228 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



the great principle of the restoration of our soil 

 to fertility is in the apjjlication of large quanti- 

 ties of manure — the diluting of all highly con- 

 centrated manures in water, and mixing them 

 with such materials as will hold them in a state 

 of solution until required by the growing plant. 

 Not one particle of sawdust should enter into 

 this ])ractice. All heaps of compost and manure 

 should be kept sufficiently wet by continued ap- 

 plications of liquid manures to resist rapid de- 

 composition and rot down, not burn or fire-fang. 

 Let this system be but in full practice, and these 

 beautiful hills and valleys of New England will 

 again blossom as the rose, and no farmer will 

 need send to New York or Boston to buy fertil- 

 izers at ruinous prices. The mixing of night 

 soil and muck in the cities by the Liebeg philos- 

 ophers, and sending into the rural districts at two 

 cents per pound, would be at an end. 

 "Othello's occupation's gone." 



For the purpose of putting this philosophy in 

 practice, let us suppose a case : — Say I have a 

 barn eighty by f<nty feet, with a good cellar un- 

 der the whole of it, for the purpose of making 

 manure. In the fall and winter I haul in fifty 

 loads of leaves and mould from the forests, fifty 

 loads of good, finely pulverized muck, (two years 

 dug,) fifty loads of native soil from the bank. I 

 keep ten cows for the purpose of making butter 

 and cheese, beside five hogs, one pair of oxen 

 and some young stock. The cows are to have 

 good English hay and one quart of corn meal 

 per day, which materially increases the value of 

 their manure. Now I have a tank of sufficient 

 size to dilute all the manure, placed immediately 

 under the stable, and so elevated as to be near 

 the floor and carry the diluted manure to every 

 part of the cellar by means of a trough attached 

 to the same. Every morning shovel the manure 

 of the ten cows and oxen into the vat, and add 

 just water enough to hold it in a state of solution, 

 throwing the bedding and long manure of the 

 young stock upon the heap below. Once a week 

 put in your hog dung and night soil, with water 

 enough to make .the wdiole sufficiently thin to 

 pour upon the heap below. Throw it over on 

 stormy or other days, and add a new supply of 

 material as often as needed. The amount of ma- 

 nure made in this way in a year, bj^ housing j'our 

 cows in summer, would be surprising. 



This is the system that will redeem the soil of 

 New England back to its primitive state of fer- 

 tility. Lewis L. Pieece. 



East Jeffrey, N. n., Feb., 1858. 



washing should be given to the ceilings and par- 

 titions ; its sanatory effects are well-known, and 

 of a nature too indisputably obvious to admit of 

 doubt. Vermin rai-ely infest barns or animals 

 treated in this way. The floors of all "tie-ups" 

 should always be of stones — large flags — which 

 can be thoroughly cleansed by the diffusion of 

 water, and which do not become impregnated 

 with the ammoniacal matter contained in the 

 urine, and the foetid animal matters of the excre- 

 ment. 



For the Neiv England Farmer. 

 EECLAIMING LIGHT LANDS. 



How can this best be done ? There are hun- 

 dreds of acres, all about, only used to hold crea- 

 tion together, that might bo made beautiful and 

 valuable, if we only knew how to do it. Some 

 years since, Mr. Wm. Clark, of Northampton, 

 Mass., said he had reclaimed such lands, and 

 brought them to produce respectable crops. How 

 this was done, I do not remember. But I pre- 

 sume you will, Mr. Editor, as it is your business 

 to catch the manners living as they rise, and to 

 bring to light what others may have forgotten. 

 As you live in a region where the soil is light and 

 sandy, if you will tell me how such a soil can 

 economically be brought into a decent and pro- 

 ductive condition, you will not only do me a fa- 

 vor, but also many other anxious 



March 15, 1858. Inquirers. 



MABTAGEMENT OF THE BARN. 



Let the utmost neatness be observed in the 

 management of the barn. No more hay or other 

 fodder should be thrown on the floor at once than 

 is requisite to supply one feed. By throwing 

 large quantities from the mows or scaffoldings, 

 there is an unavoidable loss from the drying of 

 the fibre, -svhicli renders it less palatable to the 

 animals, as well as less nutritious. Sweeping the 

 floor daily promotes cleanliness, and conduces 

 to the health and consequently the comfort of 

 animals. The "tie-ups" and "stanchels," as well 

 as the mangers, cribs, &C., should be daily cleaned 

 out and frequently washed. An occasional white- 



Remarks. — Certainly, Mr. "Inquirer," we can 

 tell you how to reclaim such lands, even without 

 carrying a load of manure upon them. But will 

 you be patient, and follow the plan ? and can you 

 ^ord to wait for the result ? 



We will suppose that the land is sandy, or per- 

 haps a sandy loam, that was once covered with 

 pines which were cut off, and the land "ryed to 

 death," and then pastured to death, which is full 

 as bad as was the old Irish Judge, who sentenced 

 a man to "be hung and pay forty shillings." Ma- 

 nure the land if you can, if not, plow with one 

 horse, or two if you choose, but do not go down 

 more than four inches, sow rye and harrow in. 

 When the crop is ripe, thresh on the field, and 

 keep what grain you can get as a compensation 

 for your labor ! Now take the rye straw, and let 

 a man drop it before each furrow, and the plow 

 follows immediately and covers it up. 



Follow this course three years, and then sow 

 with clover. Cut two crops of this, and the sec- 

 ond year plow again and sow to rye, and if the 

 operation has been well managed, you will prob- 

 ably get tweafy-Jive bushels of rye per acre, and 

 your Jand be in pretty good condition for any 

 crop with common manuring. We can show you 

 twenty-five acres that was almost moving sand, 

 reclaimed in this way into fair and fertile fields. 

 Are you encouraged ? 



We do not rememl^er how Mr. Clark reclaimed, 

 and have not the leisure at this time to look up 

 his account of doing it. 



