1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



115 



duction of the hours of daily labor. Experi- 

 ence and common sense will be found safer 

 guides with respect to the hours of labor, than 

 legislation. r. 



Concord, Mass., Jan. I, 18G7. 



Unfermented Manure. — Many excellent 

 faj'mers have an idea that manure to be most 

 efficient in raising crops should be well-rotted ; 

 but this is a mistake. ]\Ianure loses a very 

 heavy percentage of its real value by decom- 

 position. Fresh manure dripping with animal 

 urine hauled directly from the stable on to the 

 land and plowed under, is worth nearly double 

 that which has decomposed to a saponaceous 

 consistence. When it is convenient for far- 

 mers to haul their manure on corn-ground from 

 the stable as fast as it is made, it saves hand- 

 ling it twice, and forwards the work in busy 

 spring time. No fears need be entertained 

 that the atmosphere will carry off the strength 

 of the manure if left on the surface. The 

 only danger to be apprehended by this method 

 will be in case of the ground being frozen and 

 covered with snow or ice when the manure is 

 applied ; if upon sloping land the virtue of the 

 manure might Avash away ; but on level land 

 there is no exception to this plan of operation 

 during the entire fall and winter season. — Oer- 

 mantown Telegraph. 



EXTEACTS AND REPLIES. 



FLOril OF BONE. 



The following "extracts" relating to the diifei'- 

 ent effects of bone in the same town, tend to show 

 that, as "one swallow does not make a summer," 

 so one experiment should not be taken as decisive 

 of the value of any particular fertilizer. 



I purchased one ban-el of flour of bone for 

 $10.50, and having used it to the best of my ability 

 the past year, must say, as the result of my experi- 

 ence, that I prefer wood ashes, measure for meas- 

 ure. A. Taber. 



HoUiston, Mass., Jan. 2, 1867. 



I made use of flour of bone on some turnips (Pe- 

 ruvian,) applying one large spoonful for each plant, 

 standing in rows about eighteen inches apart. On 

 each alternate row I did not put anything. The re- 

 sult was, that in the rows where the flour of bone 

 was applied there was a large yield, the turnips 

 weighing eight, twelve and even eighteen pounds 

 apiece ; while in the rows not boned they were very 

 small, and a light yield. On another piece of land, 

 after taking off a crop of early peas, I sowed tur- 

 nips, and to one-half of the piece applied flour of 

 bone. On that part there was a rank growth, on 

 the other part they were very small. I think flour 

 of bone pays very well on turnips ; and the Peru- 

 vian to be one of the best varieties. 



Aaron Brigham. 



HoUiston, Mass., Januai-y 5, 1867. 



BROOMS AND MOr-HANDLES. 



The Farmer of January 5th, in speaking of 

 farm implements, says it is poor policy to use 

 those already worn out, or so illy constructed as to 

 be used with great loss of time and strength. 



May I be allowed a word concerning the imple- 



ments daily used in a fanner's kitchen ? Much in- 

 ventive skill and mechanical ingenuity have been 

 expended upon washing machines, wringers, the 

 sewing machines, &c., but no one seems to dream 

 that those things oftenest used are susceptible of 

 improvement. I refer to brooms and moiJ-liandlcs. 

 Compare these short, stifl", crooked, rough, clumsy 

 articles with the handles of rakes, pitchforks, hoes, 

 &c., made for men's use, — all of suitable material, 

 proper length and size, smoothly turned and nicely 

 sand-papered as they are, and should be. 



It is said that a demand will create a supply. 

 Hoping this will not prove an exception to the rule, 

 I ask, in behalf of fanners' wives and daughters, 

 especially, for an improvement in these indispen- 

 sable articles. And when they are properly made, 

 please don't spoil them with varnish or paint; 

 sand paper is sufficient finish. AVe want greater 

 length, less size, and a Ijcttcr quality of material. 

 Less sharp corners, less bits of bark left upon them 

 might facilitate their use and tend to keep our 

 hands in better condition to care for the sick, to 

 bind up wounds and sores, and to handle the nee- 

 dle in the hours that must be devoted to the fami- 

 ly wardrobe. If the liroom-makers will use only 

 good brush, we will gladly pay enough more to 

 enaljlc them to throw away the poor and make few- 

 er in number. A Sufferer. 



Guilford Cnitre, Vt., Jan., 1867. 



Remarks. — The farming impleinents that must 

 be purchased in these days cost so much that many 

 farmers feel, as they "sit down and count the cost," 

 that they must save somewhere. And altogether 

 too often this "gct-along-for-this-ycar" economy 

 faljs upon the household conveniences. We once 

 saw a Yankee woman, who cooked potatoes for her 

 hogs as well as for her husband, lugging them out 

 of the cellar in a sap-tub without any contrivance 

 for a bail, for want of a light, convenient basket. 

 We didn't see her mop-handles. 



EFFECTS OF BONE, 



Mr. Editor: — I see by late numbers of the 

 Farmer that there is some dissatisfaction with the 

 results of experiments with the flour of bone. Be- 

 ing unacquainted with this peculiar fertilizer I 

 cannot speak from my knowledge of its effects. 

 But I have for many years given my attention to 

 the cultivation of the soil, and have carefully 

 watched the operation of different manures, both 

 on the soil and the crops, and have come to the 

 conclusion that there is no single fertilizer that is 

 a sure specific for a good crop on all soils and un- 

 der all circumstances. i 



I have believed that one of the greatest losses 

 that the farmer suffered, and one which it was most 

 difficult for him to replace, was bone. Arc farmers 

 aware of the amount of bone or phosphate that is 

 taken from the soil by a single crop ? How is it 

 to be restored again ? Could we obtain bone in 

 quantities sufficient, and at living luices, I should 

 have no fears of my farm becoming exhausted. It 

 is said that a good cow takes off aliout 75 pounds 

 of bone in each year in her milk, besides the bones 

 of all animals that are sold from the f;xrm. This 

 repeated for years, and the result is "white-top" in 

 our pastures. 



I have used a good deal of plaster, and its opera- 

 tion is a little singular. On some pieces it has 

 showed immediate efl'ects ; at other times it takes 

 longer for it to operate. In one instance it did not 

 develop itself till the third and fourth year ; but 

 it held out good till the seventh, when I plowed it 

 up. That was last fall, and it remains to be seen 

 what it will do in future. I have known many cases 

 where the soil has been manured well with bam- 



