19 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE. 



The various sciences that aid agriculture are com- 

 paratively new, and their application to this depart- 

 ment of industry is still more recent ; yet they have 

 already thrown much light on various subjects, and 

 have clearly explained what before seemed as mys- 

 teries, enabling the farmer to act understandingly, 

 by using the proper means to accomplish desirable 

 purposes. The following articles illustrate our 

 proposition : — 



Bone DisoiinEu in Cows. — Some years ago, in the 

 great dairy district of Cheshire, England, the cows 

 failed from a waste, or falling in of the bones ; and 

 able chemists were called on to explain the cause. 

 On analysis, they found that milk contained a quan- 

 tity of phosphate of lime, or bone earth, and that the 

 same substance formed a large portion of the mate- 

 rial of bones. They also discovered that old lands 

 became exhausted of phosphate of lime, and that 

 common stable manures did not sufficiently supply 

 the deficiency. A cow, fed on an acre of land, for 

 seventy-five years, would carry off, in her miUc, one 

 ton of phosphate of lime. 



As this material became exhausted, the land pro- 

 duced plants that contained but a small portion only ; 

 and that being appropriated mostly to the production 

 of milk, the animal had not a supply to repair the 

 natural waste of her bones ; hence she failed, having 

 what is now called the hone disorder. As a remedy, 

 bone meal and dissolved bones were given ; and as a 

 preventive, bone manure was applied to the land, 

 and then it produced plants for fodder that abounded 

 in phosphate of lime. With a renovation of the land, 

 the disease disappeared. 



Many farmers have seen their milch cows attempt- 

 ing to cat bones, without being aware of the cause ; 

 and since this subject has been better understood, 

 bone meal is kept at agricultural stores, as a medi- 

 cine for cows that feed on old lands and become 

 afflicted with the bone disorder. 



The English have become well skilled in this sub- 

 ject, and they import a vast anrount of bones from 

 the continent of Europe, even from the battle- 

 grounds ; and they also import largely from this 

 country, and from those very cities around which the 

 lands are old, and becoming barren for want of the 

 A'ery material for manure which is exported to for- 

 eign lands ; and only a few years since, some of the 

 produce of this manure was imported into this coun- 

 try, to supply a lack occasioned for want of intelli- 

 gence and energy in agricultural pursuits. But we 

 arc now leai-ning on this, as well as other subjects, 

 and improvements follow. When proper machinery 

 is in operation for grinding bones, or tlie process of 

 decomposition by acids and alkalies, this valuable 

 manure will be used exclusivelj' to enrich our own 

 lands, and aid in filling our own granaries, and keep- 

 ing our animals in healthy condition without resort 

 to medicines. 



The following analyses show that bones are com- 

 posed largel)' of the phosphate of lime, and that the 

 same ingredient is a component part of milk, and 



though but small, daily, it amounts to a large quan- 

 tity in the course of a year, as twenty gallons of 

 milk contain an ounce of phosphate of lime. 



Composition of Bodies. 



Organic animal matter, (gelatine,) .... 33| 



Phosphate of lime, 55^ 



Phosphate of magnesia, 3 



Carbonate of lime, 3| 



Soda and common salt, 3^ 



Chloride of calcium, 1 



100 

 Some analj-ses show thirty-eight parts of phosphate 

 of lime, and ten parts of carbonate of lime, in bones. 



Composition of Milk. 



Water 873 



Butter, 30 



Caseine, 48.20 



Milk sugar 43.90 



Phosphate of lime, 2.31 



" magnesia, .42 



" iron, .07 



Chloride of potassium, 1.44 



" sodium, ,24 



Soda in combination with caseine, ... .42 



1000 



Analysis of Indian Corn. — Dr. Playfair has 

 recently analyzed specimens of corn of American 

 growth, and finds its composition as follows : — 

 In 100 parts — 



Protein, (nutritive matter,) 7 



Fatty matter 5 



Starch, 76 



Water, 12 



100 



One pound of Indian meal will absorb five pints of 

 water, in making it into mush or pudding, and when 

 sufHciently boiled, the mush will weigh four and a 

 half pounds. 



It ^vill be seen fi'om this analysis, that corn con- 

 tains less protein, or nutritive matter, than wheat, 

 oats, or barley, but more than either rice or -j.otatoes. 

 It contains, in fact, thi'ce and a half times l,\j quan- 

 tity of nutritive matter that is found in potatoes, and 

 a very much larger quantity of starch, and less water. 

 It also possesses more fatty matter than any of those, 

 which is an important consideration, where the mere 

 fattening of animals is the object. It will bo thus 

 found, as an article of diet, both for man and beast, 

 siipcrior to potatoes, and rice, but inferior to wheat, 

 oats, and barley. — London Gard. Chronicle. 



* 



SECURITY OF CELLARS. 



This subject is often neglected. By saving a few- 

 dollars of labor, sometimes only a few dimes, hun- 

 dreds of dollars are lost by the freezing of roots, fruit, 

 &c. A few mild winters lull people into negligence ; 

 then comes a real freezer, and Jack Frost walks into 

 the cellar, and takes possession of every tender article. 

 In the spring, after a very cold winter, we often hear 

 of farmers losing two or three, and some five or six 

 hundred, bushels of potatoes. Sometimes the loss 

 would far more than pay for making a frost-tight 

 cellar, that would last for ages. The onlj' safe way 

 is to prepare for the worst, so as to defy the greatest 

 degree of cold that is wont to occur. 



