62 



NEW ENGLAND PARMER. 



Pek. 



absorbs the watery parts, prevents in a considera- 

 ble degree the escape of ammonia, and so mixes 

 the whole as to make it convenient to use, if the 

 long litter is not incorporated with it. The bed- 

 ding or litter should be kept by itself, ^nd decom- 

 position aided by throwing into a large heap, wet- 

 ting and overhauling, or perhaps by scattering 

 lime with it. 



Where there is no barn-cellar the muck may be 

 mixed with the manure as early as possible in the 

 spring, and frequently overhauled. 



A third method is to pile up the muck and mix 

 with lime, ashes, or guano. When guano is used, 

 let it be with the muck alone. When the muck 

 and lime only are used, Dundonald says, the ob- 

 ject is best attained by mixing newly-made and 

 completely-slacked lime, with about 5 or 6 times 

 its weight of muck which should be moderately 

 wet. By this mode of conducting the process, a 

 soluble saline matter will be produced, consisting 

 of phosphate and oxalate of ammonia, whi<5h will 

 be beneficial on most soils. 



Mud of any kind should not be plowed in when 

 Tccently dug ; it should be composted with lime 

 or putrescent manures, orKe exposed to a winter's 

 frost, which will destroy its tenacity, and reduce 

 it to a fine powder, that will serve as a valuable 

 absorbent of feculent matter and urine, or it may 

 be spread upon the field like ashes. But if it be 

 plowed into the soil, before it has undergone fer- 

 mentation by the action of salts, or has been mel- 

 lowed by frosts, it will remain in lumps in the 

 Qarth for yearg. without much a,vail. 



THS MILK BUSINESS. 



We give below a copy of the petition to be 

 presented to the Legislature as adopted at the 

 great Milk Convention, at Cochituate Hall, in 

 Boston, on Wednesday, the 26th Jan. In addition 

 to this notice copies of printed petitions will be 

 sent to gentlemen in various parts of the State. 

 It is to be hoped that the towns will hold organized 

 meetings, adopt the terms of the petition, sign them 

 numerously and return them to the Legislature, 

 or to the subscriber, who is one of the Committee 

 chosen to receive them. Simon Brown, 



Boston Jan. 26, 1853. 



To the Senate and House cf Representatives in 

 General Court assembled. 



Your petitioners respectfully represent tha.t the 

 Farmers of this Commonwealth are deeply interest 

 ed in the production and sale of 7nilk — that the 

 number of cows kept within our borders is about 

 150,000, producing annually, a quantity of milk, 

 valued, at the low rate of 3 cents per quart, and al 

 lowing 4 quarts per day to each cow, at the sum of 

 six millions five hundred and seventy thousand 

 dollars ayear — that milk for the markets, is gener 

 ally delivered by the producers in tin cans furnished 

 by the purchasers, said to contain a specified num 

 ber of quarts — that many of such purchasers still 



continue to use the "ale quart," which is not -recog- 

 nized by the statutes now in force, while others use 

 the wine quart, which is the measure prescribed by 

 law — that great inequality, injustice and fraud, 

 both to the producers and consumers, results from 

 such confusion of the standard of measure — the cans 

 vaj-ying from 8 1-4 to 8 3-4 quarts. 



Wherefore, they pray, that it may be prescribed 

 by law, under adequate penalties, that no cans shall 

 be used in the delivery or sale of milk, except such 

 as shall be legally sealed by the town or city sealer 

 of weights and measures, and marked with a figure 

 or figures denoting the capacity of such can in quarts 

 by wine measure — with a proper allowance, to be 

 by law prescribed, for the reduction of the bulk of 

 the milk in cooling. 



And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever 

 pray. 



Fc-r the New England Farmer. 

 ESPERIMENTS—EEE S. 



Mr. Editor: — Although an entire stranger, yet- 

 the fact that I am a subscriber and constant read- 

 er of your excellent paper, and that I am deeply 

 interested in the calhng which you so ably advo- 

 cate, is to me a sufficient apology for this uncere- 

 monious introduction. Living, as we do, in an age 

 which gives to tne preso an iuuuence so great a& 

 to be almost, if not quite, beyond onr comprehen- 

 sion, it is not strange that we should form a strong 

 attuCiiiiieiit to sucii papers as aGvocate principles' 

 and advance measures similar to our own. 



Being a lover of nature, and a deeply interested 

 observer of the various robes which she adorns her- 

 self with during the different seasons of the yeai'. 

 you may easily imagine with what unbounded 

 pleasure I peruse such articles as allude to this in- 

 teresting, instructive, and truly elevating subject. 

 The grey and gloomy aspect of winter, the green 

 of spring, with the aunshiise of suinmer, an5 the 

 golden tints of autumn, each, and all, tend to eL 

 evate and improve the mind, and ifrightlyreceivedi 

 gladden the heart and make man a truly happy be- 

 ing. 



As I peruse the articles of your correspondents 

 I often have reason to regret that farmers do not 

 conduct their farms in such manner as to secure 

 at the end of each year, a knowledge of the loss 

 and gain, not only of each experiment, but of each 

 farming operation. The satisfaction of this is 

 known only to those who have tried it. It is my 

 opinion that not one farmer in five knows how 

 much it costs him to raise a bushel of rye, corn, 

 wheat, or potatoes, nor in fact, any of his produce, 

 yet how important it is, not only to know how 

 much each costs, but how each can be producea 

 the cheapest, and at the same time keep his farm 

 in an improving condition. When an experiment 

 is tried, not one in twenty is conducted in a man- 

 ner best calculated to secure the desired result , 

 for example, a field of corn fertilized with a new 

 kind of manure, is no experiment unless a part of 

 the field is fertilized with a manure, iha fertilizing 

 (jualilies of which are fully known; yet how seldom 

 is this the case, and in fact how often is it the case 

 that the ivhole field is used for an experiment ; and 

 again when the results are laid before the public, 

 the field was manured with thirty loads, leaving 

 you to guess whether they were drawn by dogs, 

 horses or oxen. We ought to have the number of 

 cords, and the price per cord, then we shall haY6 

 something tangible, 



