60 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



For tlte New England FanntT. 



GOULD'S MURIATE OF LIME. 



Mr. Editor: — With the exception of a few gen- 

 eral and important facts, the science of agriculture 

 — even at the present day — seems to be as dark j 

 and abstruse a" subject as theology. Agricultural 

 chemists differ as much about the proper elements 

 of soil to grow good crops, as theologians do about 

 God's will to man, and man's duty to God. "Put 

 i^.ot your trust in special manures," should become 

 a proverb. The multifarious dry compound, scraped 

 together by chemists or "enterprising men," com- 

 monly denominated "Fertilizers,"are more frequent- 

 ly than otherwise apocryphal and treacherous. 

 Coming from the heads and hands of men who have 

 little or no practical experience in their use, they 

 are quite likely to bring disappointment to the real 

 cultivator. I have no wish, however, to enlist 

 against "Book Farming ;" for book farming, as a 

 general rule, is but a transcript or record of actual 

 farming — successful or otherwise — and is worth 

 precisely as much as if the facts were communica- 

 ted orally from neighbor to neighbor. A patent fer- 

 tilizer does not lose its virtues, if any it possess, by 

 being extolled in a newspaper or magazine ; and 

 the farmer loses nothing if he finds it condemned, 

 through the same channel, by the practical experi- 

 mentor. But I forbear digression. 



At the present sitting I propose to allude to 

 Gould's Muriate of Lime. "The high price of the 

 special manures, guano, &c.," says the proprietor, 

 "first led to the composition of a fertilizer which 

 should combine all their good qualities, but whose 

 price should place it within the reach of the poorest 

 of the cultivators of the soil." And IMr. Gould 

 claims that he has accomplished his aim. The ar- 

 ticle certainly is cheap in bulk, compared with oth- 

 er fertilizers, and that it is good for the purpose 

 intended avb have the commendations of two able 

 chemists, Dr. Hayes and Dr. Jackson. These gen- 

 tlemen, it is supposed, so well understand their busi- 

 ness, that any gross omission or imperfection in its 

 composition by its manufacturer, would by them be 

 readily pointed out. The A". E. Farmer has pub- 

 lished their opinions, which all may read. 



Mr. Gould has not only been fortunate in winning 

 the scientific judgment of these eminent chemists, 



of lime. I did so, but with little faith in its success. 

 You may imagine my surprise, when I came to dig 

 my potatoes, to find.nota miserable crop, like that 

 of previous years, but one of as fine potatoes as I 

 have ever seen, and just four times the quantity. 

 The difierence in the'yield of my corn and squash 

 vines was in about the same proportion." 



Looking at these articles last spring, induced me 

 to tiy this fertilizer in my garden. I procured but 

 a bag, yet enough to test it, without incurring much 

 expense. My soil is elevated, with a western as- 

 pect; is of a moderately rich, friable loam, and 

 has yielded a great many stone. I planted about 

 i 50 hills of potatoes, with a good handful of this ferti- 

 lizer alone in the hill ; also a row of peas ; of snap or 

 string beans ; and about 30 hills of sweet corn, in all 

 of which the muriate was mixed in the earth before 

 planting, except an additional top-dressing on the 

 corn, wliich seemed to call for assistance. 



Mr. Gould, in his advertisement, gave cultivators 

 to understand that his muriate, among other gar- 

 den vegetables, was excellent for "peas, beans, and 

 all pod-bearing plants," Of course 1 had a right to 

 expect tliat the marrowfats would at least keep up 

 their reputation ; but they never got more than a 

 foot high, or furnished more than two or three peas 

 to the pod ! Coal ashes or brick dust could not 

 have done worse. The beans also, were exceeding- 

 ly feeble. The potatoes raised in pure muriate 

 were a failure, yielding not more than half of those 

 planted in good compost. The corn did not start 

 well, (for som.e special reasons, I suppose,) and 

 did not furnish a respectable ear. In fact, on none of 

 the vegetables where tried could I perceive the 

 least good effect, whether mixed with the manure 

 or not. 



Dr. Jackson states that the muriate is "a valua- 

 ble manure, admirably adapted to silicious soils," 

 and that "twenty per cent, of this compound is 

 soluble in water." Dr. Hayes observes that it is 

 "adapted at once to enter into vegetable organism, 

 as a constituent of their substance," and that the 

 animal matter "is easily decomposed after the fer- 

 tilizer has been wet." ' The past season has been 

 unusually rainy — a condition favorable for the de- 

 velopment of all the virtues of organic manures- 

 yet why no better results ? 



About midsummer a neighbor of mine, while in 



T 1 — A U««« 



