NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



205 



farming requires skill and experience, also industry 

 and economy, to make it piofitable; and liow can a 

 person succeed who does not possess these requi- 

 sites to success, and does not exert himself to ac- 

 quire them, for such there are; but \vc are happy 

 to say that such farmers are growing less and less 

 in number. The general spirit of improvement 

 tliat now pervades the land is arousing almost eve- 

 ry one to action. — Editor. 



ANALYSES OF THE PEACH TREE. 



Having observed in a late number of the Ohio 

 Cultivator an analysis of a seedling peach tree by 

 Prof E nmins, as well as my analysis of some 

 cultivated kinds, and there appearing to be consid- 

 erable dilferencc in comparing the two together, 

 which might induce with some persons not thor- 

 oughly conversant with such subjects an opinion 

 that there was some quackery in the case, I have 

 thought it necessary to present a comparison of the 

 two analyses in a different form, more intelligible. 



Prof. Emmons, it will be seen, has separately 

 analyzed the wood of limbs, bark of limbs, wood of 

 root, wood of trunk, and bark of trunk. But my 

 analysis was of the smaller limbs only. At the 

 same tiine, I chose the smaller limbs as most like- 

 ly to contain the largest proportion of the most rare 

 and valuable constituents, as the alkalies and phos- 

 phates. The plan of analyzing the different parts 

 of the tree throughout is no doubt preferable to 

 that of some part only, but an analysis of the whole 

 tree would answer every purpose. I have brought 

 the statements of both analyses into nearly the 

 same form, by rejecting the carbonic acid, as an 

 unimportant constituent of plants, as Prof. Em- 

 mons iias done from his, adding into one sum the 

 materials of one kind in every part of the plant: 



Analysis of Professor Emmons. 



Potash 10.69 



Soda 6.72 



Cliloride of Sod in in 1-25 



Sulplmric Acid 6.43 



Lime 31.27 



Mrignesia 6.28 



Plios. of I'erox Iron l.lo 



Pliospliiite of I, i me and Magnesia 23.72 



Organic matter 0.16 



Insoluble Silica and Charcoal .7.30 



99.96 



Analysis of B. Kirtland. 



Potash 16.11 



Soda 2. .57 



Chloride of Sodium 89 



Sulphuric Acid 1.70 



Lime 31.97 



Majinesia 9.06 



Phos. of Perox. Iron 2.80 



Phos|)hate of Lime 27.90 



Silica, Sand and Charcoal .5.98 



Per. of Manganese 1.02 



100.00 



1 think it is quite probable that the articles in 

 the above tables that are nearly related in their 

 qualities, as the potash and soda, lime and magne- 

 sia, iron and manganese, sulphuric acid and phos- 

 phoric acid, may fill the place of each other in the 

 composition of plants in cases where one or the 

 other may be deficient in the soil that supplies them 

 nutriment. Now the potash and soda added differ 

 but little in the two tables — the chloride of sodium 

 rather more — the sulphuric acid is more than three 

 times the amount in the statement of Prof. Em 

 mons of that of mine. Lime about the same. Mag- 



nesia one-half more in my account than in Prof. E.'s. 

 Phosphates of lime and magnesia not much differ- 

 ent, so of the silica and charcoal. Prof. E. found 

 five per cent, of organic matter, which 1 did not look 

 for, as there is no such an article mentioned in the 

 rules of analysis I have studied. I found one per cent 

 of manganese, which he did not. We took the 

 most distant extremes in our choice of subjects for 

 analysis. He selected a natural seedling tree of 

 the slowest growth, poorest fruit, and wildest na- 

 ture. I chose the most highly cultivated kinds, of 

 the finest quality, vigorous growth, in new land, a 

 chesnut ridge, limestone soil, well manured, young 

 trees of the highest vigor, good bearers of fruit ; 

 such trees, witii their large glossy leaves and bright 

 colored twigs, stocky growth, differ as much from 

 the slender growth, palecolor, and lusterless leaves 

 and twigs of the natural, as the wild savage of the 

 wood froin the most refined and cultivated person 

 in civilized life. So we may infer that, as the 

 natural and cultivated peach differ so much in their 

 external appearance and the excellence of their 

 fruit, so we will find as much difference in their 

 chemical constitution as our respective analyses 

 would indicate. Nature employs more of the alka- 

 lies and phosphates in perfecting the seeds of fruits 

 and grains than in their stalks. So likely in the 

 fine fruits more of these constituents are employed 

 than in the hardy wilding tree. 



BiLLius Kirtland. 

 Poland, Ohio, March 3. Ohio CuUivator. 



BREAKING COLTS. 



Mr. Editor:— I have concluded to furnish a few 

 thoughts for your excellent paper, upon tiie subject 

 of rearing and breaking young horses. I consider 

 raising horses as profitable to iarmers, in many por- 

 tions of this State, as any branch connected with 

 our agricultural interests. 



But the profit, in rearing horses, depends very 

 materially upon the manner of their training. In- 

 deed, many a noble animal has been spoiled, or 

 nearly so, by bad management in breaking. Often 

 the constitution is so broken, that the naturally 

 nettlesome creature is despoiled of all spirit or am- 

 bition. 



I would, in the first place, state that there is a 

 great fault among fiirmers generally, with regard 

 to keeping colts. They should never be suffered 

 to get poor, at least not imtil four years old. The 

 shape and form, as well as size, of many colts, are 

 materially impaired by poor keeping the first two 

 winters. If a colt is suffered to get down thin in 

 the winter, it will not only require the greater part 

 of summer to get him back where he was the fall 

 l)efore, but his head and limbs will grow large and 

 ill-shaped. 



The colt, at weaning, should be put into a field 

 where there is water, with a trough to feed grain; 

 and from that time until one year old, should have 

 grain every day. Many colts are spoiled during 

 the first three months after weaning. Taken from 

 the mare, fat, round and handsome, they are turned 

 where they have but little feed, less [water, and no 

 grain, and left to run until almost starved to death 

 —then kept the rest of the winter upon straw, 

 without shelter. In the spring they are loiusy, and 

 but just alive, and never so good care afterward 

 cannot make such colts what they would otherwise 

 have been. 



