THE GENESEE FARMER. 



SALT As A MANUBE. 



Eds. Geneshb Farmer: — I some lime since received 

 a note from the Secretary of the State Agricultural 

 Society, B. P. Johson, requesting my experience in 

 tlie use of salt. With your permission, Messrs. 

 Editors, I will reply through the columns of your 

 valuable and widely circulated paper, and thus give 

 the farmers of the whole country the benefit of 

 my experience. The following is the note of the 

 Secretary: 



State Ag. Rooms, Albany, Aug. 2. 184!l. 

 iVr. ,Jo)m Park — Dear Sir : — I saw a notice in a Rochester 

 paper of your success in applying salt to your wheat. Will 

 you oblige me by informing me what is the difterence in the 

 crop prei)areil witli salt nnd that vvbich was treated in the 

 ordinary way — both as to the yield per acre, and the 

 qnalityof the prain. Respectfully yours, 



r.. P. Jon.vsorf, .SVy Slate Ag. Societij. 



Agriculture is, no doubt, the first and oldest art ; 

 for we road that Adam's eldest son was a tiller of the 

 ground ; and yet, through the lap.se of centuries, how 

 slow has been it.s improvement. It was not until 

 the Inst half century that it received any material 

 im; nlse by way of advancement. It is not enough 

 for a man to be a practical farmer; he should under- 

 stand something of astronomy and geology, and a 

 knowledge of chemistry is most essential. 



Perhaps in Great Britain farming is better under- 

 Et-iod than in any other part of Europe; and yet there it 

 is only in its infancy. I know of no nation more 

 worthy to be imitated, in many practical points of 

 rural economy; but, as the climate of the United 

 States is -so different, the same mode of farming will 

 not answer both. Great Britain being an island, 

 (and no part of it is 100 miles from the sea,) let the 

 wind blow from what point it will, it is a sea breeze, 

 subject to sea fogs, and a continual moist atmos- 

 phere, which is very fertilizing. Cattle in England 

 need no salt as in this country, and salt might not 

 benefit the land, but salt judiciously used here is a most 

 valuable mineral manure. I have been trying it 

 several years, and it answers my most sanguine 

 e.xpectatioiis. 



Saltas a manure has several advantages over barn- 

 yard manure — for the latter does not always get 

 sufficiently rotten to kill noxious weeds — and we 

 often get a better crop of red root, Canada thistles, 

 SiC, than is desirable. Second, the expense of 

 manuring with salt is not a fifth that of barn-yard 

 manure, which I calculate as follows: 



21 loads barn-yard manure, say $0,00 



'J ni( n, ]mtting on liround, 2 days each, at 68. . .1,00 



1 .'^pan horses and 2 wagons, 2 days 3,00=6,00 



1 barrel salt per acre 1.00 



Kipense of sowing C=:l,0(j 



$4,y4 

 III this hot, dry climate the ground is full of innu- 

 niemble quantities of visible and invisible insects, 

 some of which destroy the seed. These insects must 

 live on something, and some, no doubt, subsist on the 

 nutritious properties of the soil, and the manure laid 

 thereon, as it is well known that rich land and 

 gardens mostly abound with worms. Salt will 

 kill most of the.se, which of course puts a stop to 

 their living on the fat of the soil, and their small dead 

 carcasses will add something towards enriching the 

 land, wliich with the fertilizing properties of the salt 

 makes it in good condition to receive the seed. On 

 fallow, or before seeding, 1 consider salt of the 



greatest advantage. A small quantity, say one 

 bushel per acre, on wheat or meadow, sown in the 

 spring, before it begins to vegetate, will greatly 

 strengthen both. 



I now proceed to give an account of my experi- 

 ments. The first was on a small patch of corn 

 about a foot nigh. I took a little salt in my finger 

 and thumb and dropped on each hill; before many 

 hours the leaves began to flag, and in two or three 

 days they were all dead. I thought I had lo.st ray 

 crop and took no farther notice. About too weeks 

 after I was surprised to see ray corn up again, nearly 

 as high as before. It was evident there was not 

 a sufficient quantity to kill the seed. I also threw a 

 small quantity on a white thorn fence. It killed the 

 leaves, having the appearance of a blast. They came 

 no more out that season. 



I was not discouraged at my adventure, but know- 

 ing the effect of salt on the animal kingdom, and its 

 near approximation to the vegetable, I determined to 

 " try again."' Having a seven acre field that had 

 receives no manure for four years, and then only a 

 small quantity, 1 plowed it up the latter part of the ' 

 9lh month, 1847, for the next summer fallow. In the 

 5th month following, 1847, I plowed it again after 

 which I sowed seven barrels of salt, being a barrel 

 per acre, in two of which I mixed two pounds of 

 arsenic and sowed it in the middle of the field. I 

 could not perceive any advantage where the arsenic 

 was used, over the other part; all appeared alike. 

 My object in using it was to make sure work in 

 destroying the insects. Abont two weeks after I 

 dragged it both way-S and the beginning of the 7th 

 month plowed it again — kept the drag at work — 

 and about the middle of the 8th month I plowed it 

 the fourth and last time, (including the last fall's 

 plowing.) On the 1st and 2d of the 9th month I 

 sowed it with Soule Wheat, two bushels per acre. 

 It was a fine growing time; it came up luxuriantly. 

 Most of the blades were half an inch broad, and it 

 would have jointed had I not eaten it off with four 

 horses and two cows for three weeks, after which 

 I spread their dung. 



This was a novel mode of farming, and great 

 interest was manifested in the neighborhood to see 

 the result. Last winter was very unfavorable for 

 wheat — severe frosts and rains with little snow; but 

 it had good root-hold, and was well covered, which 

 prevented its being thrown out. The past spring 

 was backward, yet it looked W'ell the early part of 

 the 5th month. None was to be seen in the neigh- 

 borhood to equal it. I commenced cutting it on the 

 11th of the 7th month. Tlie heads were of a good 

 size, and the yield close upon forty bushels per acre. 

 The straw attracted particular notice, so beautifully 

 bright and white; whether from the effects of the salt 

 or not, I cannot say. 



The next experiment was as follows: In one 

 corner of an eight acre field was a complete swam[>, 

 of about an acre. Four years ago I commenced 

 plosving it up, and although I selected a dry time, 

 the horses sunk in uj) to their knees. My neighbors 

 thought it was labor lost. I dug an open dilch at 

 the low side and made very narrow chanals, ridged 

 and rounded them well up, and furrowed as deep as 

 the ditch \vo\ild allow. I tried turneps for (he first 

 crop, but from the insects and the hot dry weather 

 they came to naught. Next year I tried potatoes, 

 but with no better success — it was too wet. I tried 

 potatoes again, and managed to raise a few. Next 



