220 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
haps four or five inches high, thus allowing the 
knives to pass over ordinary stoues and clods. 
Barley cut in this way— and I may say in -what- 
ever way — should he cut while quite green, and 
no loss will he sustained hy the team walking 
over it. The grain being thus evenly spread 
over the ground, a few hours' sun is sufficient to 
cure it for the horse-rake, which is here put in, 
with hands to put up in cock. Barley well put 
Up, cut in this way, will shed rain much better 
than barley thrown from the machine in bunch- 
es, and put up in like form. The first season 
that I cut barley in this way, my neighbor over 
the way cut his, and threw it off in bunches. 
Mine was soon cured and put up ; his being in 
bunches, did not cure before it rained. He had 
to turn it all over, and before it was dry it rained 
again. Again it had to be turned, and at last 
it was put up. When we came to thrash, his 
barley was all badly stained, while mine was 
nearly all bright. My barley was harvested 
with half the labor of his, and the straw, as 
well as the grain, much better. He was not 
slow to see, nor will the many readers of the 
Agriculturist, if they once try it, that my plan 
for harvesting barley is the best." 
Florida as a Home for Jtfortheru Men. 
Florida is attracting a fair share of northern 
emigration, and the tide will run hitherwards 
much stronger, as its merits are better under- 
stood. Previous to the war it had been little 
known to northern men, except as a resort for 
invalids in the winter. Tin; war led a great 
many of our soldiers to puss the summer there, 
aud afforded opportunities to become well ac- 
quainted with its soil, climate, and productions. 
It is not all swamp and sand, but has a good 
variety of soil, much of it fertile, and well- 
adapted to the crops of the Gulf States, aud also 
to semi-tropical fruits. The climate is asserted 
by residents to be one of the healthiest, if not 
the most health}-, of all the States, and they 
bring statistics to prove it. This is probably 
true of the hammocks, and of the saudy por- 
tions, which contain the great bulk of the 
population. The temperature is quite uniform, 
and without the extreme and sudden changes, 
which make the seaboard Northern States so 
disagreeable, especially in the spring. Beside 
Hie staple crops of the South — cotton, tobacco, 
corn, sugar, and rice — it will produce, in the 
southern part, the pine-apple, banana, aud plan- 
tain, and in all parts, the lemon and orange. 
The orange grows wild in the greatest luxuriance 
and health, aud it is quite rare that a winter 
occurs so severe as to injure the trees. These 
wild trees make excellent stocks for the orange 
of commerce, and they only need grafting and 
cultivation, to produce fruit of the best quality, 
and in any desired quantity. Our northern 
men, and many of the natives, disappointed 
with their cotton planting, are now turning 
their attention to orange orchards, in which 
there is every prospect of success. We hear of 
this kind of enterprise in all parts of the State. 
Almost every landholder on the St. John has 
planted trees this winter; some by the dozen, 
and others by the thousand. At St. Augustine 
there are large plantations of young trees. In 
the interior, and on the Gulf shore, they are 
very busily planting, meaning to supply the 
Gulf States with this fruit in a few years. On 
Lake Griffin, a northern man has made a grove 
of 4,500 trees, by cleaning up a "hammock" of 
forty acres. The largest grove in the State, now 
in bearing condition, is on Indian River, and con- 
tains about 1500 trees. This is known all 
through the State as "Dummit's Grove." There 
is no doubt of the success of this fruit, or of the 
financial success of any man of good business 
capacity aud horticultural tastes, who will turn 
his attention to this industry. Almost all phys- 
ical want3 are easily supplied. Land is cheap, 
and stock need no shelter the year round. The 
Southern army for a long time drew a large 
part of its supplies of beef from this State. Pigs 
aud poultry are at every man's door, and require 
little attention. With its climate and soil, Flor- 
ida should supply us with most of our tropical 
fruits, aud much other tropical produce. Coffee, 
tea, arrow-root, guavas, bananas, pine-apples, 
and cocoa-nuts, have all been grown within the 
State, with success, and probably only need 
fostering, to become established and staple crops. 
In our great seaboard cities, oranges, lemous, 
and bananas, are almost as cheap as apples. 
Florida can produce these and other tropical 
fruits in such abundance as to increase their 
consumption tenfold, and make them cheap the 
year round, in all our large towns and vil- 
lages. This would be a great means of health 
to our meat-eating population, and Florida 
would bo enriched by this addition to her in- 
dustries. We wish the largest success to the 
emigrants to the State and the fruit planters. 
Town and Local Agricultural Societies. 
Local Agricultural Ciubs, we believe, are quite 
largely on the increase. There are good rea- 
sons for the establishment of these societies. 
They do not, of necessity, and should never in- 
terfere with the County aud State Societies 
The local society has a good work to do in 
bringing together neighbors with their products. 
There can be no doubt that a much larger num- 
ber will become interested in improved hus- 
bandry through these than through the larger 
societies. Meetings and exhibitions should be 
arranged for different seasons, not for the au- 
tumn alone. Spring exhibitions for the sale aud 
exchange of seeds would be productive of much 
good. Sheep-shearing festivals, milking trials, 
implement tests, and other meetings, might be 
occasions of great utility aud interest. A fall 
exhibition at the town center will draw out a 
full representation of everything within the 
borders of the town. Men who have fine cattle 
can take them to the exhibition without much 
exposure of the animals, or much pecuniary 
loss. They may also be brought back to their 
own quarters at night. These town fairs usu- 
ally draw out a very good representation of all 
farm products, and it is not improbable that they 
may gradually work into periodical markets for 
the exchange and sale of grain, stock, fruits, 
vegetables, etc. Such fairs are of very great 
advantage in England, and we can see no good 
reason why they would not make a great saving 
of time in the exchange of products, prevent 
speculation, regulate prices, give the farmer 
a fairer reward for his labor, and make pro- 
visions cheaper to the consumers. 
Butter a Great Source of Income. 
In the report of the N. Y. State Agricultural 
Society for 18G6, it is stated that the amount of 
butter produced in the State in 1855 was 90 
millions of pounds in round numbers, and in 
1865, 84 millions of pounds, showing a falling 
off of 6 millions of pounds. The cheese pro- 
duced in 1855 was 38 millions of pounds, and 
in 1865, 73 millions, showing an increase of 34 
millions, or nearly doubling in ten years. The 
milk sold increased in the same time from 20 
millions of gallons to 29 millions. While there 
has been a very large increase in the produc- 
tion of the dairy districts, a much larger portion 
of the milk is sold in the cities and villages, and 
a still larger proportion is manufactured into 
cheese. This process has been going on in Ohio 
and probably in all the dairy States, though 
perhaps not in so marked degree. These 
figures furnish an important hint to those who 
are going into the daily business. It is evident 
that we want more butter, and that for some 
years to come it will pay better than any other 
dairy product, except in the immediate vicinity 
of cities and villages. Do we not need butter 
factories now more than cheese factories ? They 
are already started in Orange County, New 
York, aud there is abundant room for more. 
Commercial and Home-made Superphos- 
phate. 
Superphosphate should contain at least 10 
per cent of soluble phosphoric acid, and if it 
be really "improved" or "nitrogenized," it should 
have 3 or more per cent of ammonia. An " am- 
moniated" superphosphate, examined by Prof. 
Johnson, contained 25^ per cent of phosphoric 
acid, (of which 2J per cent was soluble) and 3h 
per cent of ammonia, the calculated value 
being $25.00 per ton. Another superphosphate 
was about equal to it, showing a value of $24.00. 
One showed 10h per cent of phosphoric acid, 
only 1 per cent of which was soluble in water. 
Its ammonia was 3| per cent, and its estimated 
value $16.50 per ton. Another was estimated 
at $16.20 per ton, and the most famous, or rather 
infamous, brand then in use was shown to be 
worth $41.00 per ton less than the price. 
We are confident that a very much worse state of 
things exists at present — having positive knowl- 
edge of articles sold at high prices which are 
not worth carting two miles. The manufac- 
turers of these commercial manures ought to 
procure analyses of them from some well-known 
chemist in whom the public have entire con- 
fidence, and warrant their manures to be 
fully equal to the analysis. We who want 
fertilizers would then know what we were 
buying, and in case of fraud we should have 
our remedy. If this were done and the fer- 
tilizer were sold at a fair profit, there would be 
no occasion to make the article at home, for it 
can be made much cheaper upon a large scale. 
Prof. Johnson gives the following directions 
for making superphosphate from Sombrero 
guano, aud we believe them to be equally 
applicable to the best qualities of Baker's 
or Jarvis' Island guano, which is an article 
now in market : " The materials are 125 
lbs. Sombrero guano ; 32 lbs., or 2 gals., 1 qt. oil 
of vitriol; 16 lbs., or 2 gals, of water. The oil of 
vitriol may be weighed out, or, if this be not con- 
venient, it may be measured out in a common 3 
gallon earthen pickle jar, which is converted into 
a measure by first filling into it two gallons and 
one quart of water, and making a deep scratch 
on the inside at the surface of the water. 
"The oil of vitriol and the water being measured 
off are now to be mixed. This is done by pour 
iug the acid in a slow stream into the water, with 
constant stirring. Never pour the water upon 
the acid. In this operation earthen vessels are 
the best, but a tight wooden vessel may also be 
employed. The mixture becomes very hot and 
blackens wood. Care should be taken to avoid 
spilling the acid upon the clothes or flesh. It is 
