1»54, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



67 



cows, and then sepaVatinc the selected (;nes from Mr. Campbell made an experiment which he 

 the herd, soon despatched them. In less than an gayg -was conducted as follows; — 

 hour the wagons were sent but a small distance 



from the route to receive the choicest pieces *of the 

 buffalo. 



In the next two days' march the hunters were 

 kept some distance ahead, to koep off the buffa- 

 loes ; it was the only way the safe passage of the 

 train could be insured through this sea of flesh. 

 The pack mules and spare animals following on in 

 the train, too numerous to be separately led, were 

 hard to control ; and despite every precaution 

 and care, one horse and four mules were lost, tliey 

 getting mingled with a herd of ^buffaloes. Every 

 effort was made to reclaim them — hours 'spent in 

 their attempted recovery. The efforts were en- 

 tirely useless. 



WILL DRY GYPSUM ABSOKB AMMO 

 UIA? 



That is, will dry ground plaster, spread on the 

 manure heap, prevent the escape of its ammonia, 

 80 that on entering the stable where horses are 

 kept, or the barn cellar, where the droppings from 

 the leanto are collected, we shall not smell any 

 odor from them 1 



As these escaping gases are very valuable, and 

 as the amount of plaster now annually used for 

 this purpose, amounts to a heavy item of expendi- 

 ture in farm husbandry, the question is an impor- 

 tant one. 



That the planter so used upon manures will ab- 

 sort) the ammonia, the editor of the Maine Far- 

 mer says he "has always considered to bo the true 

 doctrine, he having sprinkled it on fermenting 

 heaps of horse manure, and thereby destroying the 

 dSor." He adds, "we have also scat-tered it in 

 and about privies, and neutralized the offensive 

 odors thereof, for a time, and without any fur 

 ttier examinatiun supposed the theory correct. ' ' 



On the other hand, the editor of the Rural 

 New-Yorker "denies that plaster will thus unite 

 T*lth ammonia, unless it be dissolved." To es- 

 tablish this theory he says a scientific farmer and 

 ■fffiter took some plaster and guano and rubbed 

 ihcm together in his hand, and upon applying it 

 to the nose, found that "instead of fixing the am- 

 monia, the pla8t(T aid(!d the decomposition of the 

 guano, and the ammonia was driven off with con- 

 iderable rapidity." 



The test was a simple one, but was it a fair 

 ono ? Could a sufficient quantity of plaster be 

 held in the hand to neutralize the odors of even a 

 single thim])lc-full of so concentrated and power- 

 ful a manure as guano ? ^Ye think not, and do 

 not consider such a test as settling the question. 



The editor of the Farmer, in support of his the- 

 ory, quotes the experiments of another practical 

 man, Professor Camimjetx, of North Carolina, "by 

 which it would seem that plaster in a dry state 

 docs actually absorb, or rather decompose, carbon- 

 ate of ammonia, while flying off from fermenting 

 manures. ' ' 



" A barrel was filled with fresh scrapings from 

 the stalls of horses. Over the manure, as throvkTi 

 in, a little ground plaster was sprinkled from 

 time to time. After the barrel had been compact- 

 ly filled, it was allowed to stand some weeks un- 

 til it had gone through the heating process which 

 always takes place when newly collected manure 

 is thrown into heaps. But during this heating or 

 fermentation (as it may with propriety be called,) 

 there was none of that 'vapor' or strong odor 

 which ordinarily arises from fermenting manure 

 heaps. When the mass had become cool, clean 

 rain water was pasfjed through it and collected 

 at the bottom of the barrel. This water was 

 found to contain one of the elements of plaster, 

 and one of the volatile substances (carbonate of 

 ammonia) above alluded to. On emptying the 

 barrel, a white powder, looking very much like 

 plaster, was found mingled with its contents. But 

 when tested, this powder was found to contain on- 

 ly one of the elements of plaster ; while it con- 

 tained also one element of the volatile carbonate 

 of ammonia just mentioned." 



We have great confidence in the theory of the 

 editor of the Farmer, and that confidence has 

 been gained by several years' practice of that the- 

 ory. When the horse-stalls have been ne"-lected, 

 and the odor arising from them has become ex- 

 ceedingly pungent, we apply the dry plaster, and, 

 presto, the stalls are sweet. And so of the cattle 

 stalls, the cess pools, the drains, and any other ol- 

 factory nuisance that comes in sight. 



This dry plaster, however, is never applied to 

 dry substances. When thrown upon the horse 

 and cattle stalls, the litter and the floor are wet • 

 if they were dry, there would probably bo no 

 odor. 'But who has dry piles of manure in these 

 days of inquiry and progress ? Certixinly not the 

 man who is in the habit of using plaster. The 

 dry heaps under the barn windows, rescmblino- 

 camera dung that has bleached an age on deserta 

 of sand, belong to men of (another age, who 

 laugh at you for expecting to find virtue in stones, 

 and look upon ammonia as a cabalistic word 

 Avhich, like Pandora's box, is filled with all man- 

 ner of evil. 



The theory of the editor of the Rural New- 

 Yorker, in this view of the case, may bo correct ■ 

 we do not believe, however, that it is necessary to 

 go to the trouble of loacliing the plaster, and 

 using the water thus impregnated with it. 



The bast mode of retaining the valuable proper- 

 tics of manures until they are wanted for use is 

 to apply to them daily, such portion of finely pul- 

 verized, old meadow muck as will take up the 

 juices so that none of them will leach out. This 

 muck is the cheapest, most accessible and conven- 

 ient, and at the same time ono of the most cam- 

 cious absorbents and best deodorizers at the com- 

 mand of the farmer. Try it in the filthiest pool 

 or on the most fragrant heap of offal you can 



