162 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



careful to save all the excrements, coupled 

 with all the herbage that is not eaten, to 

 restore what has been taken from it. — 

 This is the principal resource of the far- 

 mer who dwells in the interior, and from 

 whom we expect a great portion of the 

 grain that is consumed in cities and towns 

 where men and business congregate. 



The manure from neat stock is more 

 abundant than from other animals in thi£ 

 part of the country ; and this manure is 

 less likely to. be injured by heating than 

 that which is dropped by horses and sheep. 

 But the manure from neat stock is much 

 injured by freezing before It has been 

 mixed with other. After if has frozen 

 and again thawed two or three times it 

 is found to have no scent or effluvia, and 

 may be handled as freely as a lump of 

 clay. 



Horse stable manure is never injured 

 so much by frost as by heat. When it 

 is thrown out of a stable into a heap it 

 soon begins to burn in pretiy cold wea- 

 ther. In moderate weather it heats so 

 much as to turn white and to lose three- 

 fourths of its weight. Horse manure has, 

 therefore, been less highly prized than it 

 should be. But when rightly managed 

 there is no kind of manure that operates 

 on land belter or remains longer in the 

 soil. Some kinds of manure work sooner, 

 but they are sooner spent. Hog manure, 

 for instance, is active veiy early in the 

 season, and it makes good corn, but we 

 see little of its virtue in the succeeding 

 year. Horse manure that has been welt 

 kept, and that has absorbed all the horse 

 urine, is the most lasting kind of manure 

 that we obtain from animals. 



To prevent its turning white and burn- 

 ing in the heap, other matter should be 

 mixed wkh it, three loads to one. Here 

 is presented an excellent opportunity to 

 improve and to decompose peat mud when 

 it can be had. When there is none, loam 

 or sand may be used 1 . Sand is good 

 when the manure is to be used on low 

 land, or on a clayey soil. 



Roast meat contains nearly double the 

 nourishment of boiled, but boiled meat is 



better adapted to weak digestion. Frying 

 is one of the very worst methods of dress- 

 ing food, as broiling is one of the best. 

 Baked meat has a strong flavor, is de- 

 prived of some of its nutritious qualities, 

 and is difficult of digestion. Spices, sauces 

 and melted butter, should never be used 

 by an invalid. — Selected. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 WINTER KILLED WHEAT. 



Mr. Editor, — Foremost among the va- 

 rious farm crops produced in Western 

 New York in importance to the agricul- 

 turist man of commerce, and the con- 

 sumer, stands the wheat crop. Whatever 

 affects that, for evil or for good, affects 

 the temporal well being of all in the com- 

 munity. Among the many calamities 

 which cause a failure of this cvop none 

 equals what is usually denominated win- 

 ter killing. The past season, up to the 

 present time, has been estimated by most 

 farmers to have been one of our worst — 

 and serious apprehensions may very justly 

 be entertained that extensive damage will 

 be sustained from {his cause. However, 

 in this town the }ast three favorable days 

 have dispelled most of the fears of our 

 farmers in relation to it here, as the sud- 

 den greenness it has assumed shows that 

 it has not been much damaged. 



But the cause and the cure of thi& ca- 

 lamity is a matter of more importance to 

 know, than any speculations in nelation 

 to the extent of damage done to the pre- 

 sent crop. Both,, to my apprehension, are 

 easily understood. The cause is the su- 

 perabundance of surface water in the soil ; 

 and the cure, to provide means, either by 

 a thorough system of under-draining, or 

 some 01 her method to draw it off so as 

 to lay the young plants dry and warm. 



It is a common remark which all prac- 

 tical farmers make, that the longer they 

 plough and work their land, the heavier 

 and more retentive of moisture k becomes \ 

 this explains the reason why, in numerous 

 localities the land is so much more liable 

 to heave, than when the country was 

 d 9, 



