170 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



"will, we doubt not, be generallj reached in all ex- 

 periments, with whatever crop, between perfect 

 and imperfect seed. There are many other re- 

 sults to be drawn from this paper, which we should 

 be glad to lay before our readers, could we con- 

 veniently do so. The public are under obligations 

 to Mr. Eastman for this elaborate and accurate ex- 

 periment, and we hope he may repeat it another 

 season. — Neio York Farmer. 



For the New England Farmer. 



MANURES. 



Messrs. Editors : — In the New England Farmer 

 for Feb. 9, which I received a few days ago, about 

 ten days after time, I perceive a query by J. R. "If 

 the manure, liquid and solid, produced by feeding 

 on the 'estover of an acre' would not return to 

 the ground, 'nearly the value it has given out,' 

 of mineral matter?" And after the query, the 

 wriier says, "I suppose that mineral substances, 

 as lime, silex, &c., are not digested in the stomach 

 of the animal, and that only a small amount of 

 them is taken into the circulation, but that they 

 pass off in the dejections, and may thus allha re- 

 turned to the soil, and the estover be used at the 

 same time as food for the stock." 



It was so manifest to me that your querist is 

 an expert in the animal physiology, of which I 

 have little knowledge, and that his query was not 

 proposed as seeking information, but as a modest 

 m.ode of conveying instruction, that I did not de- 

 sign to make an answer, which evidently was not 

 desired by him. But on reflection, I have thought 

 that if J. R. would state more fully his views in 

 the matter, in doing so he would not only correct 

 my erroneous idea, but would probably be giving 

 valuable instruction to other of your readers, and 

 therefore conclude to answer the query, by stating 

 what my view was. I take the succeeding clausQ 

 above quoted, as a part of the proposition implied 

 in the query, which is, that the dejections of the 

 cow produced by or resulting from the feeding of 

 a corn stalk will impart as much mineral matter 

 to the soil as the corn stalk itselfwould have done. 

 My answer is that I certainly did not, by any 

 means, suppose this to be the case. I considered 

 that when the cow had laid in her bone and milk 

 from the lime of the corn-stalk that it would be 

 sensibly diminished, and that the amount passed 

 off in the dejections would be much less than the 

 portion taken into the stomach in the corn stalk. 

 Further, I supposed also that a considerable por- 

 tion of the salts taken into the stomach with the 

 food, passed off in the perspirations of the animal, 

 while still another portion was deposited in the 

 blood and flesh. And further, I supposed that 

 some portion of what passed off in the dejections 

 would be dissolved and lost in the barn-yard, pass- 

 ing into the earth there, or into the atmosphere. 

 By these multiplied means of abstractions, I con- 

 sidered that much the largest portion of the min- 

 eral matters would be lost, and that the stable 

 matter, (the word was correctly printed as it was 

 written, and written as designed) produced from a 

 corn stalk fed to a cow would return to the ground 

 but a small part of the mineral matters which 

 were contained in the stalk itself. 



But you will please remind J. R. that the phrase 

 mineral matters was not used in the "Fireside 

 Talk." It was said "the ground receives back 



nearly the same value it has given out, and I think 

 more, in amount of yer/i/izino- matter, than in a 

 cord of stable' matter." My idea was this. That 

 a large portion, say seven or eight tenth parts of 

 the corn-stalk, consists of carbon and oxygen, 

 which by the decay of the stalk in the earth would 

 be set free and deposited in the earth in form of 

 carbonic acid, the great thing necessary for the 

 plant ; that another considerable portion consist- 

 ing of hydrogen and nitrogen, would in the same 

 manner impart ammcmia to the soil, both of which 

 it had taken up partly from the soil, (or would,) 

 and partly from the atmosphere. That the first 

 of these would be principally, if not wholly, and 

 the last partially lost in passing the stalk through 

 the cow. That the mineral matters constituted 

 only from one to two tenth parts of the stalk, and 

 that the greatest part of that would be lost, as 

 above explained. 



I have stated my ideas exactly and definitely, in 

 order that not only myself, but the public may 

 have the benefit of the correction of your corres- 

 pondent J. R. in full in relation to this matter, 

 and that my error may be wholly rectified. 



It seems to me that my farm must become to 

 me a mine of wealth, if I can pass the crop through 

 the cattle, and after that, from the dejections, re- 

 turn even all the mineral matter taken from it ; 

 but I desire also to know more exactly how this 

 is with all the remaining ingredients of the corn- 

 stalk, if any there are. b. 



BITS OP THOUGHT. 



To raise good cattle, a fiirm should be in such a 

 state that it would produce good corn, good cab- 

 bages, or good clover. 



An increase of farm products lessens the mar- 

 ket price, and the consumer is more benefited 

 than the producer. Therefore the encouragement 

 of agriculture is the interest of the whole people. 

 It is the first duty of States to encourage agricul- 

 tural improvement. 



The brightness of the plow-share will prove a 

 better security to our republican institutions than 

 all the windy patriotism of long speeches in Con- 

 gress. 



He who encourages young men in the pursuit of 

 agriculture is doing a good work for the morals of 

 society a hundred years hence. 



The lady who treats the husbandman with scorn, 

 because he is a farmer, contributes something to- 

 wards increasing the number of candidates for the 

 State pj'ison and the gallows. 



All the true honor or happiness there is in this 

 world follows labor. Were it not for working-men, 

 there could be no progress in either science or art. 

 Working-men are earth's true nobility. Those 

 who live without work are all paupers. 



For the community to honor one who spends 

 life in genteel idleness, is like dressing a hog in 

 silk stockings. 



Mirth and vanity are known like a bottle of 

 beer; but wisdom and virtue by their abundant 

 products for lasting good. It is not the most 

 show that does the most service. Still water of- 

 ten runs deep. a. g. c. 

 — Granite Fanner. 



