178 



NE\Y ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



STEEL DOUBLE PLOW. 



This plow has been well tested, aud is coming 

 into use very generally. We use it with satis* 

 faction, antl believe we can do our work easier, 

 cheaper, and better, with it, on smooth land, than 

 witli any other plow. "We take our description 

 from lUiggles, Nourso, Mason & Co.'s illustrated I 

 catalogue. The double plow is not a new imple-| 

 ment, as it has been usod in England for manyj 

 years; but these manufacturers have made im-i 

 portant improvements in it. I 



"The forward mould-! )oard is connected witli| 

 the beam, and its depth of furrow is adjusted asj 

 follows: A substantial iron llange is fastened to' 

 the under side of the plow-beam by two bolts jjass-! 

 ing up tlirough the Uange and tlie beam and made' 

 tight ou top by nuts and screws : the flange has' 

 two rows of slots in it to receive the bolts from! 

 the landside of tlie forward plow, and the l)olts 

 make the plow entirely and substantially fast to 

 the flange when their nuts are tightened; and by! 

 means of the slots in the flange, the forward plowj 

 is raised or lowered and made perfectly fiist and' 

 secure at any point wanted for the regulation of, 

 its depth of furrow, and any requisite depth may! 

 thus be secured to any degree of nicety. The for-j 

 ward mould-board turns the sod-furrow as widcj 

 as the working of the whole plow, and the earth j 

 on top assuming an arch-like shape, is naturally 

 opened, while the eSbrt of the rear mould- 

 board brings up the deeper soil, completely cover- 

 ing and filling the surface, so that the sod-furrow j 

 is in no case liable to be brought to the surface by 

 harrowing or other processes of after-cultivation,! 

 the surface of the furrows lies arching, the cohe-j 

 sion of the soil is neutralized, its integral parts' 

 are disunited, and the plowed land lies light! 

 and mellow, and almost as fine as if harrowed, — ■ 

 indeed, in some free soils rendering the use of the' 

 harrow quite unnecessary. Two other sizes of 

 the Double Plow are made by the manufticturers, 

 namely, Nos. 31 and .35, —No. 31 being a size 

 smaller, and No. 85 a size larger that the No. 33 

 above represented. These sizes afford a range of 

 work from 7 to 15 inches deep." 



FKRTiLizEns. — The official report of the Minister 

 of Finance of the Republic of Peru states that ac-j 

 cording to the recent measurement of scientific; 

 men the Chincha Islands now contain 10,401,4(30 

 tons of guano. Peru possesses also many other 

 guano_ deposits containing a very considerable 

 quantity, the measurement of which has been or- 

 dered l)y government. Largo deposits of guano 

 are also scattered about the Indian Archipelago, 

 and specimens of bats' guano have been sent to 

 England from Peuang. But a member of the 

 Chemical Society in London, Mr. Way, believing 

 that all these immense stores of agricultural 

 wealth must be exhausted in a few years, has 

 brought the subject before the Society. There are 

 at Farnham, in Surry, deposits of "soluble'or gel- 

 atinous silica," some eighty or one hundred feet 

 in thickness, and covering an area of several miles. 

 This silica, Mr. Way says, can be easily made to 

 combine with lime, forming silicate of lime, which 

 is very beneficial on light lands, inasmuch as it 

 prevents the over luxuriance of growing grain, 

 aod strengthens the straws. — Journal. 



UNITED STATES AGEICULTURAL 

 SOCIETY. 



The annual meeting of this society commenced 

 its session at Washington on the 22d of February; 

 l>ut owing to the unprecedented storm which had 

 delaj-ed the arrival of delegates, no business waa 

 transacted on the first day. 



THtRSDAY, Feb. 23. 



The Society was called to order at half-past ten 

 o'clock — Hon. Marshall P. AVilder, President,in 

 the chair — W. S. Ku^g, Recording Secretary. 

 About 100 members were present from 19 States. 



The President delivered his annual address,which 

 was referred to the executive committee for publi- 

 cation. 



On motion of Col. C. B. Calvert, of Maryland, 

 business committees of three were appointed, to 

 whom were referred the various sulyccts brought 

 before the meeting. 



A committee of one from each State was also 

 appointed to nominate officers. 



Prof. Mapes, of New Jersey, had several sub- 

 jects to present, if he knew the proper time to do 

 so. He had in his hand a head of wheat, part 

 wheat and part chess, whicli he wished to offer. 

 It was placed in his hands 1)y a farmer of Livonia, 

 Livingston county. New York. He had also a 

 new style of plow to bring to their notice. 



Mr. Dederrk, of Albany, New York, moved 

 that a committee of three members on tlie subject 

 of Agricultural Machinery be appointed, and to 

 report to the Society. He spoke at some length 

 in explanation of the great importance to the ag- 

 ricultural interest of being placed in j^osicssion of 

 the best implements for the prosecution of their 

 labors. The motion prevailed, aud Messrs. Ded- 

 erick, Musgrave,of Ohio, and Mapes, wore appoint-, 

 ed. 



Mr. Dentox Offutt, of Lexington, Kentucky, 

 moved the appointment of a committee on Animal 

 Physiology, and the general improvement in all 

 respects of domestic animals. It was a subject of 

 high importance. 



Mr. Calvert testified to the influence, to him 

 wonderful, whatever it was in itself, of Mr. Of- 

 futt's power over at least one animal, the horse. 

 He had been an eye witness to a scone at the 

 Maryland State Fair, which m;iy Ite m(;smerism, 

 j or magnetism, or what not; but Mr. Offutt re- 

 duced almost instantaneously a horse noted for 

 vicious propensities, to gentleness and tractability. 

 He warmly seconded the motion of ]Mr. Offutt. 



An invitation from Mr. Glover to the society 

 to visit his collection of models of fruits at the 

 Patent Office was then read. The invitation was 

 accepted, and a committee consisting of Messrs. 

 Worthington, Berckman, Wardor, IMunn and 

 Richards, was appointed to report upon tl;e same. 



The President then offered for (Consideration the 

 contents of two communications coiiiidentially 

 committed to him. One was from Mr. Joel 

 Hitchcock, of St. Lawrence county. New York, 

 on the subject of a remedy for the potato rot ; the 

 other on tlie subject of a remedy for the devastations 

 of thecwrci<//o on fruits,by some person whose name 

 did not transpire. The object of the parties seemed 

 to l)e to get their remedies to be tested l)y the so- 

 ciety through committees of the same, and reports 

 made at the meeting of next year. 



The question on the reference of these propo- 



