VOL. XXl. NO. ao. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER, 



158 



The 3rd. Book " cntreatyins "f Cattpll," begins 

 [li tlic lior.'io, wliicli is niiniilely dcscribnd, the 

 iult of whicli i.s, Ihnt '' tlio hole body should lie 

 framed, as it bee hirsje, hyp, liiiely, spritcd and 

 II trussed. Home liorsenn'n would liavo their 

 rse liiiiiiied after the proporcion of divers beasts, 

 to have the head and h-^-g^ of a starrije, the eares 

 i tayle of a fox, the neck of a swanne, tlie brest 

 a Lion, the buttocks of n fcninyle and the feeto 

 an B.-se. His tayle would bee lonsre, bristly 

 I curled, the lenjrth whereof is not only a bean- 

 biil also a ijreat coinininodjiie lo hyni to beat 

 ly fl.os; yet some deliifhl lo have them curtail- 

 specially if they bee broad buttockt." 

 Jndrr the head of animals, tlie .Isse has his due 

 ire of uttcnlion, and the habits of the dandy beast 

 im not to have altered mueh since the days of 

 ancestors. His daintiness of the water, like 

 It of the feline tribe, has an ample cause assign- 

 '•She dare in no wise como nere it, no not to 

 |oh it with her foote, neither will she drinke in 

 stran_;" wiiter, whore she may goe and stand 

 foo'.c. Ill drinking, they scarcely touch the 

 er 'uth tlieir lippes, for feare of wetting their 

 dly cares, as is thought. Tiiey are troubled 

 1 fearful dreames in their sleepe — [we should 

 JO as much, from the infernal braying they fre- 

 itly make when waking up] — and delight to be 

 :cd in wide roomes." 



Of the /"crms oy orfn, our author says: "The 

 t coi.icly have these properties: large, well 

 and sciind lims, a long, a large and deepe 

 liodie, blacke horned, though in color there is 

 rcat matter." Varro's description is not bad 

 I modern ox : " Broad forehead, great eyed and 

 k, his ,,hawes to be large and wide, his lippes 

 'kish, his ears rough and hairy, his neck well 

 n-i! and thick, his dewlaps large and hanging 

 le ,1 his knees, his shoulders hrovid, his hide 

 '!(.. J and stubborn in feeling, his belly deep, his 

 well set and full of sinews and straight, rather 

 than long, the better to sustain the weight of 

 odi/, /,.';, Icnees straight and great, his feet one 

 'rom the other, not broad or laming in, but easi- 

 reading, the hair of all his body thick and short, 

 ail iong and big haired. 



inc is recommended for taming the steers, " and 

 ixen waxe sooner fatte by washing them with 

 1 water, and by cutting their skinnes and blow- 

 v;jide into their bellies with a reodo." Great 

 diness and care of working cattle is properly 

 ned, and a caution insisted on to remove the 

 sed animal from the herd, "lest he infect the 

 e flock, and you impute that to the wrath of 

 as many fooles doe, which happeneth through 

 owne beastlinesee."' Twenty pages are dc- 

 1 to the description and diseases of this useful 

 , though we opine our readers would thank us 

 for details of remedies as outre as then prac- 

 , and here we must conclude our present no- 

 jf our vt'iy pleasant and profitable colloquist, 

 the hope of renewing his acquaintance in our 



ties. — Of all the fine arts in a city, the grand- 

 i the art of forming noble specimens of human- 

 The costliest productions of genius are mean 

 ared with a wise and good human being. A 

 which slionld practically adopt the principle 

 MAN is worth more than wealth or show, would 

 ■ne the metropolis of the earth Channing. 



From the AUiaiiy Cuhivalor. 



BOMMER'S METHOD OF IVIAKING MA- 

 NUllE. 



We invito attentiim to the anne.ved Report of 

 Dr. Heck, on Boiii(iier',< Method of preparing Ma- 

 nure. From a carel'ul examiniitinn of the specifica- 

 tions and directions furnished us by Mr Bonimer, a,s 

 well as from a personal examination of the process, 

 from the forming of the heap to its opening, we 

 are convinced that the method must prove valuable, 

 and the manure so prepared of tlie best quality. 

 There are many farms on wliich immense quantities 

 of coarse grass, thistles, sedge, flags, and other 

 weeds, are annually grown, of which no use can 

 be profitably made — oil these, and with them the 

 large piles of straw whiL-li are heaped round many 

 barns to cause them to decay, may by this method 

 be expeditiously and cheaply converted into the 

 best of manure — the cost of the materials which 

 tlio fanner will have to purchase, being only from 

 fifteen to twenty cents per cord, and the labor only 

 such as is necessary to form a compost heap of any 

 kind. 



Report on Bommer\i Process of Making J'egetuble 

 Manure by Ftrmentalion. 



At the request of Mr Bommer, the undersigned 

 were pre.=ent on the 14th of September, at the pre- 

 paration of the materials used by him for making 

 the above manure. As Mr Bummer's process is 

 patented, it will of course not be expected that the 

 committee can go into details farther than what 

 he himself makes public. They have, however, 

 no hesitation in stating that the materials mention- 

 ed in his specification were all used ; that the ex- 

 periment was in every respect fairly made ; and 

 that the whole is evidently conducted on the most 

 approved chemical principles. 



Two heaps were prepared ; the first made of dry 

 materials, principally straw of various grains, and 

 probably weighing about 1000 lbs.; thesecond was 



composed of ligneous vegetables, dry and "reea 



such as cornstalks, potato stems, thistles, and vari- 

 ous other weeds. This weighed probably about 

 450 lbs. and was propped against the first heap. 



The following table was kept at the request of 

 the committee. It exhibits the degree of heat de- 

 veloped during the process of fermentation, ascer. 

 tained daily by immersing the bulb of a thermome- 

 ter in the centre of each heap. 



First Heap — Dry Straw. 



Dcfjrees. 



Sept. 15, at n o'clock P. M. 76 



" 16, at 7 o'clock A. M. 87 



" at () o'clock P. M. 90 



17, at 7 o'clock A. M. 9(5 



" ' at 6 o'clock P. M. 98 



" 18, at e o'clock A. M. 103 



" 19, at 5 o'clock P. M. 95 



" 20, at 7 o'clock A. M. 102 



" at G o'clock P. M. 107 



" ai, at 7 o'clock A. M. 113 



at fi o'clock P. M. 117 



" 22, at 7 o'clock A. M. 126 



" 2;^, at 10 o'clock A. M. 112 



" 24, at HI o'clock A. M. 123 



" 25, at 10 o'clock A. M. 1.S7 



" 26, nt 10 o'clock A. M. 152 



" 27, at 10 o'clock A. M. 116 



" 28, at 9 o'clock A. M. 122 



Second Heap — Green Stuff'. 



Sept. 16, at 6 o'clock P. M. 

 " J 7, at 7 o'clock A. M. 



at 6 



18, at 8 



19, at 5 



20, at 7 

 at 6 



o'clock P. M 

 o'clock A. M 

 o'cl„ck P. M, 

 o'clock A. M, 

 o'clock P. M. 



21, at 7 o'clock A. 

 at 6 o'clock P. 



22, at 7 o'clock A. 



23, at 10 o'clock A. 



Deprpcs. 

 80 

 109 

 127 

 1GI 

 13<) 

 152 

 161 

 173 

 178 

 184 

 142 

 1.57 

 182 

 201 

 138 

 146 



•' 24, at 10 o'clock A. M. 



" 25, at 10 o'clock A. M. 



" 26, at 10 o'clock A. M. 



" 27, at 10 o'clock A, M. 



" 28, at 9 o'clock A. M. 

 The fermentation was discontinued Sept. 28 

 when the heaps were opened for exhibition. The 

 committee examined them on the 8th of October, 

 and are quite satisfied that the result is a satisfac- 

 tory one. The heap formed of ItlOO lbs. dry straw- 

 was found to contain by measurement 225 solid 

 feet, or one cord and three quarters, estimated to 

 weigh 4000 lbs. The material furnished must 

 prove a valuable manure j and the more so, as it 

 employs many articles now worthless or deleterious. 

 In all matters of this nature, experience is of course 

 worth more than mere theory ; but it will be n mat- 

 ter of great disappointment if a process combining 

 as this does, an application of the most correct che- 

 mical principles, with the employment of the most 

 efficient agents, does not in due time become a fa- 

 vorite with the farmer. 



T. R. BECK, LVmn. 

 Mr Bommer states in his prospectus, that the 

 merit of his method essentially consists in the four 

 following important points : 



1. In being able to reduce in a short time, all 

 kinds of straw and ligneous weeds to a rich, unc- 

 tuous and durable manure, such as wheat straw, 

 barley, rye, buckwheat, and other black grains; 

 stalks of Indian corn, rice, and other plants ; dried 

 or green potato tops, leaves, stalks, and roots of all 

 kinds of plants ; green or dried reeds, green rush- 

 es, sea weeds, heather broom, stubble, in fact every 

 thing belonging to the vegetable kingdom, and a 

 great many other things lying about f^arms which 

 are often allowed to go to waste. f]ven the ground 

 itself may be converted into the best manure or 

 compost. 



2. In the combination or alliance of fecundating 

 substances, the use of which when separated would 

 not and could not produce the desired effect. 



3. In the production of a very considerable quan- 

 titji offactitious water, which, when combined with 

 other ingredients, forming lees, furnishes the far- 

 mer with a fertilizing liquid, the commixture of 

 which in either vegetable or mineral substances, 

 gives a manure of the richest kind. 



4. In the production of a quantity of nitrate of 

 lime and caustic potash; of ammonia and saltpetre 

 — four substances which modern chemistry has 

 found to contain the most fecundating properties 

 possible. 



J^ew England Outdone. — At a recent agricultu- 

 ral fair in Shelby county, Ky,, a pumpkin was ex- 

 hibited by Rev. D. T. Stuart, measuring six feet 

 eight inches in length, by six feet five inches itj 

 breadth, and weighing iCO lbs. W-h-e-u-g-h ! 



