98 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPT. «9. I^* I 



ilill " 



"In l.S'28, eight acres were sown willi turnip, 

 solely with bone dust; tlie soil, a light sandy loam; 

 the subsoil, gravel and sand, coining in some places 

 nearly to the surface, which is very irregular, but 

 in general has a south exposure. This field had 

 been broken up with a crop of oats in I8'27, after 

 liaving been depastured six years, principally by 

 sheep. 'I'lie i|uuiitily of bone dust applifid was tiO 

 bushels per acre, and cost 2s. Cid. per bushel, or '-il. 

 \0s. per acre. Tlie turnip crop was so heavy that, 

 notwithstanding the very light nature of the soil, it 

 was judged advisable to pull one third for the feed- 

 ing cattle, two drills pulled, and four left to be eat- 

 en on the ground by sheep. The following year, 

 16'i'J, these eight acres were sown with barley and 

 grass seeds ; and the produce was 57 bolls I bush- 

 el, or 7 bolls I bushel nearly per acre, of grain eciual 

 in quality to the best in the Dundee market, both 

 in wcii;ht and color. Next year, a fair cro|) of 

 hay for that description of land, was cut, about l.'JO 

 stones an acre; and thoush I uin now convinced 

 that the lield should rather have been depastured 

 tho first year, yet the pasture was better than it 

 had ever been known before, for the two following 

 seasons, lt^;Jl and ld;W. It is worthy of remark, 

 as a proof of the efficacy of the bone manure, that 

 in a small angle of this field, in which I had per- 

 mitted a cottager to plant potatoes, well dunged, 

 and which, after their removal, was included in one 

 of the llakings of sheep, and had (one might have 

 supposed) thereby had at least ecpjiil advantage 

 with the adjacent bone dust turnip land, both the 

 barley and grass crops were evidently inferior, and 

 this continued to be observable until the field was 

 again plowed up. A very bulky crop of oats has 

 been reaped this season, probably upwards of eight 

 bolls per acre, but no part of it is yet threshed." 



The Black Ciub and Cnlerpillars. 



An opinion has been sometimes entertained that 

 the black grub or caterpillar, which has for the last 

 two or three years been so destructive of the tur- 

 nip crop, has been introduced in the bones import- 

 ed from abroad for manure ; and many equally idle 

 and learned papers have appeared, to warn the far- 

 mer of the dangers he was incurring by their use. 

 A more absurd supposition, perhaps, was never en- 

 tertained ; for, saying nothing of the total absence 

 of every thing like proof of a single black grub 

 being discovered in an imported bone, all the accu- 

 rate experiments anj long experience of those wlio 

 liave used bones, render the supposition laughable. 



In the numerous experiments at which I have 

 assisted, it has been always found that the black 

 grub appeared equally numerous among the boned 

 and unboned turnips; that in those portions of the 

 field, or in the entire field, where bones were drill- 

 ed with the turnips, the grubs were not more nu- 

 merous than on those lands which were manured 

 with common manure, or drilled without any ma- 

 nure at all. 



Again, the very habits of this black grub betray 

 the fact that he is not of animal origin ; he livfs, 

 hn feeds upon, he is composed of vegetable matter. 

 Thu farmer well knows that the grub or caterpillar 

 which is bred on a cabbage or turni)), cannot sus- 

 tain life, nay cannot eat animal matters; It would 

 perish if placed on the most dainty bone. And on 

 the contrary, if a grub bred in a bone, is placed, 

 however cautiously or skilfully, on a turnip or cab- 

 bage, he dies of absolute starvation, for vegetable 

 matters arc not food fur liini ; his habits, his very 

 nature, make him revolt from the novel food pre- 

 sented to him 



And again — if he is really im])ortcd from Belgi- 

 um in the bones, he must be a regular salamander ; 

 for it has been clearly established that the turnip 

 fields which are manured with the refuse boiled 

 bones of the size and cart grease makers, have 

 been just as much covered with the black cater- 

 pillars as those which have been manured with 

 fresh bones. He can live, therefore, even in boiling 

 hot water. Or if become in the shape of caterpil- 

 lar eggs, then the believers in this absurd doctrine 

 must be convinced that caterpillar egjis can be 

 hatched even after they have been boiled fiir hours 

 in a temperature of 212"'. 



The If'hite Clovtr Seed. 



But grubs and black caterpillars are not the first 

 living substances which liave been supposed to 

 have been imported in the foreign bones. Thus 

 the Nottingham and Lincolnshire farmers, many 

 years since, found lliat by the use of bones, th(! 

 growth of white clover was surprisingly encourag- 

 ed ; and that, in fact, wherever a load of crushed 

 bones was spread, that in that place the clover 

 sprung up as if by magic. " They appeared,'' says 

 his Grace the Duke of Portland, in a letter with 

 which ho honored me in February, 1836, "so much 

 to encourage the growth of white clover, that I had 

 almost formed the opinion that it was superfluous to 

 sow the seed." 'J'he honest farmers of that fine 

 district, naturally hod many a learned cogitation 

 upon this strange yet regular appearance of the 

 white clover, wherever bones were applied; but 

 then they recollected that the bones came from the 

 very land of fine white clover seed ; and that the 

 seed must, therefore, as a natural consequence, 

 come hid in the bones. The Lancaslerian and 

 Cheshire farmers, however, did not fall into this 

 mistake, since they found that the white clover 

 sprung up just as copiously after the use of the 

 boiled bones, as upon the lands manured with those 

 in a fresh or green state. 



The chemical explanation will occur to every 

 scientific farmer. The while clover abounds in 

 phosphate of lime ; it cannot, therefore, grow vigo- 

 rously in soils which do not contain it. Bones 

 supply this necessary food or constituent ; and ena- 

 ble the white clover to contend successfully in the 

 turf with other and coarser grasses, and finally ex- 

 tirpate them. There are few soils in England 

 which do not contain the seeds of this plant ; il 

 has been noticed to spring up in the most unlikely 

 situations, even in London, nfler a fire ; and for 

 precisely the same reason — the ashes of wood 

 abound in phos|)liate of lime. 



Crushed Bones on Grasa Lands. 



The application of bones to gross lands, is very 

 common in Cheshire and Lancashire. I liave al- 

 ready noticed its elfect in the production of white 

 clover, a i)lii'iioinenon well known to the farmers in 

 the neighborhood of Manchester, who are also fully 

 aware of (he very considerably increased produce 

 of their grass lands by the application of the refuse 

 bones of the size makers. The quantity which 

 they employ is very large, varying from forlyfive 

 to eighty bushels per acre. The result, however, 

 is fully commensurate with the outlay, for they cal- 

 culate that the produce of llieir grass fields is near- 

 ly doubled by the application. 



I cannot give a better account of its application 

 for grass, than that very kindly communicated to 

 me in March, 18."5ti, by IJr. Stanley, th« present 

 Bishop of Norwich. 



"Bone dust has been used in Oieshire," said h 

 lordfhip, "as a manure, to a very considerable ex.'. 

 tent, for the last seven years, but partially for a * 

 much longer period. Formerly it was laid on pas. 

 lure ground only, and in large quantities, and in 

 large pieces, which rendered it very expensive, and' ^ 

 the advantage comparatively slow; but some pas- 

 tures that were bone-dusted twenty years ago, now " 

 show almost to a yard where this manure was ap. 

 plied. 



Bonos are now used on every description of soil 

 in this county, with the best results, provided thw 

 wet sands are first effectually drained. Somi 

 thousands of tons are annually consumed, and thi 

 demand is daily increasing. The quantity pi 

 statute acre varies ; but llie average may be, oi 

 pasture, from 30 to 40 cwt. of Manchester or cal 

 cined bone, or 90 cwt. of raw or ground bones 

 the statute acre. For turnips, from 20 to ;iO cw 

 of calcined bones. Of oats or barley (of this \ai\ 

 ter, however, the quantity grown in Cheshire i: 

 very trifling,) with clover and grass seeds, 'in to 

 .30 cwt. weight of calcined bones, or I ton of raw 

 or ground bones. Pasture ground should be well 

 scarified or harrowed previous to sowing the bones, 

 and immediately afterward rolled with a heavy rol- 

 ler, for turnips. The bones should be pound'.d, 

 or ground very small, and drilled in with the sted. 

 With spring corn rolled in with clover and seeds, 

 it should be here remarked, that raw bones particu>, 

 larly should be allowed to remain for some days in 

 heaps, to ferment, before they are applied, 'i'iicy 

 have been used for potatoes; but experienced per- 

 sons say they prefer dung. I am also inlbrincd, 

 though my informant slates his observations to be 

 limited, that on old meadows the result has not 

 been found to be so satisfactory as on pasture-. — 

 On clover, bones have a most extraordinary ell. ct. 

 On old pastures that have been boned, altiii.i,;;h 

 previously the clover was not to be seen, lu.xunant 

 crops have soon shown themselves. The bust 

 proof, indeed, of their beneficial effect, is the fact 

 that the farmers, six years ago, in this immediate 

 neighborhood, had so strong a prejudice nginnst 

 bones that it was with some difficulty they wcr- in- 

 duced to use them, although given by way ol re- 

 duction of rent ; but for the last three years, iliey 

 have been most anxious to obtain them, and are 

 now quite willing to be at half the expense. Tlie 

 rents have latterly well paid, and (here is ;,'oiid 

 reason for believing that it is in great measure nv. 

 ing to the advantage tlioy arc deriving f/oni the 

 boned land. On some estates in the connlv. tlio 

 proprietors have boned a considerable quantiiv of 

 the pasture land, the tenants willingly agiieiii ; to 

 pay, as an increased rent, (mm 8 to 10 per cent. ..n 

 the cost of bones. There is some difleniu r of 

 opinion as to the most advantageous sort of h iie« 

 for use, some preferring the dust to the ground 

 bones. The dust or calcined bones, are ;i/ per 

 ton, and the ground bones 7/. per ton. Fur itir- 

 nips, (he dust is generally preferred, as being nmre 

 immediate in its effects. On a very poor peut sjil, 

 about 3S cwt. of bone dust was applied to a statute 

 acre for Swedish turnips. The crop was a fair 

 average one. The turnips were carted off, and 

 the ground suwn with wheat, which produced im ar 

 25 mOBSures (of 7.5 lbs. per measure) to the slaiuie 

 acre. Oats succeeded with seed, principally red' 

 clover, a most excellent crop of oats ensuing. Tht 

 clover, also, proved a very heavy, full crop, nnd 

 was mown twice. No manure was applied for ihij 

 course, except the first set of bones for the lurinps. 



