364 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
To Eradicate Sorrel- 
Lime is often recommended to kill out sorrel; 
the alleged reason being, that the oxalic acid in 
the sorrel shows that the soil is sour, and to 
remedy this we must apply an alkali, like lime. 
Doubtless, good often comes from such applica- 
tion of lime, but not for the reason here given. 
The presence of oxalic acid in sorrel is no 
belter proof that the land is sour, than is the 
acidity of an apple or of the rhubarb plant. 
The same ground which grows a sour apple, will 
grow a sweet one : the two often grow on the 
same tree. The vegetable acids (of which ox- 
alic is one,) are produced in the organism of the 
tree or plant, and not in the land. True, the 
elements of the acid are gathered from the soil 
and air, but they do not exist in the acid form 
which we find in the plants. These very ele- 
ments when taken up by a potato plant form 
starch, when taken up by a corn plant form su- 
gar, and when taken up by a grape vine form 
lartanjc acid. If the soil itself be as closely 
examined as science will permit, there will be 
found neither the starch of the potato, the sugar 
of the corn, the cream of tartar of grapes, nor 
the oxalic acid of sorrel. In view of these facts, 
then it is useless to apply an alkali to the soil to 
neutralize an acid which does not exist there. 
But is there, then, no way of eradicating sor- 
rel ? Yes. It spreads, like quack-grass and 
Canada thistles, chiefly by under-ground stems, 
with numerous joints, each of which will form a 
plant. Break up the land in July and August, 
and put in a crop of buckwheat or rutabagas, 
and the intruder will be pretty well snubbed out. 
So, a corn crop or other hoed crop, if well till- 
ed in mid-summer, will answer a good purpose. 
Dressings of the soil are also very important. 
Applications of lime are useful to decompose 
vegetable matter, and so to " warm up " the 
land, and quicken the growth of plants. Chief 
of all in value, is barn-yard manure, applied co- 
piously, and well worked in. This gives strong 
food for the vigorous growth of other plants 
than sorrel, and when they occupy the land, 
this badge of an impoverished soil will disappear. 
New Potato Grown without Vines. 
In ths basket columns of the November Agri- 
culturist will oe found an account of the manner 
in which ne-v potatoes are sometimes produced 
without vines. A friend has brought us a re- 
markable illustration of this. A potato was ac- 
cidentally buried under a brick pavement, 
where it was warm enough to induce growth, 
but under conditions where branches could not 
reach the light and air. The engraving repre- 
sents the appearance of the potato, the old 
tuber being completely shrivelled and exhausted 
of its substance, while the new one is fresh and 
plump. Had this old potato been planted in 
the field, the nutriment contained in it would 
have gone to produce stems and leaves, but in 
this case, as there was no chance for these, it was 
consumed in producing an underground stem 
or tuber. There was s'.myly a transfer of the 
starch and other matters contained in the old 
potato, to the new one. This growth went on 
with such force as to lift a brick in the pave- 
ment, and thus led to its detection ; this will 
account for the flattened shape of the potato. 
An Improved Horse Stable. 
A letter on Horse Breeding, addressed to John 
E. Dcnnison by TV. Dickenson, read before the 
Royal Agricultural Society of England, descri- 
bes the stables for Draught Horses, used by the 
writer. The engraving of the plan given above 
will make the following description clear. 
" The stable should not be less than 18 feet 
wide, and of such a length as will allow 0-feet 
standing for each horse. It should be 10 feet 
high. The horses stand in a single row, and 
the harness is hung on pegs in the wall behind 
them. This width admits of thorough ventila- 
tion to the stable, without subjecting the horses 
to draughts. Each standing should be parted 
off by an upright post reaching from the ground 
to the ceiling rafter, placed 3 feet from the wall 
at the horse's head. These partitions should 
be closely boarded up 3 feet above the manger 
and hay crib, to prevent the horses quarrelling 
about the food, and biting each other. To 
each of these posts a " bale," 8 feet long and 20 
inches wide, should be hung by a strong chain, 
to divide the standings, and suspended by 
another strong chain at the hinder end from the 
ceiling rafter. Each chain should have a hook 
and eye within reach, that may be readily un- 
fastened. This arrangement will leave a space 
of 6 feet opposite the head of each horse, avail- 
able for feeding purposes. The manger for 
corn and chaff (cut feed) may be 2h feet 
long. It should be 2 feet wide at the top, 1 foot 
2 inches at the bottom. The hay and straw, 
which should be cut into 6-inch lengths, will 
require a larger receptacle, which should be 3 
feet G inches long, 2 feet wide at its upper part, 
and half that width below. It should be so 
constructed, that while it is even with the man- 
ger above, it should reach to the ground, 2 feet 
above which should be fixed to the wall a bot- 
tom, sloping to 1 foot above the ground in the 
front, where some upright openings should be 
cut, to allow the escape of the seeds and dirt. 
At the top of this hay and straw crib, an iron 
rack with bars 6 inches apart, should be so hung 
as to open up and fall back against the wall to 
let the fodder be put in, and then be put down 
upon it for the horse to eat through. It should 
be so much smaller than the opening that it can 
fall down with the fodder as it is consumed, by 
which means not a particle is wasted. The 
manger may be constructed of yellow deal \\ 
inches thick for the front, bade, and ends ; the 
bottom, of slate three-quarters of an inch thick. 
The top of the front and ends should be cover- 
ed with half round iron, 2A inches wide, screw- 
ed on to project over the front, a quarter of an 
inch outside, and three quarters of an inch inside 
the manger. This prevents the food being tossed 
out, and the manger being gnawed. Ashort post 
must be put up as near the 
centre of the standing as 
possible, to support the 
manger, into which a large 
screw ring must be put to 
let the chain or rope of the 
headstall pass freely up and 
down without constantfric- 
tion. The manger may be 
3 J feet from ground to top; 
the hay-crib of course the 
same bight. The paving of 
the standings, to '3k feet 
from the head should be 
flat, then with a fall from 
both sides to the centre, 
where an angle iron drain 
of 4 inches wide from end 
to end, with a removable flat iron cover fitted to 
the inside of it, should be placed straight down 
the standing, with a fall into another larger cross 
main drain 10 feet 6 inches from the head, so 
placed as to carry away the uriue from all the 
smaller drains into a tank outside the stable. 
This main drain so placed, takes the urine from 
the mares, and has a loose cover also fitted to 
it, easily removed for sweeping out when neces- 
sarj', perhaps once a week. This system keeps 
the stable healthy, economizes the urine, and 
the straw also — the latter very important where 
it can be sold, or consumed as food. The width 
of 18 feet for the stable gives room for narrow 
corn bins 3 feet high, so that each carter may 
have his horses' corn separate." 
The writer proceeds to describe his method of 
ventilating, which we omit because we have re- 
peatedly published superior ways, which are of 
universal application. In some respects the 
stable described may be considered needlessly 
expensive, but when one builds a stable to last 
100 years and to need no repairs, some extra 
expense at the outset is a good investment. 
A New Kemedy for Moles. 
■ — 
An article in the Horticulturist, recom- 
mends castor oil pomace to drive away moles. 
It says : " We have not tried it sufficiently 
to give it a thorough test, but we have the most 
implicit confidence in the assurance of a friend, 
who says that he has used it for many years 
with uniform success, driving the moles entirely 
from his place. The run of the mole is to be 
opened, and some of the pomace placed in it. 
The pomace has a very offensive smell, and is 
supposed to act by diffusing its strong odor 
through the run. It should not be placed too 
near plants, as it is very acrid, and will destroy 
them." Perhaps this is worth trying, as we 
know that castor oil beans have 'been recom- 
mended by many persons, who say they have 
used them with success. The pomace may bo 
had of Mr. Lane and other dealers in fertilizers. 
"Bad for the Cow." — When Geo. Stephen- 
son was presenting the claims of his first. Loco- 
motive to the British Parliament, he was sneer- 
ed at by many members. Said one of them : 
" Well Mr. Stephenson, see how absurd your 
idea is. Suppose it were possible for you to run 
your carriage twenty miles an hour, on straight 
rails so that it could not get off. What if a cow 
