292 



Stall Feeding, 8^c., 



Vol. ir. 



tion seems to have been resorted to ; and that 

 "which has been found to answer best, is to use it 

 as a top dressing on sward or grass grounds ; 

 the effect is immediate and great, being 

 scarcely to be believed excepting by those 

 who have been spectators of its effects. 

 The quantity applied to an acre of good 

 marl is from six to twenty tons; a bushel 

 weighs about a hundred weight, of course, 

 a ton is about twenty bushels; more may 

 be applied without any appreliension of in- 

 jury, but from twelve to fifteen tons per 

 acre is a good dressing, though some have 

 applied twice that quantity. Spread it evenly 

 over the surface of the grass ground in tiie 

 fall, winter or spring, or whenever you have 

 most leisure, and when done you need not 

 give yourselves any further trouble about 

 it; nature will do the rest, and your re- 

 ward will be certain and great if your marl 

 be good. Whenever you plough down your 

 grass ground which has been thus marled 

 for corn, or any other crop, you will see the ef- 

 fect of it strikingly exhibited in the subse- 

 quent crops. It has frequently increased 

 tJie fertility of the soil more than ten fold, 

 and some crops are believed to be much 

 improved in quality as well as quantity by 

 itis application. 



The great weight of the marl causes it 

 to sink in the earth, and if it should be 

 ploughed in on its first application, there 

 is some danger of losing part of the good 

 effects of it, by its being placed too remote 

 from the roots of the plants intended to be 

 nourished by it. 



It is now agreed on by all, that the fer- 

 tilizing ingredient of this valuable substance 

 is potash, and the benefits derived from its 

 use are directly proportional to the quanti- 

 ty of it contained in its composition. 



Evesham. 



April 20th, 1838. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Stall Feeding, &c. 



Mr. J. Libby: — It is evident that 

 remarks of your correspondent 



the 

 ' Acricola" 

 in the last number of the Cabinet, [No. 38,] 

 are intended to apply to my production, of 

 the same number. Interspersed as they are, 

 with "Beets" and "Hollow Horn," the de- 

 vice is shallow and insufficiently masked. 



" Agricola" may he a " Farmer" and know 

 how to estimate "Economy;" but he has 

 risked assertions which I am fearful he will 

 fail to prove. His first is " Farmers often 

 state that the grain fed to cattle or hogs 

 would have sold for more than the animals 

 have brought after they were fattened." 



''But," says he, " the complaint, if it be 

 a juat one, has its origin more in tlie ex- 



travagance and waste arising out of the 

 mode of feeding, than from any other cause. 

 The general practice is to feed with whole 

 grain in its raw state." 



I have never read any such statement 

 in any agricultural work that has yet fallen 

 into my hands ; yet it may have been stated 

 — and if "farmers often" make such state- 

 ments it would be well to inquire into the 

 "facts" before we put forth the sweeping de- 

 nunciation, that the "complaint has its origin 

 more in the extravagance, and waste, &c. 

 than from any other cause." 



If " Agricola" will take the trouble to in- 

 form himself on the subject, he will find that 

 many intelligent cattle feeders, in Chester 

 county, have lost considerably on their cattle 

 fed through the last winter; nor is it their 

 "general practice" to feed with whole grain; 

 it is generally ground. But in estimating 

 the expense the toll actually taken out at the 

 mill is also included. 



Hogs are more frequently fed upon whole 

 corn, and are found to be etficient masticatore 

 and digesters. 



Steaming or boiling might render a less 

 quantity sufficient, but I doubt its being eco- 

 nomical where farmers feed only their usual 

 number — a considerable addition of labor and 

 some fuel would be had in requisition for 

 either. 



The " Maryland Farmer" who made his 

 corn meal into mush and thereby saved one- 

 half, has yet one other experiment to try, to 

 be equal to the honest Hibernian with his 

 two stoves, let him make it into something 

 else, and he may, possibly, save it all. At 

 any rate, it appears, that from stubborness or 

 some other cause, Pennsylvania farmers will 

 not adopt the plan, for "Agricola" says " the 

 experiment above referred to was published 

 at the same time in several agricultural 

 journals, so as to give it publicity, but far- 

 mers generally have gone on in the old way 

 of feeding, notwfthstanding." Another ex- 

 periment went to show that a horse was fed 

 for a time on whole oats; the plan was 

 changed, and " it resulted in proving the 

 fact that one-half the quantity crushed kept 

 the horse in better order." It might be so 

 with an old horse that had no teeth, but in 

 Pennsylvania we feed such on mush, &c. 



I am very favorable to the sugar beet, bo 

 much so that I would recommend to every 

 farmer the raising of a few bushels to give 

 his cows through the winter and spring 

 months. His reward will be in the quantity 

 and quality of the milk and butter, and the 

 improved condition of his stock. 



"Agricola" says " it is a very remarkable 

 fact, that in Great Britain no disease under 

 the name of Hollow Horn is known, which 



