764 Transactions of the American Institute. 



the vines and plow sliallow (the land previous to tUis having been 

 turned up) ; spread the vines. Tenth. Keep clean around the hills ; 

 rough farming, with some weeds or grass between the hills for vines 

 to cling to ; if they blow over the sets will come off. Where there is 

 no Bod, spread a heavy coat of long manure between the hills as 

 soon as planted. An incline plane preferred, because the water in 

 heavy rains will escape quickly. 



HoKN Dust as Corn Manure. 



Mr. J. H. Foster, KirkwoocI, Camden county, IST. J., a small fruit 

 culturist. — I notice that one of your correspondents has not succeeded 

 well in the use of " horn dust" on corn. I should think such horn dust 

 would be hard to adulterate, and at a loss to account for the result. 

 It is true he informs us that the horn dust and corn were dropped 

 in the hill together. I know of a whole field planted thus which 

 had to, be replanted ; but in this case no complaint is made of such 

 a result, only the lack of ears of corn. 



My experience with horn dust is such that at eighty dollars 

 per ton I would consider it the cheapest manure in the market. 

 Perhaps I should tell what horn dust is here. The factory is in 

 Camden, N. J. The horns are mostly " rams' horns," said to be 

 gathered in South America. At first, machinery was used to cut 

 the horns into small thin chips, but it was too costly a process of 

 reduction. 



The process now used is as follows : The horns are subjected, 

 while kept wet, to steam under pressure for several hours ; then 

 dried by fire heat ; and finally reduced by grinding. The steaming 

 and drying make them brittle. The grinding' reduces the horns to 

 pieces not larger than wheat grains, and much of it is finer. After 

 being steamed the horns are vqyj soft, almost like jelly. 



My experience was with half a ton. I had a piece of sandy soil 

 on which I had tried to grow corn fodder for winter use in '67. It 

 was sowed too thick in the row, about fifteen grains per foot being 

 used, and the fodder raised from one and one haM' to three feet high. 

 Rye was sowed after the fodder was cut off. It hardly paid for 

 cutting and shocking. By May 20, 1868, the rye was from six inches 

 to two feet high, and in head. It had been sowed with the intention 

 of plowing it under to aid in improving the soil, but there was little 

 to turn under. I sowed horn dust on the ground at the rate from 

 COO to 1,000 pounds per acre, i)utting more on the gravelly knolls 



