NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



203 



the river always become perfectly tame, and the mo- 

 ment that he steps on the plank laid across the 

 ponds for the purpose of feeding the fish from, thej' 

 all flock round him, ready to dart at the food he puts 

 in. In some of the ponds he had put a number of 

 small eels, Aviiich soon grew in size, and became as 

 tame and familiar as the young salmon. As the cold 

 weather came on, the eels all disappeared, and he 

 supposed that they had managed to escape, led bj' 

 their instinct to take refuge in some deeper pools. 

 However, one fine spring day, when he had long 

 ceased to think of his slimy pets, he happened to 

 pass over one of the planks, when he was delighted 

 to see them all issue out from under the stones, ask- 

 ing for food, as if a day only, instead of many weelcs, 

 had passed since he last had fed them. Does not 

 this most clearly prove that eels lie dormant during 

 cold weather ? — Mr. St. JoJin's Tour in Sutherland- 

 sh ire. 



SPECIAL MANURES FOR RUTA-BAGA 

 TURNIPS. 



The result of the application of artificial manures 

 in increasing the average produce of ground, cannot 

 but be interesting to the agricultural community, 

 even though these experiments should not liave been 

 conducted on American soil ; and as every success- 

 ful result leads to the extended use of special ma- 

 nures, and in most cases to more economical farming, 

 I submit the following instance of what has been 

 accomplished in raising turnips by their means. 



Having been applied to, in the spring of 1814, by 

 the steward of Lord Charlcmont, to analyze a sam- 

 ple of soil from the estate lying two miles from 

 Dublin, and to point out how the soil might be 

 improved so as to grow Swedish (ruta-baga) turni; s 

 for a prize crop, I found, after examination, that 

 the soil was in good condition, having been manured 

 the summer previous, but that it was to a small ex- 

 tent destitute of potash salts and phosphate of lime 

 to the degree that a heavy crop would require to 

 find readily in the soil. On this account the follow- 

 ing manure was recommended : — 

 56 pounds pearlashes, 

 28 " nitrate of soda, 

 14 " coarse Epsom salts, 

 56 " bone dust, 

 to be mixed in with ditch scourings, road sweepings, 

 some burnt earth, and other refuse off the farm, so 

 as to make the compost sufficiently bulky ; the whole 

 to be laid on a statute acre. 



The object in \ising nitrate of soda was twofold. 

 First, it supplied the small quantity of soda found in 

 turnip ash, (ten pounds in every twenty tons,) and 

 then, the form in which it is added, containing, as it 

 does, nitrogen, (nitric acid,) rendered it peculiarly 

 serviceable in pushing on the early growth of the 

 turnip. The bone dust and pearlash were supplied 

 because the crop required them ; and the Epsom 

 salts, because it was desired to put in wheat imme- 

 diately after into the soil. 



The result of this manure more than equalled ex- 

 pectation ; their size was siiperior to any exhibited, 

 and they received the first prize from the Iloyal 

 Agricultural Society of Ireland, as well on that ac- 

 count as for the total yield, amounting to fifty-six 

 tons the English acre. 



The above-named manure cost about six dollars 

 per acre ; and whether we consider it in the way of 

 economy, or of an addition having a wonderful ef- 

 fect in stimulating vegetation, it recommends itself 

 strongly to notice. The wheat crop following was 

 one thii-d greater yield than usual, or more than a 

 portion of the ground unmanured did yield. As 

 this compost was applied to a soil in rather a good 

 state, with the object of forcing a great growth, 



there is no reason why the same special manure 

 might not be applied to all soils intended for swedes, 

 and where condition is not exhausted by neglect of 

 manuring. THOMAS ANTISELL. 



Laboratory of the American Aqricultural 

 Association, March 7, 1849. 

 — American AgriciiUurist. 



TRUE PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING. 



If persons engaged in this pursuit would only use 

 that sense which God has provided them with, and 

 which is generally styled co7n!non, the business would 

 be divested of a great deal of its mystery. Some peo- 

 ple will say that it is much easier to find out Avhat is 

 wrong than to say what is right ; and this is true to 

 a certain degree ; but regarding the cultivation of the 

 land, there are certain inviolable principles which 

 should always be kept in view ; and these I will en- 

 deavor to enumerate. The first that strikes nre is 

 the clearing of the ground : it is absurd to think of 

 trying to grow grain under trees in a wood, nor is it 

 sufficient to take away a part of them, — I mean, of 

 course, with the idea of perfection. For instance, 

 suppose you have fifty trees on an acre ; that is, 

 about one to every three square rods ; the soil capa- 

 ble of bearing fifty bushels of wheat, or one bushel 

 to each tree ; and suppose that you cut down forty- 

 nine of them, you will onlj' be able to grow forty- 

 nine bushels, instead of fifty ; the annual waste or 

 cost of that tree being the value of one bushel of 

 wheat, or whatever crop might have been on the 

 three rods of ground which that tree monopolized. 

 Therefore, if it is necessary to clear the land before 

 you can grow grain, it is reasonable and self-evident 

 that it should be entirely cleared, every fractional 

 part you leave doing injury in its degree. 



The next point to notice is the dryness or wetnesa 

 of the soil : see if the stagnant water is sufficiently 

 near the surface to do injury to the crops, even by 

 capillary attraction, which, science tells us, will raise 

 water four feet, and practice has shown that it must 

 not be nearer ; therefore, if the stagnant water be 

 nearer than four feet, drain it to that depth. It Ls 

 absurd to attempt to cultivate land against so power- 

 ful an enemy as water. Thirdly, we consider " the 

 pulverization of the soil." Ought it to be pulverized 

 at all ? To this question I think our common sense 

 will give an answer in the aflirmative, so that the 

 plant may more easily expand its roots to seek for 

 nourishment in the soil, which soil and which pul- 

 verization should extend as far as the roots of the 

 plant ; but is it common sense to think that five or 

 six inches only is the distance that the roots of plants 

 extend ? I will not take advantage of a few facts 

 that have been noticed of the immense depths that 

 roots descend, but merelj' appeal to common sense, 

 and ask whether it is not reasonable to suppose that 

 the roots beneath extend as far as the plants above 

 the soil ; and, if so, ought not the soil to be pulver- 

 ized to that extent, viz., about four feet r 



The first expense of this, I am aware, renders it 

 almost impracticable ; but this I cannot help. I 

 cannot alter the true principles of nature. I must 

 assert, with common sense, that the deeper you pul- 

 verize, the more you move in a right direction. 



W. G. G. 

 — Gard. Chronicle. 



Spare minutes are the gold dust of time ; and 

 Young Avas writing a true as well as a striking line, 

 when he affirmed that " sands make the mountain, 

 moments make the year." Of all the portions of 

 our life, the spare minutes are the most fruitful in 

 good or evil. They are gaps through which tempta- 

 tions find the easiest access to the garden. 



