864 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



ADVANTAGES OF PULVERIZING THE SOIL. 



The effects of ptilverization or stirring the soil 

 are numerous: 



1. It gives free scope to the roots of vegetables ; 

 and they become more fibrous in a loose than in a 

 hard soil, by which the mouths or pores become 

 more numerous, and such food as is in the soil has 

 a better chance of being sought after and taken up 

 by them. 



2. It admits the atmospheric air to the spongi- 

 oles of the roots — without which no plant can 

 make a healthy growth. 



3. It increases the capillary attraction or sponge- 

 like property of soils, by which their humidity is 

 rendered more uniform; and ia a hot season it 

 increases the deposit of dew, and admits it to the 

 roots. 



4. It increases the temperature of the soil in the 

 spring, by admitting the warm air and tepid rain. 



5. It increases the supply of organic food. The 

 atmosphere contains carbonic acid, ammonia, and 

 nitric acid, — all most powerful fertilizers and 

 solvents. A loose soU attracts and condenses them. 

 Raia and dew, also, contaia them. And when 

 these fertilizing gases are carried into the soil by 

 rain water, they are absorbed and retained by the 

 soil, for the use of plants. On the other hand, if 

 the soil is hard, the water runs off the surface, and 

 instead of leaving these gases in the soil, carries 

 off some of the best portions of the soil with it. 

 Thus, what might be a benefit becomes an injury. 



6. By means of pulverization, a portion of the 

 atmospheric air is buried in the soil, and it is sup- 

 posed that ammonia and nitric acid are formed by 

 the mutual decomposition of this air and the 

 moisture of the soil— heat also being evolved by the 

 changes. 



7. Pulverization of the surface of soils serves to 

 retain the moisture in the subsoil, and to prevent 

 it from being penetrated by heat from a warmer, 

 as well as from radiating its heat to a colder, atmos- 

 phere than itself. These effects are producwl by 

 the porosity of the pulverized stratum, which acts 

 as a mulch, especially on heavy soils. 



8. Pulverization, also, as the combined effect of 

 several of the preceding causes, accelerates the 

 dect)mpo8ition of the organic matter in the soil, 

 mnd the disintegration of the mineral matter ; and 

 thus prepares the inert matter of the soil for 

 a«similation by the plants. 



KERRY CATTLE. 



Sanford Howard, in his letters to the Boston 

 Cultivator^ speaking of his visit to Ireland, says : 



"I found these cattle even smaller than I had 

 supposed them to be, but evidently very useful in 

 that locality — living wliere no otlier cattle that I 

 have ever seen could live. In several instances I 

 met with them at elevations of fifteen hundred to 

 two thousand feet above the sen, sharing with the 

 goat, the wild herbage of the mountain's side. The 

 color varies from black to black and white, brindled, 

 and red; but clear black is preferred as indicating 

 the nearest affinity with the original type. I hardly 

 know how to estimate the weight of these cattle, 

 as they are so different from any others I liave been 

 acquainted with. The two-year-old heifers which 

 I bought for Mr. Austin — rather larger of their 

 age than the average of their breed — girthed from 

 four feet five inches to four feet six inches. They 

 are large-bodied in proportion to their height, their 

 legs being short and the shank btmes very small. 

 Their heads are generally handsome, and tlie coun- 

 tenance lively, but with a mild expression. Tlie 

 best of them are decidedly pretty. When taken to 

 the low country and supplied with plenty of nutri- 

 tious food, they become more bulky, but I had no 

 opportunity to see what would be the effect of 

 breeding them for several generations in a milder 

 climate and on better soil. As illustrating their 

 hardiness, I will mention an incident: A man led 

 me up a mountain glen to see a lot of three-year-old 

 heifers he had grazing there. It appeared a mys- 

 tery to me how the cattle could get around and 

 over tlie rough rocks and obtain a subsistence even 

 in summer. Having noticed that the man had sev- 

 eral stacks of hay down in the valley, where was 

 the rude habitation which he called his home, I 

 asked him if he was going to take Kerry cattle 

 there for the winter, lie replied — "No, the hay is 

 for the low -land cattle and ponies; the Kerries will 

 winter Avhere :hey are." I asked him if deep snows 

 did not fall in the mountains. He said they did, 

 sometimes; "but the snow generally softened after 

 a day or two ajid the cattle could icorl. through it.'''' 

 "I could not generally obl.iiu any definite state- 

 ments in regard to the yield of milk or butter of 

 these cows, but a reliable man who kept several 

 of this breed, near Killarney, told me he had often 

 liad them give ten imperial quarts of milk [ler day, 

 each, and then had a four-year-old cow, which I 

 saw, that had afforded six pounds of butter iu a 

 week. 



"I may hero mention, that the butter I have 

 eaten in this part of Ireland, both this season and 

 the last, is actually the best I ever tasted. I know 

 not whether the sujjerior quality is attributable to 

 the cows, the lierbage, or the mode of manufacture, 

 or all combined. The butter has a wide reputation, 

 and commands in London an extra price." 



SoMB seeds of the cork tree were sent by the 

 Patent Oftice to California, which were planted, 

 and about 75 per cent, have germinated and prom- 

 ise to become naturalized in that country. 



Flint well says: *■'■ Keep your coics in good e&ti- 

 ditioti, should be tlie motto of every farmer, posted 

 up over the barn door, and over the stalls, and 

 over the milk-room, and relocated to the boys 

 whenever there is any danger of forgetting it. 

 It is the great secret of success in dairying, and 

 the difference between success and failure turns 

 upon it." 



