210 



Bone Dust — Phosphate of Lime. 



Vol. XI. 



he helps to milk his own cows! But to the remarks we 

 promised, which are taken from the last number of the 

 Library. — Ed. 



Who can avoid — for the life of us we never 

 could — on entering a dwelling, the true pro- 

 vince and dominion of a good huswife, from 

 slyly casting around to see how things look 

 in her deparlment — whether the windows 

 are washed, paint scoured, hearth cleanly 

 swept up, cupboard neatly arranged, mantle 

 and chairs and chair-boards dusted, cobwebs 

 not a speck to be seen — all, all " set in or- 

 der," and neat and clean "as a bandbox?" 

 But, gentle ladies, even all that, let us warn 

 you, does not satisfy the judgment of men 

 who, while they may closely scrutinize your 

 housewifery, entertain, as we profess to do, 

 the highest possible respect for the important, 

 the noble station which Providence has as- 

 signed you in the eyes of all men of sense, 

 andwhich honour and duty alike enjoin upon 

 you io fulfil, with care and with pride, what- 

 ever, whether high or low, may be your rank 

 or fortime; but, if possible, with more obli' 

 gatory force and necessity in the country 

 than elsewhere. 



Too well are all men of observation aware 

 that all is not gold that glitters — the fairest 

 looking apple is sometimes rotten at the core 

 The hall, the parlour, the show-rooms, and 

 all apartments in common view, may indi 

 cate minule attention and good taste on the 

 part of the mistress, whose eye is best of all 

 brushes; and yet, as it sometimes happens, 

 the chambers of such a house may be the 

 receptacles of filth — the cellars the conveni- 

 ent repository of every offal — the kitchen 

 the scene of waste, and lounge of every idle 

 loafer about the place — the dairy be poisoned 

 with the bad odours of superfluous moisture 

 and half-scoured utensils. We have seen 

 such establishments with disgust; but much 

 more doth it rejoice us to say, that we have 

 known and enjoyed establishments (when we 

 had one to enjoy) where " the lady of the 

 house," like the truly brave soldier who, 

 when roused at midnight, springs at once to 

 his arms, ready to do battle — so can such a 

 woman, in proud defiance of the strictest 

 scrutiny, take husband or stranger by the 

 light of the lamp or the light of the sun, by 

 day or by night, from the garret to the eel 

 lar — open every closet and every drawer — 

 and demand, •' Where do you find, in 7ny de 

 partment, a pin or a feather out of place, a 

 mickle of waste, or a garment without a but 

 tonl" But, to achieve all this, she should 

 have all needful help. Such only is the 

 vifoman who deserves the name of a good 

 housewife; but he who possesses her pos 

 sesses a treasure of inestimable value, and 

 bad indeed must be his own management if, 



with her thrift and her example and encour- 

 agement, he fail to thrive. " She lookelh 

 well to the ways of her household, and eat- 

 eth not the bread of idleness." 



Bone Dust— Super-phosphate of Lime. 



It has long been known here, that a dressing of 

 bone dust is considered almost essential in England 

 to make a turnip crop; and that it is also extensively- 

 used for other purposes. Here— we mean more par- 

 ticularly in the vicinity of Philadelphia— bones ap- 

 plied as a manure, are but in poor repute. We 

 have heard many farmers say they have used them 

 without any beneficial effects whatever. In some 

 parts of Delaware and Maryland however, they are 

 used to good purpose. Why should there be this dif- 

 ference in their effects in different locations? While 

 we are seeking them out of the country, why should 

 the English farmer be seeking for them three thousand 

 miles distant ? Doubtless it must be owing to the 

 difference in climate— in soil, and in the mode of ap- 

 plication. In England, the climate is very much more 

 moist than ours, and therefore more favourable to 

 their use. In our high dry soils, where there is a 

 scarcity of acids, the bones in their natural state, can 

 not be expected to act favorably, inasmuch as they are 

 very insoluble— or in the language of Spooner in his 

 Prize Essay— extremely indigestible. Now it seems 

 to us, that an exceedingly interesting and valuable 

 hint, of altogether a practical character in relation to 

 this matter, may be gathered from the following re- 

 marks, taken from the last number of Coleman's 

 Tour. 



Let us avail ourselves of every means to retain oa 

 our soil, the thousands of tons which we have long 

 been in the practice of exporting, to add to the an- 

 nual fertility of England's fields. Let us rather make 

 the article available for ourselves, and export the eat- 

 able material.— Ed. 



Bones, broken and ground, have been a 

 long time employed as manure in England, 

 and with wonderful efficacy. Indeed, the 

 extraordinary improvements in some parts 

 of the country have been wholly ascribed to 

 the application of bones. It was found, like- 

 wise, contrary to all expectations, that bones 

 which had been through the hands of the 

 soap-boiler, and from which all the animal 

 and gelatinous matter had been thus ab- 

 stracted, and that even bones which had 

 been calcined, were of equal efficacy with 

 those which were applied in a green state, 

 and fully charged with animal matter. It 

 was also ascertained that bones applied as a 

 manure, beyond a certain point, were not 

 efficacious in proportion to the quantity ap- 

 plied; and that sixty bushels of bones to an 

 acre, produced no more beneficial cfi^ect than 

 sixteen or twenty. Here experience and 

 inquiry were confounded, and here science 

 came triumphantly to their aid. 



