44 



bones have been gathered. Heads and ribs are worth fiyg 

 dollars a t-on, being sent to Philadelphia and gi'0""^JiP 

 for fertilizers. Shins and shoulder blades are ten aouars a 

 ton. These are used in the sugar refineries. ±iorns,ar^ 

 worth thirty dollars per ton. The tips are sawn ott and 

 sold at manufactories of umbrellas, fans, pipes, etc., anft 

 the remainder is used by the chemists. Bits ot hide Hang- 

 ing on the heads are used to make glue. Thus every part 

 is used and made useful. 



Dr. Voelcker, Chemist of the Royal Agricultural bociety, 

 says: "High pressure steam renders bones so brittle that 

 they can be easily ground into- fine powder, which is 

 readily assimilated by plants." He adds: "Bone meal, 

 prepared by high pressure steam, contains not much less 

 nitrogen than ordinary bone dust, and as a manure, is far 

 moie efficacious and valuable." 



Placed in a heap with ashes or sand, and occasionally 

 wet with liquid manure or water, bones decay and make a 

 more soluble and energetic manure than ordinary bone 

 dust. Bones may be soon rendered available for fertilizing 

 purposes hy placing them in a large kettle, mixed with 

 ashes, and about one peck of lime to a barrel of bones. 

 Cover with water, and boil. In twenty-four hours all the 

 bones, with the exception perhaps of the hard shin bones, 

 will become so much softened as to be easily pulverized by 

 the hand. They will be in a pasty condition, ready to 

 mix, with much loam and ashes. By boiling a few hours 

 longer, the shin bones may be made soft. Alternate layers 

 of bones and ashes placed in a cask will, in a few months, 

 decompose the combination, being an excellent fertilizer. 

 These methods are cheaper than to dissolve bones by acids, 

 as has been practiced to some extent. 



IRKIGATIOK 



Is the chief and probably the only profitable way of rais- 

 ing grain, fruits and vegetables west of Fort MasoBj in 

 Texas. It is also largely done in Llano, San Saba, Bexar 

 and other counties west of the Colorado. Properly done, 

 with good cultivation, it is Ihe best and most satisfactory 

 method of farming, because its results are sure to be 

 profitable. Good crops are generally sure, let the climate 

 be as It may. Insects may injure the crops, and grass- 

 hoppers sometimes do, but rarely. This is true westward 



