1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



32B 



bones ; but in that of 1822, those raised with 

 bones and stable-dunj^ appeared to be equal.* 



NotwithstaudintT this evident dillerence against 

 the produce obtauied by bones, in point ot" weight 

 it should not, however, escape remark, that the 

 latter gentleman estimates the vakie of their re- 

 turn in money as being superior; ibr tite cost of 

 the two manures is, according to his calculation, as 

 follows: — 



One acre manured with (arm-yard (Un\5 — 

 20 cart-loads of dung, including carriage, at 



10s. per load £10 



33 tons of turnips, at 10s. per ton 16 10 



Net return 



£6 10 



£2 12 6 

 IS 



- 3 10 6 

 14 10 



£10 19 6 



One acre manured with bone — 

 1^ ton of bones, at 42s. 



Breaking and driving ditto 



29 tons of turnips, at 10s. per ton 



Net return 



Thus leaving a difference in favor of bones of no 

 less than £4 9s. 6d. — or what we should in this 

 country call a tolerably fiiir value, if fed off, fi^r 

 the produce of an imperial acre : but although llie 

 price of the turnips is jlir beyond present rates, 

 and the charge of dung, unless carried to a great 

 distance, is too high, we yet leave the account as 

 it stands, as forming a ground for similar compa- 

 rative calculations. 



To this ma\' be added the following particulars 

 of a comparative trial between stable-manure and 

 crushed bones, lately made on the property of Sir 

 William JMaxwell, of Calderwood. The field was 

 an old ley, consisting of strong loam, on a reten- 

 tive clay bottom; but having been completely 

 drained, as well as ploughed and cleared, under 

 favorable circumstances, Ihe condition of the land 

 ■ — from which the previous crop of oats had been 

 taken in 1832 — was perfectly satisfactory at the 

 lime of preparing it for turnips, with various spe- 

 cies of which it was sown in the following spring; 

 and in addition to the quantities of manure slated 

 at foot, 7^ chaldrons of lime were laid per Scotch 

 acre. Where the stable-manure had been applied, 

 the plants sprouted more rapidly and vigorously 

 than was the case with the bones; but ultimately 

 the latter gained ground, and, if any thing, got 

 rather the start of the dung, and no part of the 

 crop suffered in any degree f'rom the fly. The most 

 accurate calculations were made in order to ascer- 

 tain the produce of the crops per acre, and the fol- 

 lowing was the result: — 



Swedish, 

 30 cart loads of stable-dung per Scotch acre, poduccd29 tons. 



60 bushels of crushed bones „ 21 



Dale's Hybrid, 



30 cart-loads of stable-dun? „ 33 



60 bushels of crushed bones ,, 31 



45 ditto „ 29 



Yellow Bullock, 



30 cart-loads of stable dung „ 29 



60 bushels of crushed bones ,, 28 



The quality of the soil is, however, by no 

 means particularly well adapted for the turnip cul- 

 ture, partaking, as it does, rather too much of the 

 clayey character; and although it was divested 

 by drainage ot all shperfluous moisture, yet there 



can be little doubt that to that cause the compara- 

 lively unfiivorable effect of the bones may be 

 chiefly attributed.* 



Effects of bone-dust and bones. 



Bone-dust is the fittest state in which to lay it 

 upon grass, for it willnot only take more immedi- 

 ate eflect upon the crop, but if laid in pieces, it 

 would interrupt the progress of the scythe. It 

 should, however, be recollected, that fine powder 

 can only be obtained from spent bone which has 

 undergone the process of manufacture. It is, 

 therefore spread as a top-dressing, by hand; but it 

 is also very commonly laid in the drills for turnips, 

 (or which purpose many ingenious machines have 

 heen contrived for sowing it along with the seed.t 

 ft is, however, much to be regretted that these 

 i implements cannot be constructed with more sim- 

 plicity, for their cost is so considerable, that unless 

 a man has a very large quantity of land to drill, 

 I their purchase would be imprudent, and the hire 

 I is generall}' unreasonably expensive. 

 I Regarding the quantity of dust, the powdered 

 bones are dearer than those which are merely bro- 

 ken small, and although said to be more forcing to 

 the first crop, on account of their being, when in 

 the state of powdei', more intimately blended with 

 the soil, and more directly applied to the seed, yet 

 they are not found so durable as when they are 

 laid on in pieces; but it is also true that, in the for- 

 mer case, they are not laid on so largely, for the 

 amount depends entirely on the size of the bones. 

 They have been applied, in the rough state, to the 

 extent of 100 bushels per acre; but the average 

 quantity, of all sizes, is stated, in the Doncaster 

 Report, to be 39 bushels. When the smaller 

 bones are distinguished from the larger, they, how- 

 ever, seldom appear to exceed 30 bushels per acre, 

 and in many cases do not arrive at 20 : perhaps it 

 may be assumed, as the most general practice, 

 that half-inch bones are employed at the rate of 

 25 to 30, and dust at 20 bushels per acre; but a 

 distinction should be also drawn between the quan- 

 tity of those which are applied after being manu- 

 factured, and those which are laid on in a raw state. 

 The size of the pieces to which the bones should 

 be broken is also an object of some importance, as 

 the smaller they are the more prompt will be their 

 effect : on which, the following observation has 

 been made by one of the correspondents of the 

 Doncaster Association: "That if he meant to till 

 (or early profit, and if he wished to keep his land 

 in good heart, he would use halt-inch bones; and 

 in breaking these, he should prefer some remain- 

 inir considerably larger :" the reason assigned for 

 which is, " that by using bones of a large size, 

 with dust in them, there must be sufllcient of the 

 small particles of the dust to set the turnip crop for- 

 ward, and sufficient of the large particles of the 

 bone left to maintain the land in good condition for 

 the last crop." 



* Prize Essay of the Higliland Society, N. S., vol. i. 

 p. 74. 



* Quart. Jour, of Agric.,N. S., vol. iv. p. 839. 



t A very detailed description of one of these instru- 

 ments, along with an engraving, may be found in the 

 Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, N. S.vol. ii. p. 719. 

 Another machine for the same purpose, but with a 

 double hopper, for sowing two drills at one time, is al- 

 so described, together with a plate, in the Prize Essays 

 of the Highland Society of Scotland: N. S.. vol. ii. 

 p. 206. 



