234 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Mat 



that the boots should immediately take polish, 

 dissolve an ounce of wax in sjjirits of turpen- 

 tine ; to wliich add a teaspoonful of lampltlack. 

 A day after the boots have been treated with the 

 tallow and rosin, rub them over with wax in 

 turpentine, but not before the fire. Thus the 

 exterior will have a coat of wax alone, and shine 

 like a mirror. Tallow, or any other grease be- 

 comes rancid, and rots the stitching as well as 

 the leather; but the rosin gives it an antiseptic 

 quality — which preserves the whole. Boots and 

 shoes should be so large as to admit of cork soles. 

 Cork is so bad a conductor of heat, that with it 

 in boots, the feet are warm on the coldest stone 

 floor. 



or any other liquid manure. It should be thrown 

 (jver and well incorporated, as it will be apt to 

 work through the loam or muck, and waste if 

 that is not attended to soon. R. "W. Turner. 

 Newton Centre, Jan. 16, 1855. 



ROOT CROPS. 



For the New England Farmer. 



SALT LEY. 



Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent from East 

 Hartford, Ct.,in theiV, E. Farmer for Jan., 1855, 

 wants information in regard to an article made by 

 the liard soap manufacturers, and called by them 

 in the vicinity of Boston (as well as Hartford) 

 salt ley. Having used many scores of loads of 

 that article, within the last eight years, separate- 

 ly as well as in connection with night soil, I am 

 able to reply to the questions put by "J. R. S." 



First, let me say, that a scientific and observ- 

 ing neighl)or Avho has a few acres of meadow he 

 wished to lay down to grass in a manner best cal- 

 culated to be lasting, and also wishing to know 

 for a certainty wliether salt ley was as economi- 

 cal (at the same cost per load) as night soil, 

 placed two lieaps of loam upon tl>e borders of his 

 meadow, containing about five cords each, and 

 added five loads of 80 cubic feet each of ley, to 

 one heap, and the same of night soil to the other. 

 After causing the same to be thrown over until 

 well incorporated, he divided his land equally in 

 two parts, and spread the compost, sowed liis 

 grass seed, harrowed, and then rolled the surface 

 with a heavy roller The first year the result was! 

 decidedly in favor of the night soil; the second j 

 they stood side by side ; the third, the difference I 

 in favor of the hy was more than equal to what! 

 it lacked the first, wiiile its efiect was very appar-l 

 ent long after the night soil had spent itself. Thisj 

 experiment as well as some of my own of a simi- ! 

 lar character, satisfied me that ley is very perma-i 

 nentand valual4e as a fertilizer, when properly! 

 incorporated with meadow muck for upland. I 

 When it is spread upon grass land, it is sure to I 

 bring in a large amount of lumey-suckle or white I 

 clover, which is the same thing. ; 



If used for corn it sliould he spread and plowed 1 

 in, as it will be apt to kill tlie corn if allowed 

 to come in contact with it. I believe it superior 

 to any other manure for other potatoes, as it 

 keeps the worms from troultling tlicni. It may 

 be used for any purpose that any manure is. It 

 is the best for sandy land as it liolds the moisture 

 and prevents in part the consequences of a 

 drought. One cord of meadow muck, if fine, is 

 sufficient to a1)sorb one load of 00 cul)ic feet. 

 And if the ley is good (for some is nearly worth- 

 less, being made of lime and soda JBstead of ashes) 

 is equal to a cord of stable manure. Pile up the 

 muck and run tlic ley into the basin on the top, 

 and be careful that it don't work out at tlie sides 

 and waste, as it is more likely to than night soil 



Much of the success of root crops depends up- 

 on their early treatment. Those that germinate 

 slowly, such as the carrot, should have the seed 

 swollen, by burying it in tlie soil for a few days 

 encased in a bag before sewing, and when being 

 sown, small quantities of radish seed should be 

 mixed with it. The radish seed will mark the 

 rows at an early date, so as to enable proper tools 

 to be passed between, and remove the weeds even 

 before the carrots shall appear above the surface 

 of the ground. 



All light scaly seeds should be planted within 

 half an inch or less of the surface, and if not 

 shaded by the radish leaf will bake from the sun'a 

 heat, and refuse to germinate, unless previously 

 swollen. 



The early attention by disturbance of the soil 

 for carrots, parsnips, beets, &c., is positively nec- 

 essary to insure success. Careless culture in the 

 early part of the season will materially injure the 

 crop. 



We should not wait for weeds to appear before 

 disturbing the soil, but by frequent stirring we 

 may prevent their growtli altogether until the 

 roots shall have fairly started, and are in full pos- 

 session ; then an occasional stirring by the Horse 

 Hoe or any of those tools lately introduced by 

 Ruggles, Nourse, Mason and others for cleaning 

 the surface of soils, so that the entire strength of 

 the soil and all the atmospheric advantages may 

 be applied to the crop. 



We raised last year, by such treatment, 1500 

 busliels of parsnips, and nearly or quite a thous- 

 and bushels of carrots per acre. When guano or 

 the phosphates are used, the application should 

 be in small doses, and at each disturbance of the 

 soil. The results will be much greater than when 

 all are j^laced in the soil before the planting of the 

 seed ; for in its slow downward travel by solution 

 when applied after the roots are partially grown, 

 the manure may come in contact M'ith the young 

 spongioles ready to receive it. If tlie manures 

 are all applied in the rows instead of between the 

 rows, the roots become hairy and roughened, but 

 when more generally disseminated tiirough the 

 soil they become evenly divided by moisture before 

 reaching the roots. Tlie great increase in demand 

 for root crops will fully warrant their increased 

 culture. — Working Farmer. 



The Season.— a correspondent writing fromKen- 

 nebunk , Me. , April 8 , says — ' ' the sledding has been 

 very good here until to-day." In the neighbor- 

 hood of Boston the frost is not yet out, — manure 

 heaps carried out last fall, are still frozen ; post- 

 holes cannot be dug, or very little spring work 

 done. It was refresliing this morning to see the 

 first team and plow in motion. The Weston peo- 

 ple deserve the premium. From Randolph, Vt., 

 under date of April 2, we learn that the snow 

 was then four feet deep, great drifts still remain- 



