THE GENESEE FAKxMER. 



55 



MUCK APPLIED UNMIXED TO THE SOIL. 



Edixoks Genesee Faemek : — Among the subjects 

 on \vliick you oJi'er preniiuius for short essays, you 

 ■CiiJl for one "detailing experhuents in the use of 

 muck apphed uauiixed to the soil" I have seen 

 ■nothing as yet in reply, and have been deterred 

 from ottering my own experience in the matter from 

 •tlie tVtct that I used toe little pains to test the exact 

 beuetit derived. But jou must judge v/hether the 

 follo\viiig is worthy of print. 



In the spring of 1855, I eame Lato .possession of 

 part of a farm — a lot of twenty-two acres — a nar- 

 row strip some twenty-three rods wide — three acres 

 •of loam on one end, then ten or twelve acres of 

 anarsh, the remainder heavy chiy. The loam had 

 been preUy hard run, and was partly plowed up in 

 ihe fail before my purchase. Barn-yard manure 

 was not ito be had, su 1 eoucluded to try muck upon 

 tlie laaiK, m counection with leached ashes. The 

 ■spring was late aiid very wet, but we dressed oue- 

 lialf the lot with muck from the marsli, about thirty 

 loads to tlie acre. On this was spread leached a^^hes 

 at the rate of tifteeu bushels -per acre. The whole 

 ^eld wa^; then plowed, and planted to corn. 



Tlie corn crop was of just about double value on 

 tlie part .to which the inuci^ was applicid. That was 

 in consideraWe degree due to the muck, I am well 

 «atistied ; but I have often wished I had left some 

 part without ashes, and taken pains to determine 

 tlie exact dilierence. 



The next spring we dressed the renvauaing acre 

 a^nd a half witli muck, about twenty loads .per acre, 

 >L)eing iii a hurry to plow for barley. Over this we 

 -spread twenty busliels of nnleached ashes — giving 

 bushels where we gave loads before. The barley 

 was sown too late to do well, from the fact that dry 

 weather came on soon after it came up, with but 

 very little rain until it ripened. The crop was 

 much tbe same -over -the whole field; and it was 

 ■observed in plowmg, that the soil wjls much mel- 

 lower where the muck had been applied. 



The past year, having been seeded to clover, it 

 -gave a fair croj,) of hay. I consider the muck to 

 have been of considerable value, and have since 

 Applied it in other cases where I have been inter- 

 •e«ted, with equally favorable results. 



I hope tliose .of your readers wlio have made use 

 of nuick as a manure, either composted or unmixcxl, 

 M'ill give us tlte results of their experience, b. f. 



Ajitestan Weli.s. — Some of your western cor- 

 Tospondents can no doubt fu-rnish the information 

 det^ired by Mr. Gaensey, as Artesian wells are be- 

 ■coming quite common in that section. The n-ame 

 "is derived from Artois, a eity in France, where the 

 system of boring for water was firet successfully 

 adopted. Many of the salt sprmg« in this and other 

 ■States hare been reached by Artesian wells ; and 

 ftll deep wells which must penetrate rocky'strata, 

 cnn be excavated most cheaplv by this method. 

 J. n. B.—Iloyaltofi, K Y. 



PiECEirr FOR For>rDER rNr Horses. — Take Jib. 

 ahMn, dissolve it in hot water, let it cool, then pour 

 it down the horse. Don't be afraid; it will cure. 

 If tiie horse is stitf, p-ut liis feet in hot water, one 

 at a time. I have saved several horses in this way. 

 A. B. C. — Crystal Lalce, McHenry Co,, IlL 



REFUSE LEATKER FOR MAITORE. 



"Tell us how to convert old leather into ma- 

 nure," says "G. C. L.," of Lynn, Pa. "It is rich 

 in ammonia; but how can that be made available?" 



Leather consists of oi-ganized fibrous gelatme, 

 combined with tannm, and probably also some 

 vegetable extract. Applied as manure, the gelatuie 

 and coagulated albumen it contains, are converted, 

 by gradual decomposition in moist earth, into am- 

 monia, which, together with other ingredients, is 

 of high nutritive value to vegetable growth. 



Browne, in his Field Booh of Manures, says 

 "the most economical method of using old and 

 refuse leather, is to chop it into small pieces, and 

 scatter ■uniformly over the ground, at the rate of 

 twenty to thirty bushels per acre, and plow it in. 

 Kept constantly covered with moist eartli, this 

 dressing continues to impart a fertilizing infiuence 

 for six or seven years. If desirable to expend its 

 virtue at once, the leather may be dissolved in 

 strong solutions of potash or sulphuric acid, and 

 adiiiinistered in the form of liquid manure ?" 



It is stated on competent authority, that old leather 

 will readily decompose if placed first where it absorbs 

 urine, as under the barn-sheds which shelter sheep 

 or cows, or in a heap of fresh horse manure. After 

 it becomes thwonglily saturated with urine, throw 

 it into a compost heap to ferment, and its decompo- 

 sition will soon take place. Ilair will soon decom- 

 pose if treated in the same way. It has been our 

 practice to throw the hair left after butchering hogs 

 into the barn-yard, and we have always found it 

 almost entirely decomposed by spring. 



Manures of this character are said, by Browne. 

 to be "applicable to nearly every variety of soil, 

 but appear to be best adapted to those that are 

 sandy, gravelly, or light." Probably the difterence 

 in etfect observed, is occasioned by defective drain- 

 age, as it is well known that the best manures can 

 not act with much force in a wet aad heavy soil. 



JoiivuAir-y, 1658. J. H. B. 



^ I ^ 



ANALYSES OF SOILS. 



Eds. Genesee Farmer: — ISTot being a practical 

 chemist, perhaps I should not speak upon this 

 subject- But I understand the views of farmers 

 upon it ; and though they may be in error, yet I 

 must believe that soil-analyses, in discovering what 

 maiuires are necessary upon certain soils, are of 

 \ery little practical benefit. No farmer with his 

 eyes open cultivates his farm for many years 

 ♦vithout a more thorough and useful analysis of his 

 soil by cropping it than he could make with the 

 crucible. The fact is, none but alluvial soils are 

 uniform enough to give even a guess at their value 

 througliout a field by analysis. The crop grown by 

 the farmer is his best and most reliable analysis of 

 the soil. If the berry is heavy and abundant, he 

 knows that the soil is filled with the proper con- 

 stituent elements. If the straw is very large, tmd 

 the grain light in weight and yield, he knows tliat 

 the soil is better adapted to grass than grain, with- 

 out a learned Professor to stand at his elbow and 

 announce tlie tact for a given sura of money. The 

 tanner also ho'ds to tlie opinion that costly manures 

 frequently specified by analysts as wanting, can not 

 be profitably added. Tlie farmer, as well as the 

 chemist, works for pay. jgs'O. santield. 



Old West, December, 1S07. 



