Food and Manure—Butter* 
55 
the orange-globe will flourish wherever the 
latter will succeed. 
These are the details of the system I adopt 
as regards this root, and I shall be glad if I 
should prevail upon those who have not yet 
tried the culture of it to grow a small quantity, 
assured as I am that for certainty of crop and 
feeding properties the mangold-wurzel will not 
deceive expectation. 
Yours truly, 
W. Miles. 
different specimens of wheat which were grown 
on the same field, one of which had been 
dressed with the nitrate of soda and the other 
not, the result was— 
Wheat with 
nitrate. 
Bran, .... 25 
Gluten, .... 23^ 
Starch, .... 49^ 
Albumen, ... 1% 
Extract and water, 1 
100 
Bran, ..... 
Gluten, . . . . 
Starch, .... 
Albumen, . . . 
Extract and water, 
Wheat with¬ 
out nitrate. 
. . 24 
19 
55'a 
H 
% 
100 
Kingsweston , Nov. 1, 1841. 
Facts on Food and Manure. 
It has been before stated that every part of a 
plant contains nitrogen as well as carbon; but, 
as an invariable rule, the seed of all plants con¬ 
tains a much larger quantity of nitrogen than 
the leaves and stalks, and a lesser quantity of 
carbon, and inversely, the leaves and stalks 
contain a much greater quantity of carbon, and 
a lesser quantity of nitrogen. Now when a 
horse is fed on. grass, his food consists almost 
entirely of carbon; and the result is, that when 
he has a sufficient supply he gets fat—that is, 
that particles of oily, fatty matter are deposited 
on the muscles under the skin; but, as it is well 
known, a horse in this condition is quite unequal 
to any work, and the least exertion reduces his 
bulk. But when the same horse, under other 
circumstances, is fed on corn, his food consists 
principally of nitrogen; and although he may 
never, under this keep, get as fat as under the 
other, still the increase he does acquire will be 
pure muscle, or, as it is technically called, sound 
flesh; and on this keep he can perform infinitely 
more work with less fatigue than on food con¬ 
taining no nitrogen. 
A more complete instance could not be ad¬ 
duced to show that animals as well as plants 
can only assimilate that food which is presented 
them. In the first case, carbonaceous matters 
being the food of the horse, carbon is deposited 
in the shape of fat; in the latter, when more 
nitrogen enters into the composition of his food, 
the deposit of muscle preponderates. So it is 
with wheat. With a manure that only supplies 
carbonaceous matter, starch is the result. With 
a manure containing nitrogen, gluten is formed; 
both cases being completely analogous, and 
affording unerring proof of one simple and uni¬ 
form law. 
Another example of the singular effects re¬ 
sulting from the use of a chemical manure; 
not in the common and well known case, re¬ 
sulting from all manures, of an increase in the 
quantity of the crop, but in the quality. The 
authority is Professor Daubeny, of Oxford. 
“ In an analysis of one hundred parts of two 
Thus it is seen that the wheat so nitrated con¬ 
tains four and a half per cent, more gluten and 
one half per cent, more albumen than wheat not 
so nitrated ; and as it has been stated that gl uten 
is the substance to which flour owes its nutri¬ 
tious qualities, this alone would prove our posi¬ 
tion. But if we carry our investigation further, 
and see its results as to the real produce of bread, 
vve shall be more fully convinced than ever of 
the utility of this manure. And here again we 
resort to experiments made by the same dis¬ 
tinguished Professor, for an elucidation of the 
fact. 
Three pounds and a half of flour made from 
wheat dressed with nitrates produced 4 lbs. 
14 oz. of bread; whilst three and a half pounds 
of flour, made from wheat where no nitrate 
was used, yielded only 4 lbs. 4 oz. of bread; 
thus leaving 10 oz. of bread in favor of the 
wheat so nitrated.”— Squarey's Treatise on 
Agricultural Chemistry. 
15 titter. 
The great point in making good butter, and 
that which will keep, is the freeing it from all 
buttermilk; and if everything else is well done, 
if this point is overlooked, good butter is im¬ 
possible for any length of time. The mixture 
of milk in any degree with the butter is sure to 
produce frowsiness or any unpleasant taste to 
the butter: and the entire freedom from this 
constitutes the grand secret of making good 
butter. There are many who think washing 
butter with water incompatible with retaining 
the rich fla vor, but if the water is cold and pure 
it is scarcely possible anything should be wash¬ 
ed away, the buttermilk which destroys the 
flavor of all butter excepted. Besides, the best 
butter in the world, and that which in all 
markets commands the best price, viz., Dutch 
butter, is invariably made in this way; and 
where the example has been followed by others, 
it has rarely failed of success. If any, how¬ 
ever, doubt the propriety of washing butter, they 
may use any method they choose, provided the 
milk is separated perfectly. Perfectly free from 
the substance that causes it to assume the putrid 
frowsy taste of bad butter, it may be kept with 
