EXPENSIVE MANURING. 
225 
EXPENSIVE MANURING. 
It is an almost universal practice in the south- 
ern parts of Virginia and North Carolina, to 
scrape out the fence corners of old fields, and in 
moving or rebuilding, to rake up all the roots, 
weeds, leaves, grass, and soil of the fence row, 
and haul them on the land for manure. Two 
thirds of the mass is nothing but sand, and two 
thirds of the other third is soil, no better than 
that of the land upon which it is to be applied. 
It is true that these fence scrapings are a little 
better than nothing; but still, not worth the 
labor, and are the most expensive manure ever 
used. 
If the hands, to say nothing about the team, 
were put to work at 25 cents a-day and that 
money laid out in Peruvian guano, and applied 
in place of this fence-row manure, it would pro- 
duce four times the effect. And yet, although 
this statement is wholly true, we do not expect 
it will be believed, nor that one in a hundred 
will try the experiment to prove its truth, so 
obstinately are farmers wedded to old habits, 
however erroneous. 
■*** . 
NEW SAW MILL. 
A Mormon, at the west, has in- 
vented a new saw mill, which is 
propelled by the weight of the 
log to be sawed. The saw is 
so made as to require no setting, 
and we presume runs in such a 
manner as to file itself. It is 
all placed on wheels, which are 
undoubtedly carried forward, (to 
any part of the woods, where 
the best saw logs are to be found,) 
by the action of the machine. 
This is a good deal like a new 
potato-raising system, broached a 
year or two ago, in which the seed 
was placed on a rock, and cov- 
ered with fresh straw. The ad- 
vantages were, no plowing nor 
cultivating, and clean planting and 
digging. What the yield was, is 
not stated. 
The only match for these, and several other 
important improvements we have seen, is the 
modern society for social advancement, where 
the committees are overrun with comforts, happi- 
ness, and wealth; where there is neither hard 
nor dirty work to do; where, in short, every- 
thing belongs to everybody, and all have just 
what they want done for them, without doing 
anything themselves. 
Cranberries. — Who has raised this delicious 
fruit with success, in the neighborhood of New 
York ? We don't think beavers, muskrats, nor the 
fox and lynx tribes, can be reared with much 
profit for their skins, as was once attempted ; but 
we see no reason why cranberries may not be 
raised as advantageously as any of our cultivated 
fruits. There are thousands of acres of worth- 
less swamps within a hundred miles of the city, 
that might be made to produce a handsome 
income if set in cranberries. Who will begin % 
THE AMERICAN BLACK WOLF. 
The American black wolf, (Canis nubijus.) 
although less common than the other varieties, 
is considered more dangerous and ferocious, 
sometimes making sad havoc among sheep and 
lambs. It is found more or less abundant 
throughout the wooded districts of the Canadas, 
the northern states, and of the entire Alleghany 
range, to their termination in Georgia. 
The length of this animal is about five feet, 
eight inches, of which the tail occupies one foot, 
eight inches; the height at the fore shoulders, 
about two feet, three inches, and the girth of 
body about two feet, seven inches. The gen- 
eral color of the body is brownish-black, some- 
what mottled with darker shades ; the belly, 
much lighter, with a broad stripe of black, un- 
defined at the edges, running up the breast; the 
back, blackish, very slightly mottled with white, 
caused by the intermixture of. different hairs; 
the body is covered with a soft, thick down, light- 
grey at the roots, and brownish-grey at the end ; 
besides this fur, there is likewise a longer hair 
which is the general color of the animal ; this 
The Black Wolf. — Fig. 65. 
hair on the back is white at the roots, then 
black, then pure white, then black again at the 
tip, giving a speckled appearance to the back. 
The tail is large and bushy ; the hair long, loose, 
and nearly black, as also is the throat and 
breast. The feet and legs are black ; the hair 
on the front of the legs close, bristly, and 
shining. The head is black with the face cov- 
ered with short, close hair; the nose pointed, 
small, and black ; the ears short, pointed, and 
upright. 
The black wolf is much stronger than a dog 
of the same size, and his mode of biting is very 
different from that of a dog. Instead of re- 
taining his hold, like a dog, when he seizes 
his enemy, he bites by repeated snaps, given, 
however, with great force, often lacerating, the 
flesh a foot or more to each jerk. Like all car- 
nivorous animals, his thirst for blood is irresis- 
tible, and he often kills his victim without d.e- 
