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CONDUCTED IIY ISAAC HILL. 



'Those who labor ih the earth auk the chosen people ok God, whuse hr easts he has m mje hi* pe< uli .e deposits fob substantial and genuine virtue." — Jqffbrsan. 



VOL. 10. NO. 9. 



BOSTON, MASS., SEPTEMBER 30, 1848. 



WHOLE NO. 117. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PIULISHKU BV 



JOHN MARSH, 



ISSUES ON THE LAST PAY OF EVERY MONTH, 



77 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 



iw '•nni.u. Agents. — John Marsh, 77 Washington St. 

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From the American Farmer. 

 "On the Economical Use of Bones as a ma- 

 nure, aud on their Solution in Sulphuric Acid." 



Our horticultural renders are, perhaps, even 

 more fully aware than most farmers of ihe value 

 of bones. Phosphide of lime is so essential an or- 

 ganic constituent in llie pear, aild some other 

 frm I trees, that no good orchardist or gardener 

 will henceforth he guilty of the extravagance of 

 wasting bones. 



The difficulty, however, hitherto experienced 

 hy many persons, lias been to bring the bones, 

 easily collected upon every farm and about every 

 slaughter bouse, to a lit condition for applying 10 

 the land. Jioue mills are only to be found here 

 and there; and in some parts of the country, the 

 cosl of transportation of bone-dust lias been so 

 considerable as to pul a stop to its use. For- 

 tunately, this difficulty has been overcome lately 

 by a cheap, simple, aud rapid mode of dissolving 

 bones hy sulphuric acid, now largely employed 

 by English agriculturists. The mode of effect- 

 ing ihis is so important to nine-tenths of our 

 readers, that we extract the formula from Pro- 

 fessor Johnston's essay : 



Methods adopted for increasing the sensible Effect 

 of Bones. 

 Without referring much to the effect which 

 bones might theoretically he expected to pro- 

 duce, it has been observed by practical men that 

 they may be made to act more quickly and more 

 beneficially by the adoption of certain previous 

 precautious, such as — 



1. Reducing them to fine powder. — I have al- 

 ready alluded to the fact ascertained by experi- 

 ence, that the liner the powder, the more imme- 

 diate and Ihe more sensible the effect of hones. 

 But practical men were afraid to venture loo far 

 in diminishing the weight of manure, added to 

 the soil. Hulk was considered 10 enter as an 

 element into the fertilizing capabilities of any 

 substance. Many leases even prohibit the addi- 

 tion of le.-s than sixteen or twenty bushels of 

 bones, when used alone in raising turnips. But 

 under the guidance of science, both tenants and 

 proprietors will, by and by, learn to estimate 

 more correctly what the crops really carry off 

 and what the soil therefore requires. Thus a 

 strictly scientific economy will he established, 

 and no more of any thing will be added to his 

 fields than the fanner knows and understands to 

 be necessary lo maintain theni in a state of per- 

 mai .■nt fertility. 



2. lintling tin bones. — In some districts their 

 action in hastening forward the young turnip, and 

 bringing it quickly intu rough leaf, where it is 

 safe from the attacks of the fly, is increased by 

 laying the bones in a heap, and covering them 



over with earth, for a week or ten days before 

 they are drilled into ihe land. Left in this state, 

 they heat, soften, and begin to change or decom- 

 pose; and thus, when laid in the drills near the 

 seed, they are ready to furnish nourishment to 

 Ihe young plant as soon as ihe roots first tin list 

 themselves downwards from ihe sprouting seeds. 



3. Fermenting them wilh dung, or the same de- 

 composition is effected and carried further by 

 mixing the bones wilh farm yard manure, and 

 leaving the mixture awhile to ferment. It was 

 the result of trials made by thirteen different 

 persons, and which are recorded in the Doncas- 

 ter report, that a given weight of bones, when 

 mixed and fermented with (arm yard manure, 

 invariably produced a more beneficial effect, 

 than the same weight of dry bone-dust, applied 

 to the same ctop and upon the same soil. 



The advantage which results from these seve- 

 ral methods, arises Irom the effects which they 

 produce, either in diminishing the mechanical 

 coherence of the particles of ihe bone, or in al- 

 tering by incipient decomposition, ihe chemical 

 state of the organic matter it contains. None of 

 them, however, sufficiently effect these objects, 

 though I do not doubt that fine bone-dust, fer- 

 mented for two or three months with farm yard 

 manure, and occasionally turned over, would be 

 brought into a condition more nearly approach- 

 ing to guano, iu its fertilizing virtue, than any 

 olher form of bones which lias hitherto been 

 gencralli/ employed. 



Decomposing and Dissolving Bones by means of 

 Sulphuric Acid. 



But another mode of preparing hones has re- 

 cently been introduced, and for two or three 

 years has been extensively employed as a part of 

 the ordinary husbandry, especially by some of 

 ihe Scottish farmers. This mode consists in de- 

 composing, and more or less dissolving bones in 

 sulphuric acid, (oil of vitriol). This may be 

 done in various wiiys, anil llie prepared bones 

 may either be applied in a liquid state with u 

 watering cart, or may he dried and sowed wilh 

 a drilling machine, or broadcast, like ordinary 

 bone or rape dust. 



a. The bones in llie form of bone-dust, or 

 where bone mills are not at hand, simply broken 

 in pieces with a hammer, may be put into a cast 

 iron, stone, earthen-ware, or strong wooden ves- 

 sel, mixed with half their weight of boiling wa- 

 ter, and iheii with half their weight of the strong 

 oil of vitriol of the shops, stirring constantly 

 while ihe latter is slowly poured in. A power- 

 ful boiling up takes place which gradually sub- 

 sides. 



By occasional stirring, the whole assumes the 

 appearance of a thick paste, the pieces of hone 

 gradually disappear, and after a week or ten days 

 the whole may be taken out and mixed with a 

 little charcoal powder, charred peat, saw dust or 

 tine dry earth, lo make it dry enough to pass 

 through the drill, and may ihus be immediately 

 applied to the land. It would, however, be bel- 

 ter to prepare the bones at least a month before 

 using them, and lay them up in a heap for a 

 while', with a view to their more perfect decom- 

 position. When the pieces of bone are large, 

 this is especially desirable, as otherwise they 

 will not be fully decomposed without a larger 

 addition both of water ami acid. 



/;. Or the acid and bones as above, may, after 

 a couple of days, be mixed with a quantity of 

 light, friable soil, and laid up into a heap for sev- 

 en or eight weeks with occasional turning; The 

 bones thus heated, decompose and dry up, so as 

 to he ready' for putting into the drills w ituil far- 

 ther preparation. This m< ihod, I 

 quires inert' acid, and it is not unusual, in em- 

 ploying it, to take equal weights of acid and 

 bones. It may be, some practical men, indeed, 

 employ invariably equal weights of acid and 



bones, while others are satisfied by mixing the 

 bones with one-third or even one-fourth of their 

 weight of acid. 1 would myself employ not less 

 than a half. 



c. Or equal weights of bones in the form of 

 dust, of boiling water and acid' may be mixed 

 together and occasionally stirred for a week or 

 ten days, aud when the particles of hone have 

 nearly disappeared, from 50 lo 100 times more 

 water may be added to ihe mixture, aud llie li- 

 quid thus diluted may be applied by a waler 

 cart. If it is lo be used upon grass land in the 

 spring, or to young corn, it will be safer to di- 

 lute it wilh 200 waters, but 50 waters (by weight) 

 will be enough if it is to be applied to turnip 

 diills. A common watering cart used for other 

 liquid manures, will serve lor the former pur- 

 pose — for applying it to the drills a very ingeni- 

 ous addition of tubes to this cart has been con- 

 trived by Mr. Wagstaff and employed hy him un- 

 der the direction of ihe Duke of Richmond at 

 Gordon castle. 



This method of applying llie bones in the li- 

 quid form, is, no doubt the most perfect, but it is 

 also the most troublesome and expensive, and 

 may not, therefore, come so soon into general 

 use, though it may ultimately prove the most 

 profitable. 



Instead of sulphuric acid, the muriatic acid or 

 spirits of salt, has been, indeed was first, tried 

 for the dissolution of hones, but the former 

 appears at present, for several reasons, to be 

 preferred. 



We will add to the foregoing, that a number 

 of experiments with dissolved hones were made 

 by the Highland Society of Scotland, the result 

 of which were : 



" 1. That four, and in some cases, even two 

 bushels of dissolved hones, will produce as 

 good a crop of turnips as sixteen or twenty 

 lui-liels applied in the usual form, [dry bone- 

 dust-]. The crops also start more quickly, and 

 grow more rapidly. 



"2. That the more complete llie slate of solu- 

 tion or subdivision of ihe bones, the greater the 

 effect. Hence, when applied iu the liquid state, 

 the benefit is most apparent." 



The Horticulturist remarks: Those who culti- 

 vate heavy compact soils, have no doubt been 

 quite disappointed in llie want of effect of bone 

 manure upon such soils, compared with their 

 admirable action on lighter and more porous 

 soils. Professor Johnston has suggested in the 

 billowing paragraphs, the cause of ibis want of 

 action on heavy soils, aud the remedy : 



10. Ought ant) olher substances to be mixed i 

 dissolved bones ? 



Bones are known to exercise a comparatively 

 feeble and uncertain action upon stiff and un- 

 drained clays, and it may, therefore, be reasona- 

 bly asked by some if llie. action of dissolved 

 bones will be more certain upon such soils than 

 the bones in their natural state ? We may, I 

 think, answer this in the affirmative, since Ihe 

 principal cause of ihe less conspicuous effect of 

 bones upon such soils is lo he feuud in their te- 

 nacity and coldness, by which the particles of 

 hones are shut out from the air, and their decom- 

 position is retarded. 



Bui, inasmuch as hones do not contain the 

 whole of llie substances which plants require, 

 and as some of those which are present in bones. 

 the sails of soda, for example, are iu small quan- 

 tity only, it may be reasonably asked again if the 

 dissolved bones would not he improved, and 

 their efficacy increased, and rendered more sure, 

 e ere ati addition of certain substances to be 

 made to lliein. Of this I think there can be lit- 

 tle doubt, though the necessity and nature of 



" A gallon of waler weighs 10 pounds, a gallon of acid 

 17 or 18 pounds. 



