16 EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURES.-DEGENERACY OF ANIMALS.-CURE FOB FISTULA. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURES. 
Nitrate of Soda, Nitrate of Potash, Sulphate of 
Soda, Salt and Soot .—We condense from the English 
Agricultural Journal, a series of experiments with the 
above manures, made by Mr. Hannam on several 
kinds of grain the past season and detailed at consid¬ 
erable length. 
Oats —per imperial acre, over the skme kind of 
land where nothing was applied, gained with 84 lbs. of 
nitrate soda, mixed with 168 lbs. of common salt, 
5.76 bushels grain, and 304 lbs. straw; with 112 lbs. 
of nitrate potash, 4.26 bushels grain, and 304 lbs. 
straw; with 112 lbs. of nitrate potash, 4.26 bushels 
grain, and 280 lbs. straw; with 236 lbs. of salt, 6.66 
bushels grain, and 350 lbs. straw. 
Barley gained with 168 lbs. of nitrate soda, 14.12 
bushels grain, and 572 lbs. straw; with 112 lbs. 
nitrate soda, mixed with the same quantity of sul¬ 
phate soda, 11.55 bushels grain, and 432 lbs. straw; 
with 84 lbs. of nitrate soda, mixed with 168 lbs. salt, 
10.42 bushels grain, and 600 lbs. straw; with 114 
lbs. of nitrate potash, 11.16 bushels grain, and 714 
lbs. straw; with 336 lbs. salt, 11.42 bushels grain, 
and 44 lbs. straw. 
Wheat gained with 140 lbs. of nitrate soda, 5.62 
bushels grain, and 424 lbs. straw; with 112 lbs. of 
nitrate potash, 4.25 bushels grain, and 316 lbs. straw; 
with 32 bushels of soot, 2.25 bushels grain, and 68 
lbs. straw; with 336 lbs. of salt, 1.4 bushels grain, 
and decreased the straw 96 lbs.; with 140 lbs. of 
sulphate soda, the grain decreased .83 of a bushel, 
and increased the straw 28 lbs. 
The good or ill success of such experiments, as 
detailed above, must always depend more or less on 
the situation of the land, the elements contained in 
the soil, and something on the season. For example : 
if the land be within reach of sea-breezes, which for 
centuries have been supplying it with soda, an appli¬ 
cation of nitrate of soda would not benefit it; nor 
would nitrate of potash, a soil already containing a 
sufficiency of potash. It would be the same with 
lime, plaster, &c., &c.; so that in making experi¬ 
ments, all these things must be considered. Still, we 
would not advise the farmer at all times to be at the 
expense of an analysis of his soil, to see what ele¬ 
ments it contained, but would advise him to make a 
few cheap experiments on a small scale, and if these 
proved successful, then enlarge them. This would 
cost him less than a good analysis, and be more cer¬ 
tain and satisfactory, as there will be attendant cir¬ 
cumstances in all experiments, over which the chemist 
can have no control, and for which he cannot always 
account. 
DEGENERACY OF ANIMALS ?'f A CHANGE 
OF CLIMATE. 
The Maine Farmer says, “ The principle seems 
now to be very generally recognized, that most cattle 
. degenerate with a change of climate.” We cannot 
confess to any such general recognition, and must 
a !d, that a change of climate may as often be the 
means of an improvement in ca.ttle, as a degeneracy 
in them; for these matters depend entirely on what 
t'.iey are, where taken, and how treated in, their new 
h,;.ne. We think the Devons have not degenerated 
in New England, when proper attention has been paid 
to their breeding, and we know that they have in¬ 
creased in size when taken to the rich pastures of the 
west Durhams and Herefords would be likely to 
degenerate in size in the extreme Northern States, es¬ 
pecially on the short pastures of the mountains; but 
they hold their own in the Middle and Western 
States. The Norman horse has lost in size in Cana¬ 
da; yet it is believed that he has gained in constitu¬ 
tion, speed and endurance. The blood horse brought 
from England has not deteriorated here, and the Ara¬ 
bian has gained in size. Sheep also hold their own 
remarkably well in America, especially the Merinos 
of Spain, and the Southdowns of England. Does 
the editor expect his fine Cotswold buck, just received 
from Mr. Sotham, to degenerate ? We should be ap¬ 
prehensive in the colder climate of Maine that he 
might some in size; not so, however, in Ohio, Ken¬ 
tucky, and any other states in the same latitude, with 
good pastures. 
“Almost every county” in England is very far, at 
present, from having its “ peculiar stock.” On the 
contrary, we should think that full one-third of them 
have as great a mixture as can be found in any coun¬ 
ty in the United States. The imported Cattle, such as 
the Durhams, Herefords, and Devons, are rapidly and 
widely spreading in Great Britain and Ireland; and 
this they are doing without degeneracy, wherevei 
good pasture is to be obtained, and proper attention is 
paid to them. They would not answer at all on the 
bleak mountains of Wales and Scotland, nor in the 
bogs of Ireland ;. for nothing can live there, save the 
hardy dwarf natives. But these improve, and very 
rapidly too, in a change of climate, when brought 
down to the rich lowland pastures ; and it is quite a 
system with the graziers in Great Britain to thus fit 
these hardy animals for the London market. 
CURE FOR FISTULA IN HORSES. 
Mr. Harmon, in the Genesee Farmer, attests to the 
efficacy of the following singular method of curing 
the fistula: 
“ Procure a large warty toad, and having a thick 
glove or mitten on the hand, take up the toad and 
hold his back on the fistula for one or two minutes ; 
take it off a short time, then put it on again, and rub 
its back slightly over the affected part, and continue 
to rub it thus for about an hour, by which time the 
toad will be dead, and should be buried. The horse 
will be rather uneasy at first, but after a few minutes 
he will stand quietly. Care should be taken not to 
hold your head too near or over the place of applica¬ 
tion, as the fumes are somewhat sickening. A milky 
fluid, said to be poisonous, exudes from the warts on 
the back of the toad, which is supposed to give effi¬ 
cacy to the remedy. 
“ The sore will discharge for three or four weeks 
after the operation, when the pus will come out and 
the place speedily heal. Very bad fistulas, of long 
standing, may require a second application, but in all 
ordinary cases one will prove sufficient.” 
A friend at our elbow says, put a seton in the 
fistula, at the lower part of it. This will discharge 
the pus. Then inject soap suds, made from fine soap 
(Castile is the best), frequently for one day. Next 
inject a weak solution of oil of vitriol two, or per¬ 
haps three times a day, for one or two days. After 
this, wash clean with soap suds. In a short while 
the fistula will be well. Poll-evil may be cured in 
the same way. 
