THE CULTIVATOR. 



the primitive way, either of stringittg and hanging 

 around the kitchen stove as a roost lor flics, or spread 

 out and dried in the sun, where they are often injured 

 if not spoiled by storms. As mine is only used in a 

 small way for drying for the family, and what few sur- 

 plus apples that are not fit for market, I would recom- 

 mend any one going into the business and drying for 

 market, to build on a larger scale and have move draw- 

 ers, M I think mine are about the right size to be ea- 

 sily handled. I took the stove out and used the build- 

 ing for smoking a year ago, and not having apples to 

 dry last fall, cannot tell whether the smoke will have 

 any injurious effect on the fruit or not. My im- 

 pression is that thorough ventilation before using for 

 drying fruit will expel all the odor of the smoke — if it 

 should not, I think white-washing will H. Daboll. 

 Canal, Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



Application of Bam-Yard Manure. 



Of late there has been much discussion in the columns 

 of the Co. Gent, on the application of manures to the 

 soil, preparatory to planting it with com. This has 

 been occasioned by Mr. Joim JonxsTON's statements 

 of his management and application of manures to his 

 land for the corn crop. For the benefit of new sub- 

 scribers, who have not seen Mr. J.'s first letter, wo give 

 a synopsis of his systom- Mr. J. annually sows from 

 60 to 70 acres of wheat, and also has many acres in 

 oats, com, ic. He winters from five to si.x hundred 

 sheep, and 15 to 20 head of cattle. To use up this 

 large amount of straw and com-fodder, it is daily, 

 through the winter, freely strewn over his yards ; what 

 is not eaten is trodden and mixed with the droppings of 

 the stock. Of course during winter the straw does not 

 ferment or decompose. Generally, all this long ma- 

 nure is put in large heaps in the spring, whore it re- 

 mains till sowing of winter wheat, for which a portion 

 of the now rotUd monuro is used. That portion of the 

 manure intended for the next year's corn crop, is in 

 September carted on to grass-land, and evenly spread 

 over it, whore it lies till the next April or May, when 

 the land is plowed for corn. His method is objected to 

 on the ground that there must be much loss of ammo- 

 nia and other gases from the decomposition of the straw 

 and manure during summer, and also from that por- 

 tion upon the greensward. But as Mr. J. " bolieves 

 the great scare-crow, the escape of ammonia by fer- 

 mentation, is all gammon,'* be does not feel disturbed 

 about that matter. 



To show that Mr. J. is not entirely alone in his views, 

 we copy a short article from Littoil's Living Age of 

 Nov. 15, 1856. It says : 



•* In a paper on farm-yard manure, by Dr. Voeekler, 

 Prof of Chemistry, Koyal Ag. College, at Cirencester, 

 we find statement^ that will be a sm-jirise to some far- 

 mers. For example : the liquid drainage of dung- 

 heaps, ho says, is more voluablc than the urine of an- 

 imals, bocauso it contains phosphate of lime, which is 

 scarcely to be found in the other. That no loss arises 

 from spreading manure on the surface of a field ; on 

 the contrary, the fermentation is stopped, and tho es- 

 cape of volatile matters thereby ceiwcs ; and if it be 

 let to lie till the rain has washed it in, is far more bon- 

 efiuial than burying it at once. And ' in the case of 

 clay soils,' he remarks, ' I have no hesitation to say 

 the manure may bo spread even six months before it is 

 plowed in, without losing any appreciable quantity of 

 manuring matters.' " 



From the foregoing it will be seen that Farmer J. 

 and Prof V. are " hand in glove " with each other. 

 Ono is a practical farmer, the other is a scientific one. 

 The practice of ono, and the teaohing of the other, is 

 the very antipodes of the practice of myriads of good 

 farmers and the teachings of other scientific professors. 



Well may we hard-working farmers exclaim, " What 

 is truth 1" L. B. 



How to Use Hen Manure. 



Messrs. Tucker A Sok — In your Co. Gent, of tho 5th 

 Feb., I see tho request for the experience of some one 

 using hen manure. I have, for several years, kept a large 

 quantity of hens for the profit, (as I consider the profit 

 of one hen to exceed that ol one sheep,) and have care- 

 fully sovod tho manure, which I put into barrels, and 

 mix it well with ground plaster as I gather it, enough 

 to dry it and to keep it from losing its goodness ; then 

 keep it dry till planting time. I then take an empty 

 barrel or tub, and mix the hen manure and plaster with 

 more plaster, so that it will be about two parts plaster 

 and one hen manure, and with a sharp spade chop into 

 the mixture, which will very readily pulverijo by a 

 little chopping and spading over, and it is then ready 

 for the hill of corn or potatoes. If I have any left after 

 planting, I use it at hoeing, and find that my corn so 

 treated is not troubled with any worms, and that the 

 crop is equal to that grown where I spread my barn- 

 yard manure. I think farmers can safely pay fifty 

 cents per bushel for hen manure, if it has not been laid 

 on the ground. It pays to have boxes under all the 

 hon roosts. There aro many farmers that will give 

 away the hon manure to the tanners, but if they will 

 but ono year try the above method of using it, they 

 will be perfectly pleased with the result. D. A. Bulk- 

 lET. Stone Hill Farm, So. Witliamatoien, Mass. 



About Strawberries. 



Messrs. Editors — I will not attempt to give the 

 reason why those strawberries failed ; but if you 

 please I will will 'give two items of my own experi- 

 ence, and Mr. McCarthy can judge for himself wheth- 

 er our failures arose from like causes. Some years 

 ago, (before I ' took the papers") I set a bed of straw- 

 berries with plants from a field of two acres which 

 were in full bearing. They wore set in August, 

 and were full of flowers the next spring, but at pick- 

 ing time they were not full of ftuit. I supposed that 

 was owing to their not being fully established, but in 

 the course of the year I read " Downing's Fruit 

 Book," and the next spring at flowering time I exam- 

 ined them "by the light of science," and found ihat 

 nineteen-twentieths of them were staminate plants. I 

 suppose tho reason of this was that the stamens aro 

 stronger growers than the pistils, and one of course 

 always selects the strongest p'ants. I have since set 

 another " patch," with plants from three different bods, 

 and there proved to be not a stamen among them. Of 

 course the flowers, like Mr. McCarthy's, dried up with- 

 out fruit. 



I have a bed now, however, to the sex of every in- 

 dividual plant of which I can make oath if necessary, 

 and I shall never set another bed without being cer- 

 tain of my kinds. So many are disappointed from the 

 I abovo causes, that I think some of the hermaphrodite 

 varieties, (Peabody's new or Hooker's perhaps,) are 

 better for general cultivation. This, however, is theo- 

 ry. Edwib Y. Bull. Meriden, Ct. 



Cure for Born Ail. 



Eds. Co. Gent. — I have a cure for the hom-ail, thai 

 I do not recollect of ever seeing in your paper. It is 

 very simple, but I have known it to euro when nothing 

 else that could be thought of would. Take a piece of 

 alum as large as a walnut, pulverize it and put it^ into 

 about a wine-glass full of sharp vinegar— turn up the 

 head, and pour it into one ear. In two or three days 

 pour tho same quantity in the other ear. A third ap 

 lication is seldom necessary. A. Alleh, Jr. Liillc- 

 Ion, N. H. 



