THE GENESEE FARMER. 



117 



positively injurious. Again, wliile hard timbered land 

 is not benefitted by burning the surface, land timbered 

 with Hemlock is worth very little for a number of 

 years unless the surface gets a good scorching. It is 

 known also that old logs and decaying timber favor 

 the accumulation of nitre in the soU. 



Waterford, Erie Co., Pa. J. R. Taylor. 



SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. 



Now that crops of all kinds are unusually valuable 

 to the producer, how to prepare bones for immediate 

 use and consumption by growing plants is a matter of 

 interest to thousands. We know of no better way, 

 where one can obtain oil of vitriol, than that described 

 below by TnoMAs Sim, of Libertytown, Md., iij the 

 Farm Journal: 



"In the preparation of the soluble phosphate of 

 lime, a state in which it always exists in nature, these 

 facts seem clearly as estabhshed: The first is, that 

 one-third of sulphuric acid, known as the oil of vitriol, 

 of proper specific gravity, is needed. The second 

 fact is, that this acid should be diluted with three 

 times its bulk of water, other^\•ise it will char and 

 not dissolve the bone. The third is, that the finer 

 bones are ground or crushed, the more readily and per- 

 fectly will the compound be found. These facts being- 

 settled, the lamented Nortox, Dr. Higgixs, our own 

 State Chemist, and some others, direct that acid, as 

 above diluted, should be added to the bones by de- 

 grees, agitating the mass frequently from ten days to 

 two weeks, at the expiration of which time the com- 

 pound would be ready for use. As tliis is a tedious 

 and laborious process, I have sought to supply its 

 place by another and less objectionable one, and have 

 succeeded in a manner which I shall now give, and 

 which, as you will see, is so simple as to be accessible 

 to aU. 



" I procure tubs of a capacity and number to suit 

 the amount of superphosphate I wish to prepare, 

 common meat tubs answering the purpose perfectly 

 well. Into these I place my bones, carefully moistening 

 them with water as I fill up the tulis, in which condi- 

 tion I permit them to remain twenty-four hours, at 

 the expiration of which time I find them heated to a 

 high degree, which facilitates the action of the acid 

 upon them. I now dilute the acid in a separate ves- 

 sel; and after the heat evolved by the unison of the 

 acid and water has subsided, I pour it, in small quan- 

 tities at a time, upon the bones, carefully stirring the 

 mass so as completely to mix the acid with the bones, 

 and continue to do so until all the acid is mixed with 

 the bones; after which I cover the tubs carefully, so 

 as to retain the heat. A thorough stirring and mix- 

 ing of the mass will be needed three or four times for 

 twenty-four or thirty-six hours, at the end of which 

 time the process is completed, and a better article 

 furnished than can be obtained by the method of 

 Professor Norton after full two weeks of care and 

 toil 



" At this stage of the process the superphosphate 

 is a pulpy mass of the consistence of soft soap, and 

 of course unfit 'to sow broadcast, or to be regularly 

 applied to the soil. To prepare it for this purpose, I 

 strew upon my barn floor saw-dust, diy mold, or well 



leached wood ashes, from two to three inches thick ; 

 upon this I spread the compound as evenly as I can, 

 then cover it with more of the same article used to 

 dry it, and proceed with fork and rake to mix up the 

 whole mass until it is intimately incorporated, when 

 it is fit at once to be put upon the land. 



" The superphosphate of lime is held by intelligent 

 and judicious farmers, both in Europe and America, 

 to be one of the most valualjle fertilizers, and when 

 suitably applied is capable of producing the most as- 

 tounding results. To the American farmer it is easily 

 accessible, and perfectly available, at comparatively 

 low cost. From my own experience in its use, I am 

 warranted in saying that it will repay its cost more 

 than three fold when judiciously used."' 



ARTIFICIAL BREEDING OF FISH. 



At a recent meeting of the Farmers' Club in New 

 York, the subject of the artificial breeding of, fish 

 was discussed, and facts of some interest were elicited. 

 It would seem that Mr. Jacobi, of Hanover, bred fish 

 forty years ago in vast quantities, particularly of sal- 

 mon, trout, and other fresh water fish. The connnon 

 carp was introduced into England in 1514. Its fa- 

 vorite residence is in slow and stagnant water; and it 

 unites rapidity of growth with longevity, and is very 

 fruitful. A single carp has been known to produce 

 342,144 eggs at one time. It is a hardy fish, and may 

 be imported alive, or its spawn may be put up and 

 transported in jars, as is practiced in similar cases by 

 the Chinese. 



We make the following extracts from a letter from 

 J. Gr. Adams, M. D., of Paris, on the artificial method 

 of breeding fish in France. He says: 



" The eggs selected have been those of trout and 

 salmon. They are brought in boxes from different 

 points, the eggs being laid in layers between the fresh 

 leaves. The boxes may be tight, and if kept in a 

 moderate temperature may in this way be transported 

 an immense distance, as some have Iteen from fifteen 

 to twenty days on the journey. There seems to be 

 nothing to jjrevent a system of international exchanges 

 of fish eggs, which shall be equally successful with 

 that established by that most excellent and distin- 

 guished man, Mr. Vattermare. 



'• The eggs after forty days are hatched, and the 

 young trout and salmon are seen swimming .about in 

 one part of the trough, while in a different part of it 

 the eggs are seen in diffferent stages of incubation. 

 Fishes of the size of eight and twelve inches in length 

 are exhibited in the laboratory at Paris. The pre- 

 liminary process consists in taking the female fish at 

 the proper season, and squeezing out with the hands 

 the ova at certain intervals into a glass basin. The 

 male fish is afterward treated in the same way, the 

 two fluids being mixed with a glass rod in the basin 

 until they acquire the consistence of skim-milk. In 

 breeding fish in lakes or ponds, a tin box perforated 

 with small holes is used to protect the eggs from being 

 devoured by other fishes." 



After the Secretary had finished, Mr. R. L. Pell, 

 of Pelham Farm, was called upon to speak on the 

 subject. He said: 



"Last summer I tried a very interesting experi- 



