268 



NEW ENGLAx\D FARMER, 



FEB. 23, 18^ 



MANURES. 



mosphere gradurilly destroys the distinguisliing 



The principal source of manure to the farmer prope'lic^ of bof' kinds. 



'i "■ u „„ ;- 1,-,^ =.,,.1- TliP ^ome animal manures, wlien new, contain 80 



remote fiom cities or villages, IS Ills «tocl>. i lie ' ', . 



rtmoit ■■ <- b , , . niuch ammonia a elrong alkali, as to injure vege- 



nnnual oiiRntitv made in tins way uopcnHs inucn in v , , . . u- 



annual m< ^ y f„„.,„,«„r^ „V,n<r nipins tables at first, until reduced by mixture or combi- 



savincr every I iiiig. Uooo tanncisaie using means . , , , , .i 



Having I. y „ nation Willi oilier substances, such as earth or wa- 



tig every 



to secure tlieir stable manure from the weather, 

 and to cart common earth and swamp muck into 

 their yards to absorb the juices. In Great liritain 

 the urine is estimated at ono third the value of all 

 the rest, or nearly so. 



For common farming purposes, a ton of unfer- 

 mentcd manure from the barn is probably worth 



about a dollar, applied to soil of medium quality; , ., • .■ ti r 



but applied to soil naturally good, but reduced by (--"lers choose to have their mamire partially fer- 

 croppiUitiswoithmore, and on rich land less ; ".ented before applying it ; others oppose that sys 



, '' , '^ ., . . .■ . ,1,^ .,„,,„ ^f ii.o tern ; both mcthoc a rciiuire some precautions, and 



the value being in proportion to the poverty ol tlie '■"="'1 •■ . , , . 



, .1 1 „.„ „f ;, profitab e practice depends on circumstances. 



and, and natural goodness ot it. \r 1 .' . i ■ _ 



Another source of some importance, often neg-1 Wheat and turnips require manure to be .n a 

 lected, is to have a quantity of earth, decomposing forward stale of decoinposition when sown. Pota- 



' ' ^ • . . . *AAa .^r. tUA r.nntrrtrtT At\ n/.t until I Q 1 «» in t ll n COH- 



gain taster than others coming frooi a. good fjM P 

 ture. 



The first cross of different breeds often does 1 

 — they are afterwards apt to incline to one sid^Hl'^f 

 the other, and sometimes degenerate. This i« 

 ticed in swine. Breeding from relationi alii 



wiiu uiljer suusLuiii:c;s, sui..(i uo caini wi "«- | i= i 



From this it is inferred that in its recent j lias a Undency to degenerate the species and i 



ter. 



state it should be applied only to crops that ripen 

 late, and in dry land be well covered with earth. 

 On sour peaty soil it may answer a good purpose 

 for any crop, by correcting the acidity. Tlie burn- 

 ing quality is soon dissipated on exposure to moist 

 air, or by mixing with damp earth. Some good 



der it worthless. A good general rule is, nevi 

 sell or kill the best, but reserve them for breej 

 — Farmirs' Monthly Visitor, 



From the Albany Cultivator. 



chips, or swamp muck, or any good absorbent plac- 

 ed where it may become saturated with suds, urine, 

 and dish-water. Compost of this kind is found to 

 be valuable. Hard-wood chip manure, more or 

 loss saturated, is proper lor a top-dressing to wet 

 mowing lands. Swamp muck is frequently of con- 

 siderable value, depending on the kind of timber 

 which contributed to the formation of the muck, 

 the chance for receiving wash from rich pasture 

 land, yards, &c. 



Hard- wood timber contains much of the ele- 

 ments of fertility ; soft wood comparatively little. 

 Hemlock, and white oak bark, and perhaps spruce 

 and tamarack, contains tannin, a substance which 

 is likely to injure lie value of any manure. Hence 

 the reason why swamps receiving their contents 

 from hard wood timber are best. Acidity is also a 

 cause of injury to the value of muck. The correc- 

 tive for tannin is to mix the muck with animal mat- 

 ters, such as stable manure, butchers' refuse, &c. 

 Fermenting a compost of muck and animal ma- 

 nures also corrects the acidity of the mud. Acidi- 

 ty is perhaps in general a greater evil than tannin. 

 A small quantity of nowly slacked lime, at tlio rate 

 of five per cent, of lime to ninetyfive of muck, 

 tlioroiighly mixed when first thrown from the 



toes, on the contrary, do not until late in the sea 

 son. Hence one Bystcm of rotation makes it ne- 

 cessary to have the manure fermented in the yard, 

 and another will do as well to have it applied in 

 its recent state. Manure loses much of its virtue 

 by exposure to the weather in the heat of the sea- 

 son. Properly covering it in the soil where it i-s 

 to remain, prevents this loss, if done in the spring. 

 When it is neither profitable nor practicable to 

 get the manure out in the spring, a covering- of 

 earth should be thrown over it to absorb the gases. 



The size of a breed of cattle may be increased 

 or diminislied in the course of several generations, 

 by attention to breeding. Any quality, good or 

 bad, is subject to tho same law. Food and treat- 

 ment are supposed to be sufficient in time to effect 

 a change, in the size and hardihood of the race. 

 Thus cattle, that for many generations are kept on 

 poor pasture, and exposed to a severe climate, are 

 thought to diminish in size and become more hardy. 



Very large animals will have to work hard to 

 obtain a sufficiency on short pasture, while small 

 ones would do it with comparative ease ; of course 

 one would become lean, while the other would fat- 



swamp, would probably correct the sourness. Too I ten. Hence the size of stock should be propor- 

 much lime would injure the value of the muck, in : tioned in some measure to the goodness of the 



THE VERMONT OAT CROP. 

 In our last yol., p. 192, we gave an account ( 

 crop of oats grown on four acres, by D. June, 

 of IJrandou, Vermont, which produced 588 etc 

 of I'J bundles each. It will be seen by the fol' 

 ing Utter from Mr June, that he has since thras 

 measured and weighed the oats, and that the 

 acres produced .'jl4 bushels and 20 quarts, b 

 an average of 128 bushels 21 quarts to the i 

 Who can equal, not to say beat this ? 



Brando."*, Vt, Jan. 22, 184 

 Messrs. Gaylord Sf Tucker — Having been 

 quested to communicate the result of my oat 

 and manner of cultivation, to your paper, as ii 

 an extensive circulation among the farming i 

 munity, I would stale that the land was pasi 

 several years previous ; in the season of 1 

 was plowed up in the sward, (the soil black mi 

 in the month of May, 1840, it was thoroughly t: 

 harrowed down smooth, then twenty loads of 

 manure spread to the acre, and plowed in 

 depth of four inches, and harrowed; tliea pli 

 to potatoes. In the spring of lfc'41, the land! 

 plowed once, four inches deep, which made it 

 light and mellow ; the 16lh of May, I sowe< 

 teen bushels of barley oats on the four acrei 

 reaped 588 stooks, of 12 bundles to the stook, 

 the four acres ; having thrashed and meai 

 them in the half bushel, (not by the stook or 

 tho result is 514 bushels 20 quarts, makio] 

 bushels 21 quarts to the acre, and weighing 

 to the bushel. DRANCES JUNj 



Tiif 



I Slur 



the same way that it does .barn manure, by absorb- feed. 



ing the carbon. A quantity of muck cart(^d into | 

 yards, answers a double purpose. It not only ab- 



The offspring are apt to partake largely of the 

 nature and qualities of their parents or grandsires 



sorbs juices, but also becomes decomposable, and i If any great extreme, either good or bad, exists in 



consequently more Tit for the food of plant*, after | both parents at tho same time, it is often transmit- 



deducting what is absorbed. ted with interest to the progeny. For example, in 



I'ond marl, when good, is likely to answer a England it was found that in breeding horses, if 



useful purpose ; on any dry land, especially where 

 the original growth of timber was soft wood, on 

 such land it is likely to do best applied in its raw 

 state without burning. But if intended for wet 

 peaty soil, it would probably do best to be convert- 

 ed into quick lime. 



Hard-wood ashes, for land "urn by cropping, or 

 natural to spruce, or other soft wood, are probably 

 worth more than the market price. Unfermented 

 manures applied last tho longest, but do not pro- 

 duce so much effect the first season. All manures 

 are subject to loss, if permitted to heat much, when 

 exposed to the air. 



Plaster of paris is said to be a good substance 

 to mix with manure; but lime is not, in many ca- 

 ses. Animal manures are alkaline, and vegetable 

 manures acid, in their nature. Hence the utility 

 of combining them. Long exposure to tho atmos- 



both parents were remarkably short or long in the 

 legs, the colts were often more so than either pa- 

 rent. The same reasoning may apply to any other 

 quality, ill other kinds of stock. 



The progeny is most apt to possess medium qual- 

 ities, when extreme points, in ono parent, are bal- 

 anced by opposite qualities in the other. That is, 

 the peculiarities of the parents should be exactly 

 the reverse of each other to produce a medium in 

 the offspring. But to increase any peculiarity that 

 is considered good and useful, it is necessary that 

 both parents should excel, and boalike in that par- 

 ticular point. The power of habit and good keep- 

 ing may sometimes be made to operate as aids, as 

 is the case with feeding and milking heifers to 

 make good cows. 



Young cattle raised on very poor pasture, and 

 afterwards taken to that which is good, are said to 



[From the same. J 



CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN. 

 Messrs. Gaylord Sf Tucker — I now propose 

 redeem my promise, made some time since, byj 

 ing you an account of my crop of corn, 

 were four acres in ilie field — one acre of Du 

 two do. of llrijwn, and one do. of China. Th« 

 lowing is the amount of each variety per acre! 



1. Dutton. — One acre jiroduccd 7,711 lbs. 

 100 lbs. ears, taken promiscuously, made 

 lbs. shelled corn — equal 3(il 1-2 lbs. shelled j 

 per acre, or 113 bushels 33 1-2 lbs. per acre. 



2. Brown Corn. — 7,300 lbs. of ears per 

 100 lbs. ears made 81 1-4 lbs. of shelled ca 

 equal 5,'.*'3\ 1-4 of slicllcd corn, making 105 1 

 els 51 1-4 lbs. per acre. There were two 

 of this variety in tho field ; I know of no differ 

 in it, but think one acre as good as the other. 



3. China Tree Corn — third crop, from seed 1)1 ' 

 taincd of William Thorburn, Esq., of Albany|i' 

 the spring of 1830. It produced 7,020 lbs. tli'' 

 per acre ; 100 lbs. ears made 7!) 1-2 lbs. 

 corn — c(iual .'i,.'>80 3-4 lbs. of shelled corn, ( 

 bnshelR ,3ii 3-4 lbs. per acre. 



The above crop of corn wes all raised inj 



