For the New England Farmer. 

 OOE'S SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. 



Having heard and read a great deal about the 

 fertilizing properties of Coe's superphosphate of 

 lime, I determined last spring to make a trial of it 

 myself, and -will now give the result. 



I bought only one bag, containing 125 pounds, 

 which cost me three dollars, delivered at the farm. 

 The phosphate was applied to corn, potatoes, 

 squash and pumpkin vines, and cabbages. The 

 soil in which the corn was planted is a light loam, 

 of medium depth and quality. About fifteen ox- 

 loads of manure from the barn-j\ard — a large por- 

 tion of which was meadow muck, carted in the pre- 

 vious year — was applied to the acre after the land 

 was plowed, and thoroughly harrowed in. I will 

 here state what I have learned from a neighbor the 

 present year ; that tlie cultivator is a much better 

 nnplement than the harrow, for covering manure 

 spread on the furrow, for it not only covers better, 

 but leaves the ground much lighter. The land was 

 then very lightly furrowed both ways, and the corn 

 planted ; nothing being put into the liill except on 

 that portion where the phosphate was used, which 

 was about one-fourth part of the field. On this 

 portion of the field a table spoonful of phosphate 

 was dropped in the hill, and thoroughly mixed 

 with the soil, a pronged hoe being used for the 

 purpose. And here let me say that very many 

 farmers receive no benefit, but much injury, both 

 fi'om the phosphate and guano, simjjly because 

 they do not take pains to thoroughly mix these fer- 

 tilizers with the soil. They tlii-ow a handful into 

 the hiU, kick a little dirt over it, plant the corn on 

 the top, and expect it will grow and flourish in the 

 burning stimulant. The result is, that one-half, 

 or more, of the corn is burnt up, and the other 

 half receives such a powerful dose, that it resem- 

 bles, all through the season, a person who is al- 

 ways taking physic. At difterent places thi'ough 

 that part of the field where no phosphate Avas used, 

 and where the nature of the soil is as uniform as 

 possible, four rows Avere staked off', and the phos- 

 phate applied as above. Where the phosphate was 

 used, the corn came up a few days sooner, and un- 

 til it had nearly attained its full height, was more 

 than a weeks "growth lai'ger, besides being of a 

 much darker green than the other corn. The corn 

 also began to ripen about a week sooner where the 

 lime was appHed. 



In the hurry of harvesting, I did not ascertain 

 the difference in the yield of corn except in one 

 section of the field. Eight rows through the field — 

 four with the phosphate, and four without, side by 

 side — were reserved, and each of the four rows 

 husked out separately. The rows to wliich the 

 phosphate was applied, yielded six bushels, one 

 peck and a half of sound ears, and three pecks of 

 unsound ears. The four rows without the phos- 

 phate yielded six bushels and one peck of sound 

 ears, and one bushel of unsound ears. To make 

 the trifling difference plain, I will state it thus : 



With phosphate. . .6 bush. 3 half-pecks sound, % bush, unsound. 

 Witliout " ...6 " 2 " " " 1 " " 



So it seems there was only one half peck more of 

 sound ears of corn in the rows where the lime was 

 used, and one peck less of unsound ears ; or, with 

 the good and bad together, one-half peck moi^e 

 com in the rows without the phosphate. But the 



corn was riper, the ears longer, and the kernels 

 larger, where the artiflcial fertilizer was applied. 



I'erhaps if I had put another spoonful of phos- 

 phate to each hiU after the corn was up, the differ- 

 ence would have been greater, and more to the 

 credit of the lime ; but as it was, the tlifference 

 was very small compared with some of the cracking 

 stories which I have read concerning the astonish- 

 ing effects of tlris fertilizer. To have made the ex- 

 periment more exact, the corn should have been 

 shelled and weighed, but as it was not sufficiently 

 dry at the time of husking, I did not do it. 

 raise the eight rowed corn, and a bushel of ears 

 will make a large half bushel of shelled corn. 



Perhaps it may be well to mention that a hand- 

 ful of wood ashes were applied to every hill of corn 

 as soon as it was out of the ground, with the ex- 

 ception of seven rows tlu-ough the centre of the 

 field, and where no phosphate had been used. As 

 the corn increased in height, these seven rows 

 looked like a valley through the field, or like 

 Pharaoh's lean kine ; the corn in these rows being 

 very small, and of a light green or yellow color. 

 In the rows next to these, where the ashes had 

 been used, the corn was twice as large, and of a 

 much darker green ; and next beyond these, where 

 the phosphate was applied, the corn was twice as 

 large as it was Avliere the ashes had been used sep- 

 arately. This proves that ashes, although not so 

 powerful as the phosphate, yet are of great value 

 to the former, if he appKes them at the right time. 

 The ashes in tins instance were applied immediate- 

 ly after a soaldng rain ; and tliis, in my opinion, is 

 the best time to make use of them. At the second 

 hoeing, the ground being quite dry, the same quan- 

 tity of ashes Avere put on to each liill in the seven 

 roAvs, Avliich had been used in the other part of the 

 field ; but although it rained soon after, yet the 

 ashes did not seem to have the least effect upon 

 the corn, Avhich continued to have the same sickly 

 or starved appearance through the Avhole summer 

 — the corn being very Ught at harvesting. 



As nearly all the phosphate Avhich I bought was 

 used upon the corn, I tried it upon only one row 

 of potatoes. A table spoonful was applied to each 

 hill, no manure being used. On each side of this 

 roAV, the potatoes Avere planted in the usual man- 

 ner, Avith one shovelful of manure to the hill. Dur- 

 ing the first part of the season, the potatoes plant- 

 ed in the phosphate Avere larger, and of a darker 

 green, than the plants on each side, but finally 

 Avere outgroAvn by the potatoes planted in the ma- 

 nure. Wlien the potatoes Avere harvested, the re- 

 sult was the foUoAving, from tAvo roAvs, each con- 

 taining the same number of hiUs. 



Row with phosphate \% bush, potatoes. 



Row without phosphate '2f^ " " 



It seems that there was about a third more pota- 

 toes in the roAv Avhich Avas manured, and they Avere 

 larger ; but I have no doubt that had the manure 

 and phosphate been used together, the peld of po- 

 tatoes Avould have been greater than Avhere the 

 manure Avas applied separately. The phosphate 

 was also applied in the same manner as above, to 

 cabbages and squash vines, but Avithout any visi- 

 ble effect after the first two months. The phos- 

 phate, although powerful at fii'st, seems to lose its 

 force before the season is over, and does not fulfill 

 what it promises to do in the fii-st part of the sea- 

 son ; but I may be wrong in this conclusion as 



