10 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



MANURES FOS GSASSES. 



Nearly all the experiments wliich have been 

 made witli artificial manures for grasses, indicate 

 that, like wheat, barley, oats, etc., the grasses 

 proper— such as timothy, rye-grass, etc. — require 

 a large amount of ammonia. In the park at Roth- 

 amstcd, which has been in grass tor a great num- 

 ber of years, and the crop frequently made into 

 liay and removed from the land, manures contain- 

 ing much ammonia were very beneficial on the 

 gra.sses, while those furnishing potash, soda, and 

 other inorganic substances, had the effect of caus- 

 ing clover and other leguminous plants to spring 

 up and flourish This ctfect was very marked, and 

 the result fully sustains the deductions made from 

 direct experiments on clover, wheat, barley, etc. 

 "We are warranted in concluding that clover and 

 other leguminous plants require a larger amount of 

 alkalies in the soil, than wheat and the grasses 

 generally, while the latter require manures rich in 

 ammonia. 



Some experiments recently made in Scotland, by 

 Thomas Fergcson, also favor this opinion. Land 

 recently seeded with rye-grass and clover, was top- 

 dres.sed with various fertilizei's. Those furnishing 

 a free supply of ammonia or nitric acid, increased 

 the rye-grass to such an extent " that the clover 

 plant was choked, and came up very thin in the 

 afterm.ath." One hundred and twelve lbs. of sul 

 l)hate of ammonia, costing $4,50, gave an increase 

 of 1,524 lbs. of hay per acre ; 224 lbs. of Peruvian 

 guano, costing $6, an increase of 1,260 lbs. ; 112 

 lb'', nitrate of soda, costing $5, an increase of 1,540 

 lbs. ; 280 lbs. of superphosphate of lime, costing $5, 

 an increase of 21)2 lbs. ; while sulphate and muriate 

 of potiish gave an increase of only 30 lbs. 



In another field, on a two-year old pasture, an 

 application of five dollars' worth of guano "at least 

 doubled the outlay in grass, as also the sulphate of 

 ammonia and nitrate of soda, all of which thickened 

 the grass plants, beside giving them a quick growth," 



IMPORTANCE OF COMFORT TO ANIMALS. 



T>KT nio touch a cord of compassion, my friend, 

 a.s I point to that poor .'shivering flock of sheep ex- 

 posed to the cold air this morning, as they have 

 been since breakfast. Pray turn tliem into the 

 barn, and give them something to pick over, at 

 lea.<«t, if not to eat, that they may drive aw.ny the 

 thooght and feeling of cold, which threatei'is to 

 Bh.ake them to pieces. I address every man who 

 leaves his sheep and cattle exposed to the weather 

 when it is, as it is now, below freezing, and espe- 

 cially when the wind is strong enough to open the 

 wool and stir t!ie hair of the cow.s. It is sufficient 

 lo say it makes them uncomfortable. No animal in 



this state for long and frequent periods was ever 

 known to make the most oi the food given it, or to 

 improve in flesh and fat and muscle. It is enough 

 for me to hear the cattle lowing in the barn, or see 

 them walking about the yard uneasily, or to feed 

 tliem irregularly, to satisfy myself that at the fol- 

 lowing milking the quantity will be less than usual, 

 or that the oxen when working will be restless and 

 disobedient, or weak and unwilling to haul their 

 load; and I always look here for tlie cause of the 

 evil. An interesting anecdote illustrating this fact, 

 may be found in the Farmer'^s Guide, where a great 

 diminution of milk was the result of irregular feed- 

 ing of a lot of cows in possession of the author. 



The piercing wind, and still, cutting cold, has a 

 no less disastrous effect. The quantity of food con- 

 sumed has been clearly proved to be nmch greater 

 tlian otherwise, and the profit derived from it at 

 the same time is found to be much less. If wan- 

 deriug about the yard causes shee]) and cattle to 

 eat more food to less advantage than when penned 

 up, who will deny that any additional demand upon 

 comfort, (juiet, animal heat and fat, is a source of 

 loss to the farmer? Yes, my friend, this little mat- 

 ter also demands your care. g. p. s. 



Byfleld, Mass., December, 1S5S. 



OIL-CAKE FOR COWS. 



Mr. Eu.jAn Wood, Jr., of Concord, who keeps 

 seventy cows, considers oil-cake one of the best 

 articles of food for them, even at $35 per ton, its 

 present price. Of so much importance does he 

 regard it, that he w'ould sell corn at a dollar a 

 bushel and purchase cake, to soine extent, for cow- 

 feed. He finds the cake of great utility in season- 

 ing and imparting a relish to coarse fodder — as bog 

 hay, straw, etc. The foddei" being cut and thrown 

 into a large trough, it is moistened, and the ground 

 cake mixed through it. After standing a few hours, 

 tlie odor of tlie cake is found to have penetrated 

 tlie entire mass, and the cattle eat it with avidity. 

 Mr. W. finds that no objectionable quality is im- 

 parted to the milk by feeding two quarts of the 

 ground cake to each cow daily. He prefers, how- 

 ever, that the cake should be mixed either with 

 shorts or shorts and corn meal, in about equal pro- 

 portions. The milk is sold for Boston market. 



From former experience in the use of oil-cake, 

 we agree with Mr. Wood in his estimate of its 

 value for milch cows. We have found that from c 

 pound to two pounds a day, to a cow, in the winter 

 season, made a very pvofitable increase of butter, 

 the quality of which was not inferior to that pro- 

 duced from any other food. But if the cake was 

 increased beyond this quantity, the quality of the 

 butter was sonu-times injured. Cake in modei-ate 

 quantities is highly favorable to the healtli of cows. 

 They show it by the smoothness of tlieir coats and 

 the suppleness of their limbs. It also greatly im- 

 proves the quality of the manure. English farmers 

 do not understand how it is that Americans can 

 ailord to export oil-cake. Neither do we. — JJ( s(<>n 

 Cultivator. 



To ri:EVEXT Turnips sprouting in warm Cet.- 

 i.APS IN Winter, cut off all the fibrous roots and a 

 portion of the tap root. The tops should also be 

 cut close. This will not prevent them from heat 

 ing and decaying, if placed in laige piles. — B 



