VOL. XXI. If O. 38. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



301 



LIQUID MANURE. 

 At a meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 Great Dritain, a few weeks since, a gentleman 

 escnt, Mr Landor, strongly recomniended the 

 )re general tiso of liquid manure, a subject to 

 licli fanners had not given that attention which 

 deserved. They all knew that manure must be 

 duced, sooner or later, not only to a liquid state, 

 t to a st:ite far more subtile, before it could be 

 ien into the almost invisible fibres of seedling 

 ints ; and wherever a man lost the soakage of 

 ! farm, he lost half his manure. Ho was con- 

 iced that great improvements would yet be made 

 agriculture by practical experiments, and by 

 lling to their aid that greatest of sciences, chern- 



ry- 



The Earl of Talbot, who presided at the meet- 

 r, also made some remarks, going to show the 

 3at value of liquid manure. He said that he 

 da friend went on a sort of agricultural tour 

 ough the farms in Switzerland, in September, 

 this month, he saw turnips which were just 

 ning up, and were about the size of radishes. 

 ^ observed a man and woman and a donkey em- 

 'yed in applying liquid manure to this crop of 

 nips. The liquid manure was in a tub, and the 

 man had a kind of water-pot with which she la- 

 d it ; she made a circle in the earth around the 

 nts, and that was filled with this composition, 

 what it might. He asked the man whether it 

 uld be of any use. " Use !" replied the man, 

 • hy in three weeks it will make these turnips 

 size o( my two fists." He (the Earl) was quite 

 are that he should be told that the climate had 

 reat deal to do with it, and he admitted that it 

 I ; but still there was a crop of turnips upon that 

 d growing in September, which had been plant- 

 after a crop of wheat had been gathered ; and 

 thought, that with all the disadvantages in re- 

 d to climate, some plan might be adopted in 

 gland to multiply in some similar manner the 

 duco of the land."' 



PREMIUM CROPS. 



We copy from the Albany Cultivator, the follow- 

 staterrients of some of the successful competi- 

 for the premiums on crops, offered by the New 

 k State Agricultural Society : 



lA.v CoR.\ — ]st Preynium — 192 bushels per acre. 

 3n the "S-jd of .May, 1842, I plowed up one acre 

 green sward, for the purpose of planting it with 

 After plowing it once, I harrowed it well, 

 gthwise of the furrows. I then marked out the 

 und so that the rows and hills should stand pre- 

 DJy two feet apart either way. On the 25th of 

 same month, I planted it, and was careful to 

 precisely three kernels in each hill : when it 

 large enough, I hoed it, and continued to hoe 

 hree different times. No other tool was used 

 the process of cultivation, but the hoe — being 

 y careful to keep the weeds and grass down as 

 ch as possible, and in hoeing, to leave the ground 

 lear level as possible each time. 

 '. permitted the corn to stand until it was fit for 

 vesting, without cutting up or topping. 

 Between the lOtli and 15lh November, I began 

 lusk and weigh the said corn. I found the ag- 

 gate weight from the said acre, in the ear, 

 ^86 lbs., of a good quality. 

 About the first day of January, 1843, I thrashed 

 all the sound corn that grew on said acre, and 



measured it, and found that it fully hold out (JO lbs. 

 to the bushel, and it produced mo oiif hundred anil 

 twcnlytwo husliels of good merchantable corn. My 

 team and man were occupied one day in plowing 

 the said acre; half a day harrowing; two days la- 

 bor, planting ; si.v days labor, hoeing; and six do. 

 harvesting, threshing and weigiiing. Total expen- 

 ses, $14. 



SAM'L PHELPS. 

 Ira, Cayuga Cu. 



Oats. — Mr Phelps' Slalement. 



On the 10th dny of May, 1842, I had 30 loads of 

 manure drawn upon one acre of land, and spread 

 it evenly, or nearly so, and on the ICth day of the 

 same month, I plowed the acre well, and harrowed 

 it thoroughly, and sowed five bushels oats on said 

 acre, and dragged them in. The whole time of 

 plowing and harrowing, was two days ; two days 

 harvesting and securing said crop of oats, and four 

 days threshing, cleaning up, and measuring the 

 same : produce, one hundred and (wo bushels of first 

 quality merchantable oats. 



In the same field, I sowed one and a half acre to 

 oats, without manuring. I took full as much pains 

 in plowing, harrowing, and securing the grain from 

 this one and a half acre, as I did on the other acre. 

 I sowed on this piece, 4 1-2 bushels, and it pro- 

 duced me but 85 1-2 bushels ; clearly showing to 

 my mind, that the greatest benefits always arise 

 from a liberal use of manure, if put on the ground 

 in a proper state of fermentation, and especial care 

 taken to distribute it over the surface evenly. 



SAM'L PHELPS. 



Ira, Cayuga Co. 



Potatoes. — Mr Sheffer's Statement. 



The soil on which my crop of potatoes was 

 grown, is Genesee flats, a dark clay loam. The 

 land had lain to meadow, si.x years previous to the 

 potato crop, and about one ton of hay was cut per 

 acre. 35 loads of stable and yard manure was ap- 

 plied in April, which was made the previous win- 

 ter. The land was plowed once, the latter part of 

 May; then rolled, then harrowed thoroughly, then 

 furrowed 3 inches deep, and 3 1-2 feet apart into 

 rows, and planted the last days of May, and first 

 of June, 30 bushels of Rohan potatoes, cut so as 

 to average three eyes to a piece, and dropped in the 

 furrows one foot apart, and one piece of potato in 

 a place, after which they were covered with a hoe, 

 4 inches deep. They were hoed twice — the first 

 time a cultivator was used, and then followed with 

 a plow and hoe. The first hoeing was done when 

 the potatoes were about 3 inches high ; the second 

 time, when the potatoes were 12 inches high, by 

 plowing, and after hoeing. The crop was harvest- 

 ed the last of Sept. and first of Oct., by digging 

 in the usual way with a hoe. 



Quantity of land, 1 acre and 20 rods: produce, 

 451 bushels 28 lbs. Expense of crop, $34 14. 



Average yield per acre, on four acres, 401 bush- 

 els 10 lbs. GEO. SHEFFER. 



Wheatland, Monroe Co. 



RuTA Basas. — Mr M'ConnelPs Statement. 

 The soil on which my ruta bagas were grown, 

 was part sand and part clay ; — in potatoes the year 

 before. After the potatoes came off, I plowed the 

 land ; also twice in the spring, followed by suffi- 

 cient dragging and rolling. I then applied 24 



wagon loads of good manure from the barn-yard. 

 Seed sown I!»lh and 20th of May. 



Quantity of land, 1 acre : produce, 855 1-2 bush- 

 els : expenses, 24 2.5. 



JNO. M'CO NELL. 



Canandaigun, Dec. 1842. 



SNOW AS A FERTILIZER. 



March 17. — The abundance of snow on our 

 grounds for the last seven weeks, and the fall of 

 four or five inches more last night, brought In our 

 mind forcibly the old saying that "snow is the poor 

 man's manure." Is there any ground for this say- 

 ing .' The gentle manner in which the water 

 formed by dissolving snow enters the soil, doubt- 

 less leaves the surface of the soil lighter and more 

 pervious to air and light and warmth, than it would 

 be if the same quantity of water came upon it 

 with the pounding force of large rain-drops. The 

 usually more gradual descent of the snow water 

 into the earth, allows the soil to take and retain 

 more fully whatever the water contains that may 

 lie serviceable to vegetation. Snows and rain both 

 bring down the ammonia, and animal matters that 

 will make ammonia, that are floating in the atmos- 

 phere ; but what the rain thus collects it may car- 

 ry, as it descends rapidly into the soil, below the 

 reach of the plants; or, as it runs off, may carry 

 it to the brooks and rivers. But the snow collect- 

 ing this ammonia, holds it at the surface of the 

 soil until the snow dissolves, and being thus placed, 

 the ammonia may combine with the decayed vege- 

 table matter near the surface, and be kept there 

 even after the snow-waters have passed away. It 

 may be that falling snow gathers some ammonia 

 and holds it to the surface of the ground until 

 something there lays a firmer hold upon it and re- 

 tains it. This ammonia is highly important to ve- 

 getable growth. 



The atmosphere usually contains 21 per cent, 

 in bulk of oxygen and near 79 of nitrogen; but 

 the air in the snoiv is found to contain only 17 per 

 cent, of oxygen. The air in snow, therefore, has 

 more nitrogen than oommon air. It may be that 

 this air is peculiarly favorable to vegetation ; we, 

 however, know nothing about it. 



Probably there is reason for considering snow a 

 fertilizer, and more especially such snow as fol- 

 lows the warm weather of spring ; for at that time 

 the air will contain more than its usual quantity of 

 ammonia, because the carcasses of animals that 

 have died in any part of the winter, and the dung 

 that has been dropped, then first putrify and send 

 off their effluvia freely.— Ed. N. E. F. 



How Farmers can tell tphelher Ammonia is escap- 

 ing from a Dung-heap, even when they cannot smell 

 it. — Hold over the heap a feather dipped in vine- 

 gar, and if the ammonia is escaping, while fumtt 

 will immediately be perceived. 



If the fumes are seen, the heap wants a thin 

 coating of swamp mud, or soil, or some other sub- 

 stance that will hold the ammonia. — Ed. N. E. F. 



Fame. — If we would perpetuate our fame or re- 

 putation, we must do things worth writing, or write 

 things v/orth reading. 



Pastime. — He that follows his recreation in- 

 stead of his business, shall in a little time have no 

 business to follow. 



