THE GEifESEE FARMER. 



335 



give them nearly as muck meal, or whatever dry 

 food is used, as they will eat, letting them obtain 

 the water they require from the roots. If this had 

 been done we believe the above experiments would 

 not have resulted so much m favor of uncooked 

 food. 



lETTEK PSOM JOHN JOHNSTON. 



Messes. Editors : — In speaking of my stalls and 

 teedmg boxes, you say I put ray cows in my stalls. 

 J do no such thing, except when they have calves 

 betore gi-ass comes. I may put them in while they 

 eat a little meal, to make tliem give plenty of milk 

 during summer. The meal in spring pavs well 

 My tatting cattle, for which I made the "stalls T 

 also only keep in while they eat their meal, being 

 satislied that either cows or fatting cattle do much 

 t>etter in yards with ample sheds and plenty of 

 straw tor clean, dry beds. I can not feed any kind 

 ^)t stock profitably unless they have clean, dry beds 

 Again, you say that I put straw in my boxes for 

 my cows. This is not so. No man ever saw me 

 ^eed straw to cattle— at least for the last twenty- 

 five years, if they choose, tiioy can eat the straw 

 spread out for litter, but I never compel them to 

 eat straw. I know cattle can be fetted on o-rain 

 xniid straw, but I don't think so profitably as part 

 gram and part hay, or part oil-cake and part hay 

 Grass is the natural food of sheep and cattle; and 

 hay niade trom grass, if properly made, puts on tat 

 even it very little else is fed. 



In Mr. Greeley's address at Connersville, Indi- 

 .ana under his 4th head, I tJiink he talks nonsense 

 tor that or this part of tlie country. Every farmer 

 surely, both there and here, knows that^his onlv 

 sure tertihzer is manure made from cattle, sheen 

 and horses. Manures of commerce will never p?y' 

 either in Indiana or here, in tins age; ot that I am 

 tully satisfied, by the best of all tests, practice 

 Men can wilh little expense tiy salt. I am sure it 

 prevents rust, at least in a great measure I ■vm 

 sure It brings the wheat some days earlier in ear 

 at least on my farm; df it does so on theirs, they 

 can hold to It. They can also try twenty bushels 

 ot hme to one-thii-d or one-half acre, and if it does 

 wel , tliey can hold to it; but manure made from 

 cattIe,_Bheep, and horses, answers a great good pur- 

 pose tor all land I ever saw, it dry, and no man 

 shou d ever till wet land. If science can learn us 

 tokiilthe mioge and grubs, it will be worth some- 

 thitag; but all that is wanted about fertilizers is 

 -tor tanners to do what they already know is ri<^]it 

 —teed their stock w-dl ; the stock will pay for 

 that, and the manure will be a large profit to them 

 Mr G. says " we want a science which shall ulti- 

 mately teach the farmer to huy or combine iu^t 

 such tertihzers as his particular soil needs " I say 

 -we neM no such science; we need something to 

 make farmers feed their stock better, keep them in 

 yards with good shelter during winter, and litter 

 enough to keep them clean; then apply the manure 

 to lis laud. Now every farmer knows that is the 

 right way to do, and if science can make them do 

 It, tJieii the eroi)s of grass and grain might be im- 

 mensely mcreased. There are millions and milii, >us 



tenth part that was even 14 years ago. That is 

 the science that will increase the crops, and noth- 

 ing else. You may talk science to a farmer for 50 

 years, and he will never mind you; but take a pair 

 ot horses aud a wagon, draw out for him a load of 

 good manure made from cattle or sheep, spread it 

 on the land in latter part of September, and wheth- 

 er he tills the field or lets it lie in grass, I will 

 guarantee that it will open his eyes to his own 

 interest and to the interest of that part of the coun- 

 try in which he resides, or nothing else will do it. 

 ^ear Geneva, JUT. Y., Oct, 5, 1S5S. JOHN JOHNSTON. 



P. S.— I sowed 300 bushels of salt on 60 acres of 

 wheat this fall. ^ j 



Remarks.— Our esteemed correspondent is dis- 

 posed to be hypercritical. Our object in the article 

 alluded to, was merely to describe his "cattle stalls'" 

 —not to give an account of his mode of feeding. 

 \Ye suppose the stalls are as useful for cows as for 

 oxen ; and the boxes will hold straw as well as 

 they win hold hay. We are glad, however, that in 

 correcting our mistakes, Mr. J, gives us a little of 

 his experience,— which is always valuable. 



In regard to Mr. GKEELEr's fourth proposition, 

 that farmers '^' need more science,''^ we do not think 

 he is very liir -svrong. It is true that chemists have 

 made pretentions which they can not sustain. It 

 is lamentably true that artificiar manures are too. 

 frequently worthless. But at the same time, we 

 must not assert that science can do nothing for 

 agricuitare; neither are we warranted in saying 

 that "manures of Commerce will never -pay:' It 

 may be quite true that they can not be profitably 

 ttsed at present, but this by no means proves that 

 they will 7iever be profitabk. If we had more 

 "sci>?ice"— which simply means knowledge — we 

 might be able to manviacture a manuro whidt 

 should be as valuable iiii, adjunct to barn-yard ma- 

 nure, as guano or superphosphate already is ta the 

 British farmer. Our correspondent uses salt on hi* 

 wheat with much benefit; but w/^y it is beneficial 

 he knows not— no one knows. Are we to be foa-^ 

 ever in darkness on this point, os on a hundred 

 others which might be named? We hope not. 

 That ''best of all tests, practjee," will throw little" 

 additional' light on this poiia.t. We most look tt> 

 science^ if we ever expect to understand the ration- 

 ale of agricultural practices.— [Eds. 



oi doliais worth of manure wasted in Ohio ev .jw 

 year, and not a little in this State, although not the 



What England Pats in One Year for Manure 

 -It IS estimated Umt England pays annuaiwjfee 

 h^dved milhons of dollars for manure-more than 

 the entire commoree of the country. The tS 

 value ot a year's crop has been reported to Pariia- 

 ment, some time ago, as being about three hpi rpd 

 millions of doli^rs-the cro? includ!^ the aSd 

 as wel as the vegetable. The turnip crop hi S 

 ostumated to b. worth fifteen h-^ied Imo^Z 



