southern cultivator. 
333 
•out or not. Owing to the softness of the ground it wasal- 
most impossible to open a shallow drill, and thus the seed 
were imbedded too deep. The woolly coat of the seed 
easily conibuiing with the plastic soil, the hull v/as left ad- 
hering to the neck of the plant, setting at defiance the 
natural operation of the germinal law. The result was 
what every one acquainted with the case must hare been 
led tc expeci— the dying of the plants from the time they 
were a few days old, till every one seriously affected had 
disappeared. 
Heie,tl;ei!. were the same circumstances and conditions 
preceding a t\J attending the death of cotton at the late 
period or this season, which usually precede and attend 
the early platiting, and which may be summed up in the 
few words— planting too deep in ground too wet. 
This cause is sufficient for the effect, and no other cause 
can be shown to account for all the facts and circum- 
stances. But in the present case it is one thing to discover 
the cause and quite another and more difficult to devise a 
remedy or pit vantive. How is this calamity to be pre- 
vented 1 Ofj'y by proper planting. By planting so as to 
afford every seed tJie fullest opportunity of fulfilling the 
important ger.ninal law above explained. As the woolly 
coat of the seed is u great obstacle to this, and the chief 
morbific agent, the removal of it becomes^a desideratum. 
In the absence of any available method of denuding the 
hull, it will answer the purpose to roll the seed well be- 
fore planting. This, I know, is objected to as trouble- 
some, but those who have practiced it for 3/ears find the 
trouble not at all commensurate with the beneficial results. 
Rolling has been somewhat extensively used as a means 
of making the seed distribute more readily, but its effect 
in preventing the adhesion of the hull is far more import- 
ant. Seed intended for planting should be ginned as clean 
as possible, and rolled smooth by sprinkling them with 
water and rolling on a smooth hard surface of ground, 
till the woolly coat becomes solid. The addition of a little 
slaked lime, or dry ashes, facilitates the operation and 
affords a slight stimulant to the process of germination. 
But the most important element, indeed the sine qua non, 
of good planting, is to deposit the seed in a straight thin 
line, at the least depth that will secure sufficient moisture 
to swell and burst them; in a drill of such shape as to af- 
ford a tolerably firm line of dirt just beneath the seed, and 
open or yield easily upward, covering with finel57^ pulver- 
ized earth, slightly compressed so as to retain the mois- 
ture which rises from below in contact with the seed. 
These difficult conditions and the important result, can be 
much more perfectlj^ accomplished by a combination of 
mechanical devices than by hand. The mechanic is the 
divinity of raodeim progress, too long ignored by the cot- 
ton planter. Of all the industrial pursuits, none are so 
destitute of time-saving and labor-perfecting aids as that 
of cotton planting. To keep pace with other branches of 
agriculture, every operation from the planting to the press- 
ing, must be performed by machines, capable in the hands 
of the common laborer of substituting his uncultivated 
and deficient intellect, doing more and better work, and 
accomplishing a larger and more reliable result than can 
be obtained by the old, tedious, unaided and uncertain 
means. Cotton is supposed to be, while young, a very 
delicate plant, and much is said about its liability to dis- 
ease and disaster. But there is no seed more sure to 
vegetate, and no plant easier and more sure to live and 
thrive, when a judicious culture follows the fulfillment of 
its germinal laws, supplying the elements of its growth in 
constant harmony with its natural demands. 
A. W. Washburn, M. D. 
Yozoo CUy, Miss., September, 1857. 
All subscriptions to the Southern Cultivator begin 
with the January number. 
COMPOST HEAPS — MANURES, &c. 
Dr. Daniel Lee — Dear Sir : — The very pleasant ac- 
quaintance and conversation with you which accident 
procured me, on the steam cars, induces me to address 
you at present, and at the same time to acknowledge 
gratefully the great pleasure and instruction derived from 
intercourse with you on that occasion. It will not perhaps 
be so agreeable a reminiscence, when you are told that 
it is the cause of your being troubled with the present 
communication; which, yet you will, perhaps, not con- 
sider a trouble, when it is considered as an opportunity of 
conveying useful information that is greatly desired and 
may be a great benefit to all. 
My present object is to request of you, through your 
paper, to give some plain, very practical plan for the ap- 
plication of urine or night-soil, especially of urine and 
human urine to the manuring of the soil. Liebig and others 
state that the urine of one human being for a year is suf- 
ficient to manure richly an acre of ground. Now I could 
manure in this way, if there were any practical method of 
accomplishment, at least forty acres, with perhaps 20 or 
30 more from other sources, which would be amply suf- 
ficient, if the manure were efficient in producing good 
crops, to keep up and improve my lands. 
Now, the desideranda in the use of this manure is to de- 
odorise without destrojnng efficiency, for the ammonia is 
not generated (as I understand) until the urine putrifies 
when it ought to be fixed, while the deodorising ingredi- 
ents such as charcoal, powdered sulphate of lime, sulphur- 
ic acid, sulphate of iron, &e., it might seem woul i pre- 
vent putrefactian. Again, there is difficulty in properly dis- 
tributing it over the land. Pray inform me whether there are 
any cheap instruments for drilling seed and manure, es- 
pecially guano, both at the same time, or the manure 
separately, if necessary. Mr. John Kettleweil, of Balti- 
more, advertises manufactured guano, which is composed 
by chemical mixture (he says) of Peruvian guano and 
best phosphated guanoes ; I would send you his adver- 
tisement if I did not suppose you already in possession. 
Can you recommend his mixture I Or can you suggest 
any other mixture with the Peruvian guano, which will 
supply the phosphates in which it is deficient, preventing 
at the same time the waste of ammonia in which it is re- 
dundant and liable from its volatility to waste 1 
As a practical answer to these questions will be of pub- 
lic utility, therefore, in accordance with the object of your 
journal, I trust you will not feel burthened in making a 
response to the questions. 
I remain, with much respect and esteem, yours, 
W. E. Bailey. 
Robertville, S. C., 1857. 
Answer to the above. — As it might be difficult to pro- 
cure an apparatus for distributing liquid manure, whether 
from persons or cattle, we suggest to our friend and others 
to pour all chamber ley, soap suds, and slops from the 
kitchen not fed to hogs, upon a compost heap that will ab- 
sorb all the liquid and retain all the ammonia and other 
fertilizing gasses that may be evolved. The body of the 
compost ma}?- be decayed forest leaves, rotten chips, com- 
mon mould, or even good loam or clay — all of which are 
excellent absorbents, and prepare night-soil for immedi- 
i ate use, when properly incorporated therewith. By dig- 
ging out a basin and claying its sides in, none of its urine 
or other liquids will ever be lost by the leaching of the 
mass. 
As to guano, it is doubtless best for every cultivator to 
mix his guano rather than buy any “manipulated” article. 
Our knowledge of the Peruvian and Mexican guano leads 
