264 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



before new shoots will appear just below the pla- 

 ces where the flowers were. From among these 

 new shoots, choose the one on each branch which 

 is in the best situation to replace what you have 

 nipped off. Little by little, the principal stalk, 

 and also the branches, will become woody, and 

 your mignonette Avill no longer be an herbaceous 

 plant, except at its upper extremities, which will 

 bloom all the year without interruption. It Avill 

 be truly a tree mignonette, living for an indefinite 

 period ; for, with proper treatment, a tree mig- 

 nonette will live twelve to fifteen years. I have 

 seen them in Holland double this age. — Parlor 

 Gardener. 



Fur tlte New England Farmer. 

 WHEAT BBAM' AS A FERTILIZER. 



Mr. Editor : — A communication in the week- 

 ly Fariner of Feb. 22, 1862, from J. P., states 

 that he has tried the experiment with wheat bran 

 as a fertilizer for corn, and that it has failed. Now 

 I must say that I am surprised at the result of his 

 experiments with it in regard to corn ; but with 

 potatoes not, for it has been demonstrated in this 

 vicinity to be worthless for them. 



I quote from memory, but I think that I con- 

 veyed the idea in the said communication to which 

 he refers, that it was practicable and profitable ; at 

 least, the fact was so established in my mind, by 

 experiments tried by me the preceding year. And 

 in the year 18G0 I used it more extensively, side 

 by side with Coe's superphosphate of lime, and 

 was unable to detect the difference by the appear- 

 ance in the growing crop. "J. P." himself would, 

 had he seen it, have been obliged to "acknowledge 

 the corn," and also acknowledge that it was better 

 than sawdust, even after being composted by the 

 cows, if he had seen a few rows that were left, by 

 way of experiment, in which no fertilizer was used, 

 — the opinion of his better half, to the contrary 

 notwithstanding. The present year I intend to 

 use it more extensively than heretofore, if possible. 



The winter of 1861 was a very hard season for 

 farmers, as forage for stock brought a very high 

 price, and was very scarce at that, consequently, 

 everything that would do for fodder was used to 

 keep the stock alive, and another consequence was 

 the scarcity of money with poor farmers. The re- 

 sult of this was the using of fertilizers to a less ex- 

 tent, which was the case with the writer of this 

 article. I am not alone in the belief of the utility 

 of wheat bran as a fertilizer for corn. Besides the 

 statement of "T. G. H." in proof of this, I could 

 get a list of names from this vicinity that would 

 astonish "the natives." But it may be with this, 

 perhaps, as with some other fertilizers, that in dif- 

 ferent kinds of soil it may have a different effect. 

 Thus with gypsum or plaster of Paris, it has a 

 much better and lasting effect on clay soil than on 

 sandy soil. 



Thanks to "J. P." I would be glad to have 

 others go and do liliewise, with regard to their ex- 

 perience. 



WILVT KIND OF SAW. 



Will "E. B. P.," of Mechanicsville, Vt., say 

 what his saw is, Avhether it is circular or cross cut, 

 as there is a difference in the application of the 

 power to each. j. s. s. 



Vermont, 1862. 



Fur the New England Fanner. 

 CHARCOAL DUST AS A DEODORIZER. 



Messrs. Editors : — The recent discussion in 

 your paper respecting the use of various deodoriz- 

 ing materials to absorb the ammonia and other 

 gases generated in stables, has recalled to my 

 mind some experience of my own. 



Several years since, I was preparing in my cel- 

 lar enriching matter in a fluid shape for my green- 

 house plants, but the effluvia arising therefrom 

 became offensive. To counteract that annoyance, 

 I applied a small quantity of charcoal dust. The 

 effect was magical, and the compound became at 

 once entirely inodorous. I then tried the dust in 

 a large cask for rain water for use in my furnace, 

 and in which the Avater would have an unpleasant 

 smell. Here, too, the effect was all I could wish. 



Previous to that time, my cistern water had 

 caused me much annoyance. Whether because of 

 the dust from the street in front, one of the most 

 frequented of the city, but watered daily through 

 the season, or from the surrounding trees and 

 vines, or perchance because of the impurities of a 

 city atTnosphere deposited upon my roofs, the wa- 

 ter in my cistern, even after repeated washings 

 and scourings, would be dark colored, odorous, 

 and offensive. Very naturally, therefore, I pro- 

 ceeded a step farther, and applied some four to six 

 quarts of the charcoal dust to my cistern ; first 

 wetting it thoroughly in a pail, and pouring it in 

 througb the water pipes. The effect was immedi- 

 ate ; and the result far beyond my expectation. 

 The water became clear, pure and sweet as when 

 it fell from the sky. 



Not being disposed to keep to myself a matter 

 so simple, and which added so much to the com- 

 fort and health of my family, I wrote a short arti- 

 cle upon the subject, which was published in the 

 April number, 1850, of the Horticulturist, and 

 was very extensively copied through the whole 

 country. 



A few days after the publication, a learned pro- 

 fessor suggested to me, that I had undoubtedly 

 made a valuable discovwy, but I might have put 

 it in a more scientific shape ; that I ought to take 

 pieces of charcoal, heat them thoroughly, and 

 throw them while hot into the cistern, and in that 

 way I should effect a more favorable result in a 

 truly scientific manner. My reply was, that the 

 method I suggested was so perfectly simple, that 

 people generally would derive more benefit from 

 it than from a more scientific course, which in- 

 volved greater trouble, nor could I see how any 

 other mode could be more effectual. To the hon- 

 or of that professor be it stated, that, some time 

 after, he said to me, "I tried my plan for the use 

 of charcoal, and then yours. Li my mode of ap- 

 plication, the charcoal had not the slightest effect ; 

 in yours, it acted like a charm, and seemed to ren- 

 der the water as clear and pure as if it had been 

 distilled." The same professor travelled exten- 

 sively in the AVest, that season, and on his return, 

 in his own friendly manner, said to me, "You have 

 acquired immortality more easily than any other 

 person I ever knew. \n all my journeying at the 

 West, the first inquiry proposed to me, wherever 

 it became known that I was from New Haven, 



was, "Who is that Mr. R , Avho has made the 



great discovery respecting the use of charcoal dust 

 for puiifying cisterns ?" 



