80 THE FARM. 



Combining Ashes and Bones—Doctor Nichols gives the following 

 exact figures of the quantities used in reducing bones with ashes: Break 

 one hundred pounds of bones into small fragments and pack them in a tight 

 cask or box with one hundred pounds of good wood ashes, which have been 

 previously mixed with twenty-five pounds of dry, water-slaked lime, and 

 twelve pounds of powdered sal soda. Twenty gallons of water will saturate 

 the mass, and more may be added as required. In two or three weeks the 

 bones will be soft enough to turn out on the barn floor and be mixed with 

 two bushels of good soil. We should prefer road dust to the soil. 



Fertilizers a Good Investment. — Farmers who have money at com- 

 mand cannot easily put it in a more profitable investment than judicious 

 outlay on their land. A careful use of good maniire repays the expenditure, 

 even during the course of many years, and draining wet land is estimated 

 to return from forty to eighty per cent, on the yearly cost. In the same way 

 good stock pays far better than poor; good fencing, well selected fruit trees, 

 carefully looked-after homesteads, all repay the money laid out, and, be- 

 sides all that, add immensely to the comfort of the occupier. 



Top-Oressing in Winter. — Some farmers think that top-dressing with 

 "manure is best done during the winter. In the fall the manure, unless very 

 fine and evenly spread, will cover up injuriously much of the plant. When 

 spread in winter, on the contrary, it acts as a mulch and a protection while 

 the plant is dormant, neutralizing the effects of freezing and thawing. Au 

 authority on the subject advises that artificial fertilizers be spread on grain 

 lands in the fall, and barnyard manure after the snow comes. 



A Good Garden Manure._The manure produced by sawdust when 

 ttsed as a bedding for horses, is said to be a better fertiUzer for certain gar- 

 den crops than any other. When mixed with the soil in which celery is 

 grown it is said to greatly benefit those plants. 



A Useful Hint. — Coal ashes, scattered on the stable floor, will absorb 

 the liquid manure, prevent the cattle from slipping and falling, afford a* 

 excellent addition to the pickings of poiiltry around the place, and can after- 

 wards be spread on the soil. 



Salt and Plaster on Iia-»vns. — A dressing of salt and plaster on newly 

 made lawns will result in great . lieueflt to the yoimg grass roots, making 

 them strong and hardy for wintering over. 



Bran as a Fertilizer. — It is said by those who have tried it, that bran 

 is as good as the best commercial fertihzers for potatoes and coriit ° nd much 

 cheapei. 



