?0 TtiS PaHM. 



acre,, it shouAd be done before plautiug or scediug, so as to be -vrell mixed 

 with the soil -when preparing it for the seed-bed. This, I believe, is the 

 most lasting of any kind of fertilizer, and one of the cheapest, too, when the 

 ashes can be obtained without costing more than 25 or 30 cents a bushel. 

 After -such an application of ashes, or other fertilizer, or manure, it is still 

 just as desirable as ever to plaster the corn growing on such fertilized land." 



Experience with Muck — A correspondent of the Country Oerdlemoi, 

 gives his experience with muck as follows: As the attention of farmers is 

 drawn to the necessity of enriching their farms, I will give the result of sev- 

 eral years' experience with muck. My practice has been as follows: In the 

 fall, when the muck beds are dry, I throw out into piles as much as I think 

 I need for the coming year. At some convenient time I draw a quantity near 

 the house, where I can throw on it the soap suds from washing, night soil, 

 scrapings from the hen hoiise, and leached or unleached ashes. I generally 

 commence this compost heap in the fall, but if any one would commence in 

 the spring he would make a much larger amount. 



In the spring I shovel over the pile once or twice; then it is ready for use. 

 This manure I use in the hill for all hoed crops, as phosphate is used. I 

 consider it far ahead of barnyard maniire in the hill, and equal to phos- 

 phates, for the nature of manure is to dry up, while the nature of muck is to 

 attract moisture. It is about one day's work for a man to put this into one 

 acre of corn or potatoes, putting a good handful in each hill. I have found 

 that this manure contains an alkali, or something, so that birds and crows 

 will not pull corn, and wire-worms Avill not eat the roots of com. White 

 grubs will not gnaw potatoes that are planted in it. It makes a com crop 

 ripen about one week or ten days earlier than without it. I have known 

 farmers to pay 50 cents a load for muck to make compost from to be used on 

 tobacco, and they thought it paid them well. 



I have noticed that the fii-st crop does not iise up all the strength of one 

 application. It can be seen in the next crop. It does not hurt seed corn or 

 potatoes to be dropped into this compost, they will grow better than in com- 

 mon earth. This compost heap has some advantages over phosphate. It 

 does not cost any money if one has a muck bed, and it will keep insects 

 away from the roots of crops. I have drawn and mixed barnyard manure 

 and muck in piles during the winter, in the proportion of two of manure to 

 one of muck, and I consider it better than raw manure from the yard for any 

 crop. 



"What a Pint of Manure Did. — A Wisconsin farmer sends this experi- 

 ence to ^e American AgriciiUurisi: "Last year, in hauling yard manure 

 across a field afterwards planted to corn, some of it scattered off in driblets, 

 from a handful to a pint or so in a place. When planting the corn, I found 

 portions of these droppings, and where noticed, drew them into the hills, 

 and with the hoe mixed them a little with the soil as the seed was dropped. 

 In three instances, where a large handful or about a pint of the manure was 

 thus put in, a stick was driven down to mark vhe hills. When hoeing, we 

 noticed that in these hills the corn plants had started off more vigorously, 

 were greener, and at the third hoeing they were six to twelve inches higher 

 than the other hills adjoining. Our curiosity being awakened, we followed 

 up the observations, and when gathering the crop each of the three stalks in 

 all the three hills had on it two large plump eare, while the surrounding 

 com did not average one good ear to the stalk. C 



" This set us to thinking and tiguring. That bit of manure bad given the 



