1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Ill 



for use ; in about two weeks it will be fit for drinking, 

 and will remain good till June, 



DORKING, HAMBURG AND COCHIN CHINA FOWLS. 



Will you inform me where I can purchase a few 

 tull blood, fivc-toed, white Dorking. Hamburg or Co- 

 chin China fowls ? Jacob P. Cilley. 



Exeter, N. H., Feb., 1863. 



Remarks. — Mr. John S. Ives, of Salem, Mass., can 

 probably furnish tnem, if he has not the particular 

 kinds you desire in his yard. 



RAISING MUSHROOMS. 



If you have at command practical directions for 

 raising mushrooms, you will oblige many readers Iiy 

 coraniunicating them. I tried the experiment accord 

 ing to rules given in the American Agriculturist, and 

 made an utter failure. Inquirer. 



Remarks. — Will some one reply who has the knowl- 

 edge ? 



LEGISIiATIVE AGRICTJIiTUKAL MEET- 

 INGS. 



KEPORTED FOR THE N. E. FARMER, BY G. W. CHASE. 



Monday evening, Feb. 16, the subject for dis- 

 cussion was, "How to Make and Apply Manures." 



The Chairman, (Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro,') 

 considered this the most important subject to the 

 farmer, and urged the importance of more pre- 

 cision in the making of experiments to restore the 

 fertility of the soil. Barn manure is the best we 

 have, but we have not enough of it. It was im- 

 portant that farmers should know what particular 

 elements were either in excess or wanting in their 

 soils. Muck is one of the most valuable materi- 

 als the farmer can use to compost with his barn 

 manure. He thought the best way to use it was 

 to keep large quantities in the barn yard to act as 

 an absorbent. Concentrated manures should be 

 composted. He had conducted a three-year's 

 experiment in the application of manures, as lec- 

 ommended by the State Board of Agriculture in 

 1859. He had been very exact in this experi- 

 ment. In plot No. 1, the manure was ploughed 

 in from eight to ten inches deep ; in No. 2, it was 

 ploughed under about four inches ; in No. 3, it 

 was simply harrowed in ; in No. 4, it was left 

 upon the surface, and No. 5 received no manure 

 at all. The result each year was as follows : 



THIRD YEAR. 



No. 1 yielded 646 lbs. hay. 



No. 2 " 725 " " 



No. 3 " 590 " " 



No. 4 " 510 " " 



No. 5 " 320 



He was satisfied that manure should be cover- 

 ed, to get the full benefit of it. 



Mr. Howard, of the Cultivator, alluded to the 

 practice of "paring and burning," and thought 

 that it might be done to advantage in many cases. 

 He once saw a crop of 600 to 800 bushels of tur- 

 nips raised on one acre, without other manure 



than the ashes from burning the turf. He con- 

 sidered the process only applicable to wet clay 



lands. 



Mr. HuBnARD, of Sunderland, believed wood 

 ashes the cheajiest and best manure he could 

 use. He had experimented with ashes, lime, and 

 plaster, and found tliat the rows where ashes were 

 applied were of a deeper green throughout the 

 season, and gave nearly a double crop. Ai)])ly- 

 ing ashes to the hill at" the first hoeing, almost 

 doubled the crop. He had also applied aslies in 

 the hill, and with good efiect. 



Mr. Flint, of Boston, spoke of the experi- 

 ments recently made in manuring, in answer to 

 the recommendation of the State Board of Agri- 

 culture. Fourteen persons had undertaken and 

 completed the three years course, and the results 

 are to ajjpear in his forthcoming report. 



Mr. Flower, of Agawam, said that manure 

 is the life of the farmer, and that every farmer 

 should endeavor to make as much as ])ossible. 

 He throws all his manure under a shed, and al- 

 lows his hogs to root it over thoroughly. He 

 thought the best way was to plough in bis man- 

 ure, and tlien to apply some in the hill. This 

 starts the crop quickly, and carries it through the 

 entire season. 



Mr. Drew, of the Ploughman, referred to his 

 experience in the use of burnt turf and peat ashes, 

 and said he wouldn't give one bushel of wood 

 ashes for a hundred from peat. He had used all 

 the ashes from twenty cords of peat upon a gar- 

 den of about one hundred feet square, and never 

 saw any lienefit from the application. He be- 

 lieved in the application of the peat itself to up- 

 lands, and had repeatedly seen its good eflects — 

 even for years after its application. In regard to 

 superphosphates, he wished that we might have 

 more carefully conducted experiments to prove 

 their actual value. He cautioned farmers against 

 placirig too much confidence in the concentrated 

 manures of commerce. 



Mr. Wetherell, of the Cultircrtor, had exper- 

 imented some with superphosjjhates — Coe's & 

 Rhode's — and they did not pay for the labor of 

 using them. His brother had tried them, and 

 found the grass crop doubled. He experimented 

 with superphosphate, plaster, lime, hen manure, 

 and barn manure, and the superphosphate gave 

 the best crops of all. 



Mr. MosELY, of S])ringfield, believed that guano 

 was a valuable fertilizer, and was best on light 

 soils. He mentioned an experiment where it 

 had proved of no value on one side of a road, 

 while directly oi)posite it had a manifest benefit 

 on the same kind of croji. He thought that suitd 

 was a better al)sorbing material than muck. It 

 was easier procured, and he ihouglit it was equally 

 as valuable. He believed it was economy to sta- 

 ble cows at night in the summer. He mentioned 

 a case where an acquaintance bedded sixteen 

 horses entirely with sand. This was composted 

 with plaster, and applied to a tobacco crop with 

 great results. 



Mr. Kendall, of Boylston, said that until 

 within about five years he had made his manure 

 in the barn-yard. He now thinks that by so do- 

 ing he lost one-half its value. Latterly he uses 

 large quantities of soil to mix with the droppings 

 in the stable. (He stables his cows at night 

 throughout the summer.) By this method he 



