238 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



May 



Fur the Hew England Fanner. 



WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THAT 

 DEAD ANIMAL ?-No 2. 



Eg^s, during the present winter, have been re- 

 markably scarce, and have brought prices in pro- 

 portion to their scarcity. Thirty, forty and fifty 

 cents a dozen for eggs, and not golden ones, either ! 

 The principal reason for tins unusual scarcity has 

 ■ doubtless been the remarkable coldness of the win- 

 ter. All the energies of the fowl are expended in 

 keeping her system at a temperature sufficient to 

 preserve life ; if she could be aided in this matter 

 of warming herself, her superlluous vitality might 

 then be spent in producing eggs, one necessity for 

 which is a full flow of blood, and a high tempera- 

 ture of tlie body ; both of which are greatly pro- 

 moted by feeding with animal food, fat and flesh. 

 The fierce appetite of fowls for animal food at this 

 season of the year, particularly those producing 

 eggs, is a proof from nature of their need of it ; and 

 at the present price of eggs, we can well afford to 

 feed them on rump steak, if no other meat is acces- 

 sible. What family that keeps fowls can afford to 

 sell its waste, fresh f;vt to the soap-man, when eggs 

 bring thirty cents a dozen, and upwards ? In fact, 

 our fowls must have animal food of some kind, if 

 we wish them to lay well. 



Now, if a horse, cow or ox has died in your 

 neighborhood during the past winter, from accident 

 or from some disease which does not impair the 

 value of the flesh as food for fowls or for your dog, 

 it will certainly be cheaper to feed them from its 

 remains, than to pay from five cents a pound up- 

 wards for flesh, which for this purpose is not worth 

 a farthing more. It may be well to state, in pass- 

 ing, that scientific men have proved by experiment 

 that a high temperature, equal to that at which 

 meat is baked, completely destroys the virus of the 

 most contagious and virulent disease to which our 

 domestic animals are subject. The carciss of an 

 animal, if kept frozen, will keep forever. In 1803, 

 a mammoth was found frozen in the ice of northern 

 Siberia, whose flesh was in such a perfect state of 

 preservation that it was fed by the inhabitants to 

 their dogs ; and yet, geologists are generally agreed 

 that the animal died six thousand years ago, at the 

 lowest estimate. 



The savans of Europe have introduced the flesh 

 of the horse on their tables as a luxury ; they tell 

 us that it is finer grained than that of neat cattle, 

 and generally equal to it in flavor, M'hile by some 

 methods of cookery, it was pronounced markedly 

 superior. Who, all prejudices founded on associ- 

 ation aside, can give a good reason why the flesh of 

 the horse should not form an article of diet ? There 

 is something in a name in this matter. We all 

 know the story of the officer at a grand feast among 

 the South Sea Islanders who ale quite heartily ol 

 fine duck, as he thought, and smacked his lips over 

 the choice delicacy, until he was informed that in- 

 stead of being "quack, quack," it was only "bow- 

 ow-ow," when his stomach immediately rebelled. 

 We confine our diet among quadrupeds to herbiv- 

 orous animals ; why then exclude the horse, the no- 

 blest and cleanliest of them all ? As far as this 

 matter has an economical bearing, it is certainly true 

 that the horse is worth far more in the stable than 

 at the shambles, and that to purchase the flesh of a 

 well conditioned horse, if killed purposely for eat- 

 ing, one would have to drop dollars into the scale ; 



but yet, it is well known that in our largest cities, 

 hundreds of the finest horses are killed yearly, sole- 

 ly from tlje breaking of limbs ; now, if the poorer 

 classes of the cities, who can afford fresh meat not 

 over often, and then of the poorer qualities, contin- 

 ue to allow the flesh of such to be given to the 

 dogs, or be still more degraded, I have great faith 

 that the epicures will have a word to say about such 

 a manner of disposing of them before many years 

 have elapsed. Suoh is the scientific utilitarianism 

 of an age that is fast over-riding all our prejudices, 

 and demanding the utmost returns from every re- 

 source, J. J. II. Gregory. 

 Marbkhead, March, 18u1. 



For the New England Farmer. 



MURIATE OF LIME. 



Mr, Editor : — In the weekly Farmer of Jan, 3, 

 Mr. Gould made some comments upon a previous 

 article of mine on the above-named subject, to 

 which I intended to make a brief reply, but have 

 delayed so doing till the present time, for the pur- 

 pose of hearing what others might say upon the 

 fertilizer in question. 



Mr. Gould thinks my ill success is "a rare excep- 

 tion rather than the rule," or that my "soil may 

 not have required this manure." He seems to 

 have overlooked the fact that I do not stand alone 

 against his fertilizer, and that I mentioned that 

 three of my neighbors had tried it and been equally 

 disappointed with myself. Taking the experience, 

 then, in my locality, my case does not seem to be 

 an exception to the rul ; ; and I am inclined to be- 

 lieve that if all who have used it in other sections 

 would freely give their experience, without impor- 

 tunity or bias, I should be found to harmonize with 

 the rule in other localities. I certainly am of the 

 belief that my soil did not require his fertilizer. 

 But Mr. Gould says that it is good on all soils — on 

 clayey soils in particular — and Dr. Jackson recom- 

 mends it for "siliceous soils." Now if the small 

 proportion of other ingredients, besides the carbon- 

 ate of lime and salt, constituting the fertilizer aie 

 really beneficial, planted in the hills or in drills, we 

 are obliged to use so much slaked lime (which is 

 more or less caustic) that it burns up the plants 

 and destroys the good effects which the other com- 

 pounds might exert by themselves. Who thinks 

 that a hill of potatoes or corn will need or bear 

 two or three gills of half slaked or slaked lime? 

 or that the fibrous roots of peas and beans, squashes 

 and other tender plants, can ramify into it with 

 that impunity with which they should in all proper 

 manurial substances ? Is not the fertilizer a little 

 too rich in lime ? 



Mr, Gould observes very pleasantly, that he 

 shall take occasion to bring forth a "cloud of wit- 

 nesses" to sustain the evidence which he has al- 

 ready published, and hopes to be able to scatter 

 my "brick-dust and coal-ashes" to the wind ! To 

 this I certainly cannot in conscience make any ob- 

 jection ; but will simply express a modest wish, 

 that when they take the "wl.igs of the wind," they 

 may not fly towards Charlestown. In regard to the 

 witnesses, I will speak of those further along. 



When I used the muriate last spring, I had seen 

 no statement either from the proprietor or any one 

 else, that the article should be composted or 

 mixed ; I therefore used it as did Mr. Brooks and 



