THE GENESEE FARMER. 



67 



where blood may be fonnd in the human body, as a forked 

 stick or willow twig to where a stream of water exists 

 under the surface of the earth. 



I TAKE the liberty of troubling you with a few questions on what 

 I consider an important subject, — the relation of the ascending sap 

 of a plant to the substances that should be applied as fei tilizers. 

 Whether those elements of plants that are dissipated by burning, 

 are found in the ascending s;ip, and consefiuently are absorbed by 

 tlie roots ? since if this is the case, the ash is no guide to the de- 

 termination of what elements should be applied as manure, but 

 lather the sap. 



There are many experiments on record in which plants and 

 shrubs have been grown in boxes, and the earth weighed on first 

 planting, and asrain when its soil arrived at maturity, without any 

 apparent loss, from which it has been argued that plants derive 

 their whole support from air and water, with the inorganic moths 

 cont.ained in tlie latter. A careful analysis of the ascending sap of 

 a plant would show whether these elements are absorbed b^' the 

 roots, and in what quantities. Can you tell whether they are thus 

 absorbed at all, or how much_? 



The sap of a luxuriant plant in different stages of growth, would, 

 I think, show correctly what fertilizers should be applieii, as we 

 have here all the elements consumed by the plant, botli those ap- 

 plied to growth by aggeration, and those used to support the vital 

 functions of the plants. It may be that plants derive benefit from 

 aK'iorption through their leave.s, of gases eliminated by fertilizers 

 applied to the roots. 



Please give us whatever you may consider worthy of the subject, 

 in the pages of the Farmer. — G. Will.ikd. — Portland. 



Oxygen and hydrogen, which form about half the 



weight of the combustible part of all plants, enter the 



roots as water — the surplus of which evaporates from their 



leaves and other surfaces. The ascending sap of plants is 



water that contains a little carbon, nitrogen, and earthv 



salts in solution. These all exist in the soU, and some of 



them in the atmosphere. We will discuss this subject at 



length, soon. 



Is your July number, Mr. J. M. BRADBrRT, of Sparta, 0^ in- 

 quires if any one can inform him how to exterminate rats. Gold- 

 smith, in iiis Natural History, states that nnxvomica, or the 

 ^Juaker's button, as it is called here, was the best known poison at 

 that time, and :is it was harmless to cattle and horses, it should be 

 ground and mixed with meal. I have tried Ltox's pUls, of New 

 York, with some success, but they did not exterminate them. Has 

 the inquirer, or any of your numerous subscribers, tried the 

 English rat-cat<;her's recipe, published in David You.vg's Almanac 

 'or 1850 ? I have not tested it myself, but I have known them to 

 oe attracted by hundreds. This seems to have been known only bv 

 "cw ; but David Yocxg stated in his almanac that that was'the 

 genuine recipe. I saw the almanac at a neighbor" s, but did not copy 

 t at the time, and when I inquired for it in order to do so, it was 

 :om up. I have said this much in order to induce some of our 

 arming friends who have got this recipe, to pubUsh it to the wide 

 iforld, so that whoever is troubled with these vermin can prepare 

 t for themselves, and not depend upon impostei-s. This fall mv 

 ■on bought a small tin box of rat exterminating compound, of 

 jreat and fulminating power, to be put on bread, with melted but- 

 £V and sugar ; this would not poison them, but burst or bljic them 

 tp. They would not eat of it but very sparingly, so I think thev 

 ;scaped unhurt ; thus we are humbugged. 'I remember three of 

 iie ingredients wliich I have tried with arsenic, put on roasted pork 

 jr beef, and a little of the mixtures on the same, wliich are, oil of 

 rodium, oil of annis, and asafoetida. I should feel grateful to any 

 3f your numerous subscribers, if they would inform me through 

 the medium of the Farmer, what is the best remedy for pigs that 

 ire troubled with (its. I have known several, and have heard of 

 many others, some of which died in a few days, and others got 

 over them. — James Robi-vso-V. — LehanoiL, Jan. 5, 1854. 



JIeadow 'Willow. — I have a piece of dry, rich bottom land, that 

 is Bet in creek or meadow Willow, which I wish to clear up. Canst 

 thou or any of thy numerous readers inform me how to extirpate 

 ihem? I have tried grubbing them, but the roots that are left in 

 the ground will sprout again. The land is too subject to over- 

 flowing, or too low to plow. N. B. — By giving an answer to the 

 above query through thy columns, thou wilt obUge a subscriber. 

 i. M. W. 



Me. D. McMillan, Jr., of Oak Hill, Ohio, says : " My 

 time is principally devoted to the feeding of cattle, and I 

 am much in need of convenient and comfortable cattle 

 (talis for winter, so arranged as to save both the liquid and 



solid manure. If you can, without inconvenience, give 

 draft or description of a cattle shed, you will confer a great 

 favor." The latest improvement in cattle sheds, as dis- 

 tinguished from closed stables, consists in making a large 

 shelter over a yard, in which stock may either be turned 

 and kept loose, or tied up, according to their quiet habits 

 and manners. Their food is placed in stout bo.xes, to keep 

 it from under their feet ; whUe all their droppings being 

 under cover, are not leached by rains and melted snow, as in 

 open yards. If one has straw, com stalks, forest leaves, 

 or swamp muck to scatter over the covered vard, and 

 absorb all liquid and semi-liquid manure, the amount made 

 in winter, and ready for use in the spring, may be increased 

 fifty per cent. In mild climates, cattle stalls under open 

 sheds answer an excellent purpose. 



Mr. a. B. FtTLLEH, of Berea (O.), makes the following 

 interesting inquiry : " Whether there is any possibUitv of 

 injuring cattle by giving them cut com stalks ? In some 

 parts of this State, cattle have died apparently from no 

 other cause. Report says their intestines were literally 

 cut to pieces. I had thought of purchasing a cutter, but 

 my stalks are large, many of them twelve feet long, and 

 consequently thick and hard at the blltiS. I would like 

 you to express an opinion thrODgh the Farmer, in reference 

 to feeding Ohio corn stalks." We should not feed the 

 main stalk cut. unless steeped soft in boiling water. We 

 once fed fifty cows on cut com stalk (cut by horse power) 

 which were steeped several hours in boiling water, and 

 then mixed with wheat bran and shorts, or corn meal. 

 We liave at this time 25 acres of corn stalks lying on the 

 ground in heaps, to rot for manure — the leaves and husks, 

 or " shucks," being saved for forage. 



Our friend Elihu Hess, asks too many questions about 

 the wind-mill described by Prof. Kietla>.-d, the pump it 

 will operate, fish ponds, the analysis of clover, silica, (Sec, 

 to be likely to receive satisfactory answers. Water mav be 

 raised more than 2S feet by a wind-wheel sufficient to work 

 either a force pump, or one that lifts the column of water 

 above the valve in the piston rod. A fish pond should have 

 a more uniform supply of water than any wind power 

 would furnish. Mr. H. wishes to learn the size of the 

 saUs on the wheel described by Jlr. Kirtlaxp ; and if any 

 reader can give the information, we will gladly publish it. 

 " Silica" is the scientific name for pure flint sand, an ele- 

 ment that rarely needs to be applied to any soil, and if 

 attempted in this country would be likely to cost too much 

 for any profit. 



We cannot inform our correspondent in Washington 

 county, whether his " Grape Frame" is patentable or not. 

 That question can only be decided at the Patent Office. 

 We have uniformly declined being interested a patent 

 rights, that our writings may at all times be L-ee from any 

 taint of personal and private objects. 



Me. Charles White, of New Larmony, raises the 

 question as to the fact whether pumpkins tend to dry up 

 the milk of cows, when fed to them ? Some say they do ; 

 others, that they do not. Who can throw any light on this 

 matter ? * 



