No. 2. 



Poultry — Manure, «§*f. 



61 



probably convert the vegetable matter con- 

 tained in the soil to ashes, or so completely 

 coat it with a crust of carbonate of lime as to 

 prevent its decomposition and solution, and 

 render it sterile for years, unless an addition- 

 al quantity of dung was applied and mixed 

 with it, which is the true remedy for land that 

 has had an overdose of lime. 



Benefit has been derived from the applica- 

 tion of lime in all tiie various ways and sea- 

 sons it has been applied, but those who spread 

 it on the grass sod in the fall, winter, or ear- 

 ly in the spring, and let it remain, for one or 

 more years before it is ploughed down, it is 

 believed obtain much the most benefit from 

 it. Putting it on the sod, and immediately 

 ploughing it under, is the worst application 

 of it known, as the solution of it passes too 

 deep in the earth to be much useful. X. 



Poultry. 



Columella, in his book on Husbandry, writ- 

 ten 1800 years ago, says, '* that if a hen is set 

 on the long, siiarp-pointed eggs that are sur- 

 rounded at the small end with concentric cir- 

 cles, the chickens produced from them will 

 all be males ; and that if the round eggs which 

 are smooth at the smaller end, are put under 

 her, the chickens produced from them will 

 all be females." It would be a matter of curi- 

 osity, at least, and perhaps some profit might 

 be realized from it, if the experiment was 

 made to test it. Will some of our raisers of 

 poultry be so good as to make the trial, and 

 inform the editor of the Farmers' Cabinet of 

 the result. 



For tlie Farmers' Cafiinet. 



On Manure— Fattening Hogs<>— Curing 



Pork and Hams* 



I have perused the remarks of your intel- 

 ligent correspondent W. H., of Salem county, 

 on the subject of manure, with much satisfac- 

 tion. His method of collecting materials for 

 manure is unquestionably good. I would, how- 

 ever, suggest the propriety of his going still 

 further. In the fall of the year when he has 

 cleansed his barn yard of its contents, and the 

 bottom is clean, which is usually about the 

 time of cutting up corn, it would be well to 

 take the roots of the corn from the field, with 

 tlie dirt adhering to them, and deposit them 

 m the yard, they will make a most excellent 

 foundation, and by the process of decomposi- 

 tion, are converted into a most valuable ma- 

 nure. The other materials for manure are 

 placed on the top of the roots, and in the way 

 described by your correspondent. The urine 

 of cattle, and the juices of the other manures, 

 penetrates the heap, and the roots become 

 saturated. The next season after the dung 

 is taken off, which I am not particular to do 

 veiy clean, and which is generally ploughed 

 in with my oat stubble, the roots are grubbed 



up and thrown into rows five or six feet wide 

 at tiie bottom, and tour or five feet high, tak- 

 ing care to have the bottom where the rows 

 are placed, previously well dug up. In twelve 

 or fitleen days, depending somewhat on the 

 state of the weather, I commence hauling it 

 out. My wheat ground being well ploughed 

 and harrowed, I spread the manure, as by this 

 time it is completely rotted, and in this state 

 it requires nothing but a common English 

 shovel to load with. When spread, 1 plough 

 it in shallow, and in so doing find that I add 

 largely to my store of manure, and have my 

 ground in good (jrder for any crop. A person 

 who had not witne.sscd it would be surprised 

 at the amount of manure that may be made 

 from the roots gathered from six to eight acres 

 of corn. Awake, brother farmers, — try it, — 

 persevere, — and let us have the results of your 

 experiment in the Cabinet. 



The roots of the corn are gathered in the 

 following manner: — when the corn is cut up 

 and stacked, or taken off the field, the plough 

 is run along under the rows of roots, throw- 

 ing two rows together. The harrow is then 

 carried over the rows to separate the roots 

 from the earth; after which, they are con- 

 veyed to the barn-yard, with .so much of tlio 

 .soil as may still adhere to them. 



Fattening Pork, Curing Hams, <fcc. 



I am satisfied that it is " not good economy* 

 to endeavor to make manure from hogs by keep- 

 ing them up in a pen. I am convinced that 

 ten bushels of corn, fed on a clean board, will 

 make as much good solid pork, as fifteen fed 

 on a dung heap — and with this additional re- 

 commendation, that the pork is perfectly 

 sweet and entirely free from that nauseous 

 flavor which is so peculiar to pork kept in a 

 filthy state, and having their food administer- 

 ed to them in dung or litter. The greatest 

 care must be observed. The hog is not by 

 any means naturally a dirty animal. 



I have noticed frequent inquiries in the 

 Cabinet as to the best method of curing pork 

 and hams. I would inform all inquirers that 

 they cannot have good, sweet meat, unless it 

 is both good and sweet before it goes into the 

 tub. The best of salt cannot make bad meat 

 good — but will prevent good meat becoming- 

 bad. In some parts of the country where I 

 have dined, the pork served up at table has 

 tasted so strongly of the pen that I could not 

 eat it. So much for making manure from 

 hogs. I have always had good pork and hams 

 since I fed my hogs on a board floor, which 

 is kept well cleaned. 



On one occasion, 1 purchased a lot of Jer- 

 sey pork, 2,000 lbs. It was fat and very 

 handsomely dressed, but it lacked one essen- 

 tial requisite — that sweet flavor which char- 

 acterizes all good pork. Subsequently, I 



