$36 
City Manures—Testing Plows—Dynamometers—Raising Wheat, 
Ashes from Anthracite Coal and City Ma¬ 
nures. —Will some of our readers furnish us the re¬ 
sults of experiments on the application of the anthra¬ 
cite ashes to different crops in dissimilar soils, and un¬ 
der various circumstances '{ We have repeatedly- 
asked for the above information personally, hut have 
met with no one able to give a satisfactory answer to 
the inquiry. By many, their utility is doubted, and 
others assert that they are positively injurious. We 
believe, on the contrary, they contain highly concentrat¬ 
ed principles of nutrition, which only require the pro¬ 
per treatment, to add immensely to the fertility of our 
vegetable gardens and farming lands. We should be 
happy to demonstrate to our municipal authorities the 
propriety of withdrawing some of the stimulants of our 
olfactories, and the anthracite ashes among them, 
which now so abundantly fill our streets, and applying 
them as stimulants to the soil. 
As before stated, in our 2d No. the urate from an 
adult in one year, contains fertilizing matter sufficient 
to produce over 13 bushels of wheat; and if to this 
we add its half, for the other excrementitious mat¬ 
ter, we have the materials for furnishing 20 bushels of 
wheat annually from each person. If we estimate the 
population of this city, Brooklyn and their dependen¬ 
cies, for the purpose of including such as do not make 
use of these materials of fertilization, we shall have at 
least 350,000. The loss of ashes, garbage, and other 
commodities, together with the wasted manure from 
animals, chimical works, glass-houses, butchers premis¬ 
es, &,e. &c., is equivalent to 50,000 more. From this 
deduct what is now used in poudrette, crushed bones, 
and animal manures, carelessly collected from the 
streets and carried off by our neighboring farmers, and 
we shall make a liberal allowance by estimating it at 
one half. This may appear an exaggerated estimate 
to the ignorant and unreflecting, but we believe its 
correctness will readily be admitted by the most scien¬ 
tific agriculturists. We have then, as the result of the 
annual loss to this neighborhood, from the want of pro¬ 
per and efficient means for husbanding this uncoined 
gold of the farmer, the prime materials of his wealth, 
200,000 times 20 bushels of wheat, amounting to 
4,000,000 bushels, or its equivalent in other products. 
From this, we are to deduct the cost of raising and 
bringing to market, which may be set down at oen half. 
The expense of collecting and removing the manure, 
we should consider as fully compensated by the ab¬ 
sence of the noxious smells and loathsome sights, yes, 
and the very taste of the putrid things, when after being 
ground to an impalpable powder, they are stirred up 
by every passing vehicle, or ambling jade, or gust of 
wind, and float over our palates as we inhale the breath 
of life. Here is a great practical reform needed in our 
city, which if thoroughly carried out, would afford 
health to the town and wealth to the country. Did we 
possess a tithe of the investigations on this subject, we 
have on the politics of the day, and a hundredth part of 
the effort to mature and carry out some efficient plan 
for its accomplishment, that we make in electing the 
Namby Pambys and Tommy Noodles to a short-lived, 
petty office, we should secure decency, comfort, health 
and abundance to ourselves, instead of the more than 
half heathenish nuisances by which we are surrounded. 
We trust that some of our worthy schepens and burgo¬ 
masters will take up this subject, after getting through 
the more important matters of the election. We can 
assure them, there are laurels to be won in this cause 
greener and more enduring, than any they can secure 
from the most successful political career for 20 years 
to come. They can commence a plan, but science only 
is competent to perfecting it. 
It should be the next great undertaking after the Cro¬ 
ton enterprise. We make no suggestions as to the ul¬ 
timate plan. The longest experience, the deepest re¬ 
search, the most extensive observation, and the highest 
attainments of science, can all he worthily and appro¬ 
priately bestowed on this object. The most gifted 
minds alone are competent to this task. A Davy, a 
Liebig or a Dana, might do much to perfect a system, 
though a combination of effort from all the genius of 
the age, would still leave this subject in its infancy. 
Those who affect to consider this subject too low for 
them, are mistaken in their relative positions. They 
are too low for the subject. It demands the highest at¬ 
tainments, and if we mistake not the spirit of the age, 
it will ere long receive them. 
Suggestions for testing Plows. —We are not a 
little chagrined in being compelled to witness, in two 
conspicuous trials of plows this fall, at the N. Y. State 
Fair, and the Fair of the American Institute, the want 
of sufficient accuracy in the test, to enable the commit¬ 
tees to speak confidently and decidedly of the result. 
We believe the only perfect trial of the relative draught 
of plows, must be made by a windlass, to be so gradu¬ 
ated, as to its power and motion, that a man can easily 
move the plows at an equal and regular, though slow 
and suitable speed. It is certain there can be no test 
without perfect equality of speed, as much more power 
is required to move the instrument fast than slow. A 
furrow eight or ten feet in length, on precisely the 
same soils, is sufficient; and these furrows could be re¬ 
peated as often as required, till a committee was satis¬ 
fied. A stationary windlass would be the most simple, 
with the rope passing over a pulley, to be attached 
to a pointed bar or stake which is to be moved to the 
right point in every successive furrow; or what is bet¬ 
ter, a horizontal timber firmly secured at right angles 
with the furrows, and the chain or rope holding the 
pulley, could be slipped along as required. The ground 
for the trial should be a firm compact turf, on a strong¬ 
ly adhesive soil, of the proper degree of moisture. To 
j make the experiment complete, we would advise, that 
j in addition to exactness in width and depth as near as 
may be, the preceding furrow be so far removed from 
! the unplowed land, that a board or plank of the re¬ 
quired length and width can be laid down to receive the 
entire furrow as it is turned over, and the weight ol 
this mass would furnish a correction to any inaccuracy 
as to the width and depth of the furrows under trial. 
Dynamometers. —We have seen none quite perfect 
thus far. We believe the correct principle is applied, 
but some more experience is required to perfect them. 
We hope another year will furnish us with such as are 
faultless. The price asked for such as we have seen, 
is about $15. We do not think it policy to lower the 
standai’d of value, but rather to bring the merits of the 
instrument up to the price. A dynamometer, properly 
applied, is a very important instrument, and may save 
thousands of bushels of provender annually to the 
members of every county Agricultural Society, and 
I none should be without one. 
Growing Wheat in the Eastern States. —We sug¬ 
gest for our eastern farmers, the propriety of applying 
to their land on which their wheat is sown, a plentiful 
supply of ashes. We believe it is the alkali, rather than 
the lime, that is requisite to mature and perfect good 
and abundant crops of this valuable grain. The addi¬ 
tion of the straw to the land devoted to this crop, we 
also deem important. Shall we hear from some of them 
on this subject l 
