1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMiiR. 



171 



relay a few avenues which the other had set or 

 constructed. Two critics of practised eye might 

 admit the landscape fine, but differ as to how or 

 whether it could be made finer. In passing judg- 

 ment upon the propriety and harmony of the view, 

 so many considerations are to be weighed — the po- 

 sition and size of the lot ; its surface ; the sur- 

 rounding objects, such as dwellings, forests, &c. — 

 that it would be a matter of surprise if two con- 

 noisseurs could perfectly agree upon the beauty of 

 the aspect, where much art had been displayed — 

 though they would readily condemn where no at 

 tempt for effect had been made. D. W. L. 



fVest Med/ord, 18o7. 



LEGISLATIVE AGEICULTUEAL MEET- 

 ING. 



[Repoeted Foa THE Farmer by H. E. Rockwell.] 

 The Sixth of the series of Legislative Agricultu- 

 ral meetings was held Tuesday evening, as usual. 

 The general topic for discussion was "Manures 



AND THEIR APPLICATION." 



Hon. C. A. Phelps, Speaker of the House of 

 Representatives, was called to preside. He ex- 

 pressed himself highly honored by the privilege of be- 

 ing present to preside at the meeting, but he frankly 

 confessed that, practically, the subject of agriculture 

 was not one with which he was acquainted. The sub- 

 ject of manures was one of the utmost importance 

 and interest to agriculturists. That subtile chem- 

 istry by which nature, from objects the most offen- 

 sive and most disgusting, produces grains of the 

 sweetest kind, fruits the most luscious, and flowers 

 of the most splendid hues, was certainly one of the 

 most mysterious and wonderful operations of na- 

 ture. He had hoped that agriculturists would treat 

 fruits in the way that gentlemen of the medical 

 profession sometimes treat the human system. 

 When they find the presence of an alkali in the hu- 

 man body to too great an extent, they apply an 

 acid as a remedial agent; and vice versa. It 

 may be a question whether this principle might not 

 be applied in the cultivation of fruits, and they be 

 thereby improved. He had himself tried the ap- 

 plication of strong alkaline suds to a bearing grape 

 vine, and he fancied that the acidity of the fruit 

 was thereby lessened. He had thought that straw- 

 berries, and similar fruits, might, in the same way, 

 be benefited. The manner in which the chemis- 

 try of nature elaborated fruits or grain from the ma- 

 nures applied, was exceedingly interesting. As an 

 instance of the misapplication of humanity, he re- 

 ferred to a visit to the field of Waterloo, from 

 which for many years the largest crops of wheat 

 were obtained, and some even declared that the 

 covering of the grain was of an unusually red color. 

 Massachusetts, he hoped, would never have any 

 field of hers thus enriched. 



Hon. R. S. Fay, of Lynn, said that he would 

 commence the debate, though he was not so much 

 skilled in the subject as others. He knew of no 



subject of more importance, especially to the far- 

 mers of Massachusetts. We sometimes speak of 

 the way in which the soil of Virginia has been re- 

 duced. But perhaps no State had reduced its land 

 more than Massachusetts. Farming lands are not 

 so valuable in this State now as they were fifty 

 years ago. We all ought to know that there must 

 be a portion of organic matter added to every soil 

 to make it fertile. It is easy to have soil analyzed, 

 and to make the additions that are necessary. If 

 a field is found deficient in lime, or some ingredi- 

 ent which is necessary for the production of wheat, 

 then that particular manure should be added. 

 Ground bone for turnips, to the amount of sixteen 

 bushels to the acre, will be sufficient to insure a 

 good crop — more would not increase it — on ordi- 

 nary soils. So the same principle may be applied 

 in the cultivation of corn, potatoes, or any other 

 crop. But barn-yard manure seems to be well 

 adapted for all crops. To supply our ordinary soils, 

 he had found it necessary to use twelve cords to 

 the acre — that is only a fair amount. But probab- 

 ly not two cords are used upon an average, in the 

 State of Massachusetts. He related an incident 

 connected with his travels in Scotland, where he 

 saw a farm of six hundred acres ; and he found 

 that the whole success of the farmer depended on 

 his putting as much manure upon the land as would 

 purchase an ordinary farm. He spent §1500 for 

 manure and $600 a year for bone dust, in addition 

 to the manure made upon the place from 700 head 

 of cattle. He raised twenty tons of turnips to the 

 acre, beside the tops ; he raised thirty-two bushels 

 of wheat to the acre ; and he had only three acres 

 of grass, permanently. All the rest of the farm 

 was cultivated. He paid between six and seven 

 thousand dollars a year for rent. Such is the ne- 

 cessity for economy of manure now ; it is important 

 that liquid manure should be saved and applied in 

 a liquid state, to such crops as can receive it. We* 

 raise from one-fourth to one-half less than we 

 should, if we saved and properly applied all liquid 

 manures. He would apply unfermented manure 

 to the land in the fall and j^low it under. The soil 

 will absorb and appropriate it, even if a crop is not 

 put upon the land for two years. As fertilizers of 

 a farm, he spoke highly of sheep ; and independent 

 of that, they are as profitable an animal as farmers 

 can keep. A German writer has said that the 

 droppings of a thousand sheep for twenty-four 

 hours, will manure an acre of land as highly as it 

 can well be made. In that proportion, any farmer 

 can fold his stock of sheep, and thus enrich one 

 portion of his farm at a time, as he chooses. 



Mr. Hyde, of Newton, spoke of the manures 

 with which he had experimented. He had tried 

 guano with high expectations, but he had not the 

 confidence that he once had in it. He applied it 

 on grass land at the rate of 300 lbs. to the acre, put- 



