

 and under the Continental System then in full 



