70 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



wheat hulls ; then on the hills, after the corn 

 was covereil and up two inches, on the first 

 row south Avas put a spoonful of bone dust ; 

 on the second row four spoonfuls of ashes ; on 

 the thii'd nothing, and so on, through the south 

 half. ISly manure being gone ■vve put a spoon- 

 ful of bone dust in the hill in the next row ; 

 then four spoonfuls of ashes in each hill next 

 row ; third row nothing, and so on, the re- 

 mainder of the piece. Then, again, after this 

 part was up, the same rows were again treated 

 m the same way. 



Throughout the season, as the rows ran 

 towards the Post Office, they were the subject 

 of frequent remark by the farmers meeting at 

 the Post Odice, and as the owner of the field 

 was Secretary of the Agricultural Society, — 

 from whose fields good crops were expected, — 

 he had freiiuent occasion to explain 'Mvhat 

 makes the difference between the north and 

 south parts of that piece of corn, and what 

 makes every third row so much larger and 

 darker green .^" The rows pointed out were 

 in every instance the ones having the ashes, 

 while no diflerence could possibly be seen l)e- 

 tween tlie rows with bone dust and those with- 

 out any tiling. That part of the field without 

 any barn yard manure, was not half as large 

 or productive as the other part, and tlie corn 

 itself was not as early or of as good (juality. 



There were eight rows of carrots running 

 the same way, which were treated in precisely 

 the same manner, with exactly the same result. 



The soil is a dark, loamy slate, resting upon 

 slate and quartz rocks, within from eight inches 

 to two and a half feet from the surface ; and 

 being sufficiently dry, though never suffering 

 from drouglit, except a few square feet of sur- 

 face in one tpot. 



I also tried bone dust in a similar manner to 

 some parts of rows of corn and potatoes, and 

 to some fodder corn, without the least percep- 

 tible effect, good or bad. 



The soil of this field is quite moist for plant- 

 ing land, with some clay. The bone dust or 

 flour of bone, which I used, was from the 

 "Boston Milling and Manufacturing Co." 

 Several others of my neighl^ors tried a half 

 barrel caeli, with almost every kind of grain, 

 pulse anil vegetables, I should think, from 

 hearing their remarks about it, and on (juite a 

 variety of soils, including sandy meadows anil 

 hillsides, loam, clay, high and low hinds, and 

 in every instance, so far as I can learn, with 

 the same result as I had, with one (exception, 

 to wit: Jvs(j. C told me that he thought that 

 certain rows of corn, to which he ajjpiied the 

 bone fiour in connection with other manui'e, 

 were benefited by it; but said he tliouglit 

 "not enough to make it pay." I think there 

 are twenty or more, in this or adjoining towns, 

 who tried it, and I have heard of only one 

 who thinks of trying it again. 



I gave some a few times to a cow that was 

 ailing, to advantage I rather think. 



llavin'T a stroncr desire that all facts affect- 



ing the farming interests should be made avail- 

 able, I have hastily written the above, though 

 reluctantly, as I do not wish in any manner or 

 degree to injure any man or company. It is 

 (|uite possible that the climate and soil of this 

 region is not adapted to the use of this fertili- 

 zer, while it may be invaluable for other sec- 

 tions. 



Plaster 



has been tried consideraVjly at different times 

 "hereabouts," but without that great benefi 

 that is manifest from its use in some other sec- 

 tions. Last year 1 made a trial of 



Salt and Plaster, 



by mixing together 100 lbs. of plaster to three 

 bushels of salt. On 170 rods of land, sowed 

 to wiicat and grass seed, about three bushels 

 and a peck of this compound was sowed three 

 or four days after it was harrowed and rolled. 

 A strip one rod wide was left on which no salt 

 and phxster was sowed. The growth on this 

 strip was smaller and of lighter color through 

 the season. Harvested thirty bushels of excel- 

 lent wheat to the acre ; and this season we cut 

 two good, not extra, crops of hay from the 

 same land ; eijualing about three tons to the 

 acre of both cuttings. 



I also sowed some of the same compound 

 on a strij) through the centre of some grass 

 land that I intended to break up the next sea- 

 son, and thought that strip produced about an 

 eighth more grass in consequence. The pres- 

 (;nt season the same was ploughed and planted 

 in such a manner that rows of turnips, corn 

 .and potatoes, and a little strip of l)arley, ex- 

 tended across the strip that was sowed to salt 

 and plaster the season before. The turnips 

 were three times the value there that they were 

 on the same amount of land in any other part 

 of the field. The corn was earlier, darker 

 green, twice the size, and yielded twice the 

 (juantity of any other part of the field. The 

 potatoes and barley were also perceptibly 

 larger and better. 



1 tried some of the same compound instead 

 of manure, in the hill where 1 planted twoi 

 kinds of potatoes, and where I planted a lew, 

 rows of corn, and it proved their ruin. 



The present season I sowed four and a half 

 bushels of salt, alone, on one and a half acres 

 of land sowed to wheat and grass seed. The 

 crop of wheat was good where it was not badly 

 lodged, averaging not (juite twcaity-lbiir bush- 

 els to the acre, and an excellent "stalking" 

 or "catch" of grass. 



Several of my neighbors have tried salt and 

 plaster, and salt alone, and I believe every one 

 thinks favorably of their use ; not as a substi- 

 tute for barn yard manure, but as a means of 

 increasing it by increasing the amount of food, 

 so that more animals may be kept manufactur- 

 ing manure of the l)cst (juality. 



Now, Mr. Editor, as the "ice is broke," 

 just tell other experimenters to "wade in,'* 



