I860.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



555 



2, A, B, or C, in proportion to the per cent, 

 of phosphates soluble in cold acidulated wa- 

 ter 



If any phosphatic compound or guano 

 contains less than one per cent, soluble in 

 cold" acidulated water, then brand it No. o, 

 A, B, C 



And so, upon the same principle, No. 4 

 would be stamped A, B, or C, or X, XX, 

 XXX, in proportion to the phosphates, solu- 

 ble in boiling acidulated water, (that were 

 insoluble in cold acid percolating through 

 them in the proportion of 10 to 1.) 



There are other details of my plan for the 

 inspection and valuation of manures, that I 

 must reserve for the next number of the 

 Farmer, and I will only add that by my 

 plan all manures sold in packages — whether 

 imported or manufactured — should be weigh- 

 ed, numbered and sampled, so as to dimin- 

 ish the expense to the farmer to one-half 

 the preseut tax for inspection, — consume 

 only one-half the time, and double the se- 

 curity — making the inspection seven-fold 

 more definite and reasonable, instead of the 

 present arbitrary and treasonable mode. 



I have no reason to suppose that the pres- 

 ent Inspector does not carry out strictly the 

 provisions of the present law under which 

 he acts. I know him to be a polite and 

 obliging officer — several interesting speci- 

 mens of guano that I have obtained for 

 comparison, and for our cabinet, I have re- 

 ceived from him out of his reserved samples, 

 and under his seal, per mail. But if the 

 next Legislature changes the law, I am will- 

 ing to offer the result, of ten or fifteen years' 

 experience and observations to aid them in 

 improving the present law ; provided I am 

 requested so to do by the proper authority — 

 and in the meantime I will endeavor to ex- 

 pose some of the errors in the inspection 

 and valuation of manures. 



David Stewart, M. D., 

 Prof, of Agr. and Gen. Chem., &c, 



JSt. John's Col, Annapolis, Md. 



Reaping Machines on the Prairies. 

 The Chicago Times and Herald says that an 

 idea of fhe amount of ground in wheat may 

 be gathered from the statement of a respon- 

 sible gentleman of Janesville, who says that, 

 with the assistance of a spy-glass, he saw 

 one hundred and forty-six reapers at work 

 at one time. This is on the line of the Chi- 

 cago and North-western railroad. 



From the British Farmers' 1 Magazine. 



Top-Dressing- 



BY CUTHBERT W. JOHNSON, ESQ., F. R.S. 



In this unusually late spring the ques- 

 tion of top-dressing has become of more 

 than ordinary importance. And this re- 

 mark is not confined to the grasses, how- 

 ever essential to our live stock may be an 

 early and rapid growth of green food. The 

 entire question of top-dressings both for 

 grasses and corn lands will indeed well re- 

 pay our anxious and extended examination. 

 The mode of the action of several sub- 

 stances usually employed as dressings ; the 

 latest period at which these or a portion of 

 them may be applied ; their practical utility 

 for the second crop are only amongst the 

 chief sections of this most important re- 

 search. In the present scarcity of food for 

 stock another question imports itself into 

 the inquiry, viz., the degree of rapidity 

 with which the commonly applied spring- 

 dressings operate. The most prompt of 

 these in their action are cubicpetre and Pe- 

 ruvian guano. It was on a recent oppor- 

 tune occasion that Mr. Caird remarked, 

 when briefly speaking on the late scarcity 

 of spring feed, and the use of stimulating 

 dressings : "The most sure in its action on 

 the grasses, either in dry or wet weather, 

 and probably also the most rapid, is nitrate 

 of soda. I shall use it/' he adds, u pretty 

 largely at the rate of 2 cwt. per acre. No 

 ontlay can pay better. The addition of 1 

 cwt. of Peruvian guano or 2 cwt. of the 

 best superphosphate of lime will materially 

 increase the produce." 



Every reader of this magazine is aware 

 that the effect of these fertilizers is mate- 

 rially accelerated if they are sown in wet 

 weather. And this fact leads us to another 

 suggestion, well worthy of careful examina- 

 tion, viz., the advantage of applying these 

 dressings in as wet a state as possible, either 

 by the water-drill, or by mixing them with 

 wetted ashes, or other friable substances, 

 and also having this done as near sunset as 

 possible. Even when water cannot be add- 

 ed, it is very desirable that the ashes should 

 be used. It was in the last number of the 

 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society 

 that Professor Voelcker observed, when 

 speaking of the application of top-dressings, 

 " I cannot refrain from observing that all 

 artificial manures — such as nitrate of soda, 

 guano, or a mixture of nitrate of soda and 



