m 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
dow land to the greatest state of fertility of 
which it is capable; consequently much remains 
in a condition in which it cannot possibly yield 
a fair profit to its occupier, unless he has re¬ 
course to some kind of artificial manure as an 
auxiliary. 
On large farms, the carting and spreading of 
dung is attended with much labor, and a con¬ 
siderable saving may be effected by supplying 
the fields nearest to the homestead with farm¬ 
yard dung, and those in more remote situations 
with guano or dissolved bones, which may be 
carted and applied at very small cost in labor, 
at the same time not omitting to give to such 
fields an occasional dressing of yard manure. 
Nothing should induce the farmer to lessen his 
appreciation of home-made dung, but to aid it 
by all means in his power by the use of bones 
and guano ; but never to lose sight of endeavor¬ 
ing to increase the bulk and improve the quali¬ 
fy of this invaluable fertilizer. This leads me 
to remark how little this object receives that 
degree of attention which it deserves. Those 
who have not witnessed the results produced 
will be slow to believe the great advantage 
gained by protecting yard manure from the ef¬ 
fects of weather; and this may to a great de¬ 
gree be accomplished by simple contrivances 
which are very rarely adopted; too often is the 
liquid likewise allowed to run to waste, instead 
of restoring it to be absorbed by the bulk, of 
which it is the essence. 
Peruvian guano and dissolved bones are un¬ 
questionably the best of the artificial manures, 
being quick in their operation, and they are 
those upon which the adulterator expends his 
chief ingenuity. Care therefore is requisite in 
the purchase of them, to insure their genuine 
quality. Not only does immediate loss result 
to the purchaser of an adulterated article, but 
he is deterred from the future use of it, and not 
unfrequently ascribes the failure of his expecta¬ 
tions to the wrong cause. The importation of 
guano, which in 1842 amounted to 1700 tons, 
reached in 1852 the large amount of 150,000 
tons. 
Peruvian guano is preferable to bones as a 
top-dressing for meadow-land, and two hundred 
weight per acre may be considered a fair quan¬ 
tity to apply. It is of the utmost import¬ 
ance that a favorable opportunity should be se¬ 
lected for this purpose. May is the proper time 
of year, and in this high situation from the mid¬ 
dle to the end of the month will, in general sea¬ 
sons, be soon enough; but it is of such vital im¬ 
portance that this description of manure should 
be applied during rainy weather, that perhaps 
no favorable opportunity at any period during 
the month should be lost. The most favorable 
time is at the moment when, from the state of 
the atmosphere, vegetation is just about to 
make a start; but guano should never be ap¬ 
plied except in damp weather, so that it may 
be immediately brought into contact with the 
roots, and not be left to lie on the surface of the 
ground, to be evaporated by heat and drought. 
Immediate benefit is not the only advantage 
to be derived from the application of artificial 
manures. The use of them results in affording 
gradually year by year fodder for a greater num¬ 
ber of cattle, both by increasing the quantity and 
improving the nutritive qualities of it, and 
thereby at the same time increasing the supply 
of home-manufactured manure. By means of 
them the hay crop will likewise be forced on, 
and be made ready for mowing probably ten 
days or a fortnight the earlier—an object of 
great importance in the Peak. 
PASTURES. 
Great improvement is to be effected in the 
grass lands of this district used as summer pas¬ 
tures, and especially in those of inferior quality. 
Alihough at an altitude averaging from 1,000 to 
1,400 feet above the sea, their substrata of lime¬ 
stone, general sufficiency and good quality of 
soil, and sweetness of herbage, render them ex¬ 
tremely healthy runs for young stock and sheep, 
of which they admit of being made to carry a 
greater number than they do at present. 
It may be looked upon as an invariable rule, 
that in proportion to the natural productiveness 
of a soil, the effects of top-dressing will be more 
or less advantageous. As the former ap¬ 
proaches the highest point, the latter will re¬ 
cede to the lowest. For instance, if three or 
four quarters of bone-dust per acre were to be 
applied to the rich grazing pastures of Iladdon 
Field, little or no benefit would result; but ap¬ 
ply the same quantity to any of the land around 
Mewhaven, and the improvement would be 
manifest. It is not too much to expect that 
some pastures, now only capable of maintaining 
young stock in store condition, may be made, 
by top-dressings judiciously selected and care¬ 
fully applied, to turn out stock in a fit state for 
the butcher; nor that hill-side pastures, to 
which it has been hitherto found impracticable 
to apply lime, will be found to admit of the pro¬ 
fitable application of light manures. 
Bones will in most cases be found to be the 
best and most enduring top-dressing for pas¬ 
ture land. For many years after their introduc¬ 
tion, the erroneous idea was entertained that 
they should be used in the dimensions of half 
an inch to an inch. Chemistry has, however, 
disclosed that bones of such a size decompose 
very slowly, and that therefore, in order to ob¬ 
tain a more immediate return for the outlay, 
they should be applied in dust, by dissolving 
them with sulphuric acid. When used in this 
state they are more easily and uniformly distri¬ 
buted on the land, and rendered much sooner 
available for the use of plants than half inch 
bones; and when so applied, the benefit which 
they are capable of affording is estimated to 
last for several years, 25 or 30 per cent, of such 
benefit being realized in the first year. 
Three quarters, which will average about half 
a ton in weight, is a proper quantity to apply 
at one dressing to an acre. If in any case it 
should appear desirable to apply a greater quan¬ 
tity of bones, it would be more advantageous to 
do so after a lapse of two or three years, than 
to lay it on at one application. 
The period for applying bones to grass land 
varies in different localities. Some advocate the 
autumn, and others the spring of the year, as 
the proper season. If applied in the shape of 
dust in the month of May, and during showery 
weather, when vegetation is on the move and 
ready to seize eagerly on any food that is grate¬ 
ful to it, the time cannot be wrong. 
Some excellent authorities in practical farm¬ 
ing (and among them is Mr. Pusey) are now ad¬ 
vocating the use of nitrate of soda as a top¬ 
dressing for grass land, but its merits have not 
been fairly tested on variety of soils, and its pro¬ 
fitable application must therefore be yet consid¬ 
ered doubtful. The value of bones and guano 
is established. 
I have called your attention to this subject 
from two motives—first, because I feel it my 
duty to do so in the management of the pro¬ 
perty entrusted to my charge by your noble 
landlord; and, secondly, because I am desirous 
to see you join heartily in the endeavors which 
are being made on all sides to arrive at a better 
cultivation of the soil by means profitable to 
the occupiers. I have adopted this mode of 
communication as being the most convenient; 
and upon the above or upon any other subject 
connected with the farms in your several occu¬ 
pations I shall be at all times willing to advise 
and consult with you. 
I remain, yours faithfully, 
Buxton , April 20, 1854. S. Smithers. 
Large Sale of Sheep in California. —Two 
thousand head of sheep were sold in this county 
on Tuesday; 1050 for $5 50 per head, and 350 
for $5. The sheep were right from Sonora, and 
were in no very good condition, yet we consider 
that the purchaser got one of those bargains of 
which we read sometimes .—Stockton Journal. 
- e O ©-- 
Wild Animals. — It is said that large droves 
of deer are moving westward from the Canadas. 
Red deer are very plenty on Lake Superior, and 
reindeer are much more frequent than formerly. 
Beaver are also quite numerous in that region.— 
Toledo {Ohio) Blade. 
- • • •- 
THE ANTWERP CARRIER PIGEON. 
The innate propensity of all tame pigeons to 
return to the place of their nativity or their es¬ 
tablished home, has led man to make use of 
them as mediums of communication, and as 
some sorts are preeminently useful in this res¬ 
pect, they have been named carrier pigeons. 
Of these, the Antwerp, the English carrier, 
horseman, and dragoon, the tumbler, and the 
owl, are the sorts most generally used. For 
the present, I will confine myself to a descrip¬ 
tion of the Antwerp carrier, a pigeon of all 
others that has proved most useful for long 
journeys, having performed extraordinary dis¬ 
tances. 
The Antwerp carrier derives its name from 
being first bred in the city of that name, in Bel¬ 
gium. In the ancient towers and lofty steeples 
of that venerable city, nestle a small variety of 
rock pigeon, peculiar, I believe, to that part of 
the Continent; in color they are mealy or 
strawberry, the wings barred with a redder tint, 
as also the neck; their beaks are dove-shaped, 
long and fine, the head round in front like that 
of the blue rock; the eyes bright and promi¬ 
nent, of a gravel or pale yellow color. They 
are exceedingly shy and wild, it being almost im¬ 
possible to entrap any of them; young ones are, 
however, occasionally taken from the nest and 
reared. These, and their progency, constitute 
the true Antwerp carrier. But these wild Ant- 
werps must not be confused with the wild, or 
rather the many escaped pigeons, numbers of 
which frequent the public buildings in most 
large towns. 
The few persons that breed this variety of 
pigeon are very choice of them, and rarely part 
with any; when, indeed, they do, generally 
those they can rely upon returning home. 
The housing propensity of this valuable va¬ 
riety of pigeons is so natural to them, that it is 
surprising what a small amount of training will 
make them proficients; squeakers will often re¬ 
turn home from long distances though they may 
have been kept in a considerable time. One 
marked peculiarity of the Antwerp is their 
flight, starting offin a straight line when thrown 
up, then turning direct for home, not circling 
round as other pigeons do before they start, and 
also the straggling appearance of the flight 
when turned out from their loft for exercise. 
They are good breeders at home, but if removed 
to a strange place it is almost impossible to get 
them to do so. So wild and restless are they, 
that if confined in an aviary for twelve months, 
most of them will be found in flying condition 
at the expiration of the time, and quite ready to 
perform the journey home, though it may be 
100 or 200 miles; whereas, were other pigeons 
thus confined, most of them would be so fat 
and out of practice, that they would be quite fa¬ 
tigued with a few circles, and very few of what 
are commonly called carrier pigeons would have 
any inclination to leave after such a long con¬ 
finement. 
It may be wondered at that, as these pigeons 
are so valuable, and also such good breeders, 
they do not become plentiful; but this is to be 
accounted for in many ways, a few of which 
are as follows: The various accidents to which 
pigeons are liable, either in being sent or return¬ 
ing from home from long journeys; the great 
number of birds of prey which are every where 
to be met with on the Continent; the continual 
disturbance to them while sitting to send them 
out for a match, for this pigeon-flying is carried 
to a great extent in Belgium, which causes 
those possessed of a pure strain to be very care¬ 
ful not to part from them, through the fear that 
they might, at some other time, unavoidably 
match against their own birds; this will also in 
a great measure account for their rare appear¬ 
ance in England. 
