1868. 



NEW ENGLAM) FARMER. 



489 



A Cattle Show in Scotland. — The ex- 

 hibition of the Highland Society, which is re- 

 garded as the parent of all British agricultu- 

 ral societies, having been established by Royal 

 Charter in 1787, was held this season in Ab- 

 erdeen the first week in August. By a report 

 in the Canada Farmer we learn that the grand 

 total of animals on exhibition was 1681 ; con- 

 sisting of horses 139, sheep 632, swine 57, 

 poultry 480. There were 1158 machines, 

 implements, &c. The number of entries at 

 Aberdeen was considerably reduced by an un- 

 fortunate nrisunderstanding between exhibi- 

 tors in the vicinity of Glasgow and the railway 

 managers, which resulted in an opposition show 

 at the latter place, which offered premiums of 

 equal value to those of the old society. Al- 

 though there is no allusion to "trials of speed," 

 the receipts at the gate were about $8000, a!id 

 the amount of prizes offered a little larger 

 than the r*eipts. 



Good Seed. — We find in the Iowa Home- 

 stead a statement by Sewell Foster, Esq. , of 

 the production of two parts of the same field 

 of wheat this season, both of which were pre- 

 pared alike, and treated in the same manner 

 with the exception of the seed. On»one por- 

 tion very clean, plump, nice wheat, costing 

 $2.25 per bushel, was used ; on the other or- 

 dinary wheat worth $1.75 to 1.80 per bushel 

 was sown. The good seed averaged 23 J 

 bushels per acre ; the poorer 18| bushels per 

 acre. 



NATURE AND USES OF PLASTEB. 



The question is often asked among farmers ; 

 of what use is plaster ? When, where, and 

 how shall it be used? And I have nevei 

 heard a satisfactory answer given to them 

 Nearly every farmer who had made any appli- 

 cation of plaster, had found it serviceable at 

 one time, but 'without profitable returns at 

 another. No one within my acquaintance 

 knows the reason for success or failure. 



Most people found the application to clover 

 attended generally with good results; some 

 found it good sometimes for potatoes ; but 

 not a single one could tell. What is plaster 

 good for.-' Chemistry solves the question: 

 Plaster is sulphate of lime. To different 

 branches of science it is known by different 

 names. In the arts it is plaster ; in mineral- 

 ogy it is gypsum ; in chemistry it is sulphate 

 of lime. It IS sulphuric acid and lime. Sul- 

 phuric acid has an aflSnity for ammonia, and 

 when it finds ammonia it breaks up its partner- 

 ship with the lime and combines with the am- 



monia, forming sulphate of ammonia, and thia 

 is non- volatile. The lime finds a companion, 

 when deserted by the acid, in carbonic acid, 

 forming carbonate of lime. 



Hence it will be seen that when the farmer 

 has ammonia in his soil, put there by himself 

 in manure, or in any other manner, liable to 

 waste, the plaster will fix it there, and in all 

 such cases it can be applied to the ground with 

 profit. The odor about stables and manure 

 heaps, is escaping ammonia, and the farmer 

 can judiciously use a little plaster in both 

 places, saving the ammonia for his land. 



Plaster saves to the soil nitrogen, one of the 

 chief mineral elements entering into the growth 

 of plants ; ammonia is three parts hydrogen 

 and one part nitrogen. Ammonia escapes 

 from decaying vegetation wherever it is found, 

 and is suspended in the air, and when after a 

 long dry spell and considerable quantities of 

 it has ascended, thd first rain brings it to the 

 earth, and if there is a little plaster in the clo- 

 ver field, the ammonia never rises again. 



This very study into the uses of plaster 

 shows that the farmer should be a student, 

 and in some degree, a man of science. He 

 must learn that in doctoring his soil something 

 else than mineral substances may be needed. 

 He may need organic substances as well, and 

 to know this is the duty of the farmer. But 

 I trust I have explained the nature and uses 

 of plaster, so that whoever reads may know 

 when its application may be serviceable. — Ohio 

 Farmer. 



WEANINa- LAMBS. 



Lambs should be taken from the ewes before 

 feed begins to fail in the fall ; they require, 

 when left to get their living by grazing alone, 

 good pasture, or they will decline in flesh and 

 and enter winter in a condition that will not 

 warrant their going through. Ths ewe also 

 after supporting a lamb through the summer, 

 requires time and plenty of food to recuper- 

 ate lost strength and flesh. Sheep lay on flesh 

 more readily from grass in the months of Oc- 

 tober and November than any otTiers, and 

 lambs should be taken off as soon as Septem- 

 ber, or at least as soon as they are four months 

 old. 



The two flocks should be separated if pos- 

 sible so far that they cannot hear the bleating 

 of each other, and by all means so that they 

 are not in fields adjoining, for they will spend 

 one-half of the time running up and down the 

 fences trying to get together. If lambs can- 

 not be furnished with good pasturage, they 

 should have a little oat meal once a day ; a 

 gill to each is suflicient, and less than that 

 amount should be given at first. 



If docking was neglected at the proper time, 

 do not do it when weaning ; the lambs have 

 enough to endure by the separation from their 

 mothers ; nor should the job be attended to 

 until grass has a good start in the spring. — 

 Ohio Farmer. 



