AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
929 
manufactured, it is ’perfectly dried, and when in 
that state, becomes cakey and hard, and is brought 
into the house, and without fermentation, is 
screened first through a half-inch screen, and then 
again through a quarter-inch screen.” It is then 
ready for market. 
This manure is recommended for all sorts of 
crops ; though some persons find it less useful on 
wheht than any other. Mr. Downing esteemed 
it highly “for all the neater work of sowing and 
planting in gardens. For strawberries, for early 
vegetables, flower-beds, roses, &c., it is prefer¬ 
able to nearly every thing usually to be had ; be¬ 
cause, unlike guano, it enriches without burning, 
may be safely used with any plant, and brings no 
weeds, like common manure. We consider a bar¬ 
rel of it fully equal in fertilizing material to four 
cart-loads of stable manure.” 
These commendatory remarks apply as well to 
the home-made poudrette as to that bought in 
market, at so much a barrel. 
-- ---- -- 
Tanners’ Waste and Wool for Manure. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
There is one manure of which I have seen little 
notice, viz., the hair obtained at tanneries. Lime 
and salt are freely mixed with it there, and it ne¬ 
cessarily becomes an active stimulant to the 
growth of vegetation. Living near to the city, I 
have gathered many loads of this hair and scat¬ 
tered it upon my land. I am now throwing it up¬ 
on a piece of grass which I intend to plow in 
August for wheat and Spring crops. But many of 
my neighbors have asked me, ‘‘What is that?” 
and “ is it good for anything 1” I answer, “ come 
and sec." It has occurred to me, therefore, that 
many who live in the neighborhood of tanneries, 
are ignorant of the value of this manure, who, 
if their attention were called to the matter, would 
gather it up and mix it with their soil. 
Wm. Crockek. 
Buffalo, N. Y., Jane 10th., 1858. 
Remarks. —We have frequently recommended 
as valuable fertilisers, not only hair, but also what 
is called “tanners’ waste,” including the hair, 
fleshings, clippings and other refuse. All of these 
animal substances are excellent manures. Hair 
and wool are similar in composition. Not long 
since, an article was advertised in this journal, 
professing to be made of waste wool soaked in 
urine. Such a preparation must be very valuable. 
We did not call special attention to it then, be¬ 
cause the samples we examined appeared to con¬ 
tain too much sand carelessly mixed in. Cleaned 
of this, it would be a very cheap manure at the 
price asked—$30 a tun. 
----——-- 
Potatoes Mixing in the Hill. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
In the June Agriculturist is an article under the 
above heading, in reply to which I wish to give 
an item in my experience. About 10 years ago 
I‘ planted in my garden, some round blue potatoes, 
in conjunction with pinkeyes, so called, though 
there was scarcely any of the Pink to be seen 
about them. 
On digging them, I found some of the pinkeyes 
had stripes of blue on them, one being nearly 
half covered with it. I carefully preserved this 
potato, and planted it the next Spring. On har¬ 
vesting again in the Fall, I found some potatoes 
completely covered with blue. Not only was the 
color changed, but the shape was somewhat mod¬ 
ified, being almost precisely like that of the long 
red, except the eyes were not so deep. 
The flesh of this potato is pure white, mealy 
and delicious as any potato I ever ate, before 
they were affected by the disease, to which they 
are as little liable as any I ever raised. 
In the light of the facts as above stated, what 
becomes of your philosophy in the article alluded 
to 1 That the mixing was produced through the 
“ blossoms,” I readily admit; but that the “ seed 
balls ” had any thing to do with it, I must ask 
permission to doubt, and even to deny. I see no 
more reason to doubt the idea of potatoes mixing 
in this way, that is through the blossom and 
down the stalk, then that corn should mix by a 
similar process. However this may be, your 
philosophy entirely fails to account for this case, 
although new varieties may and have often been 
produced as you described. I. S. Morrill. 
Lawrence. Mass. 
Remark. —We can not explain the particular 
instance referred to. The potatoes themselves, 
when first planted, may have been mongrels re¬ 
cently produced from mixed seed ; or the second 
crop may have grown in part from a tuber or two 
of a former crop left in the ground. We are con¬ 
fident, however, that half-a-dozen kinds of pota¬ 
toes planted in the same hill, would have no effect 
upon the product of each other. It is contrary to 
reason and general experience. 
-‘•-4- rn <m & PH '" » & - 
A Refreshing Rain. 
Niagara River, July 12. 
After a long and severe drouth, the vegetation 
parched and dull, the ground all cracked and ashy, 
what sensation so grateful to the farmer, the gar¬ 
dener, the business man, the mechanic, or laborer 
either, as a sight of the rolling up of the clouds, 
and the pouring out of a gentle, prolonged, deli¬ 
cious rain ! So it has been with us, and now is 
at this present writing. Three weeks ago, the 
clouds, with their descending rains, which had 
been upon us for a month before, reluctantly scat¬ 
tered away, and left the sun with his genial warmth 
to shine upon and glorify the face of the earth in 
its luxuriant vegetation. It brought up the late 
planted seeds; it strengthened the attenuated 
grass, and Spring grains, and made solid and nu¬ 
tritious the previously watery and imperfect 
herbage, scarcely yet nutiitious for the cattle; 
and with but a single slight shower a fortnight 
ago, the fierce heat continued until every creature 
gasped for breath, and vegetation itself gave un¬ 
mistakable signs of suffering. Indeed, proceed¬ 
ing on the doctrine of extremes in this versatile 
climate of ours, we feared, that after such a flood 
would come a drouth, even of intensity, and be¬ 
tween them both, our Summer’s labors would be 
cut off, or suffer beyond remedy. 
But, on the night of the 10th of July, the 
clouds gathered, and on the Sunday* morning suc¬ 
ceeding, on waking, we found a delicious, gentle 
rain descending upon the thirsty earth, continu¬ 
ing in considerable showers throughout the day, 
and on Monday—now the 12th—still falling, to a 
thorough drenching of the soil, and a watering of 
the growing crops, equal to all their wants for some 
weeks to come. The young corn, potatoes, and 
buckwheat drink it in most gratefully, starting 
anew—the first two in their almost stoppage of 
* This shower did not reach the vicinity of New York 
city until Tuesday noon, July 13, when it came down 
suddenly, and in great abundance, to the discomforture of 
the Publisher, and some hundreds of little folks, who 
were enjoying a splendid Sabbath School pic-nic in a 
grove, away from home. Didn’t the little “ ducks ” enjoy 
the rain, though, notwithstanding the spoiling of much 
gay plumage 1 What a scampering for our carriages drawn 
by an iron horse, and how we all rejoiced to get home, and 
then look out and “ see it pour down.” 
growth, and bringing the last out of the ground 
where its dry seeds lay unswollen and useless. 
All the garden vegetation has revived, and is 
shooting forth with unwonted vigor, and will give 
abundant yield. Our hay harvest is stopped for 
the moment, timely enough, for it was getting 
crisp and prematurely ripe in the meadows,and the 
undergrowth will be all the thicker and stouter 
for the renewed moisture. Thanks, then, to a 
kind Providence for such a delightful, replenish¬ 
ing rain. 
We can now congratulate our brother farmers, 
and the country at large, on a good prospect in 
their Summer crops. Although the prolonged 
rains of the later Spring and early Summer had 
prevented the timely planting of the corn and po¬ 
tatoes, yet they got planted at last, and the genial 
weather since has brought them rapidly forward, 
and the present rain will push them to such ex¬ 
tent, as nearly, if not quite overtake, by mid- 
August, their accustomed seasonable maturity. 
We have no fears, indeed, of the ultimate result in 
most of our crops, and rejoice thereat, equally 
with those who, in other event, would be the 
severest sufferers. 
After all,we have compensations, more or less, 
in our seasons of distrust and calamity, more 
than we, at the moment, know of. When were 
our pastures ever more abundant, our stock in 
finer Summer condition, our barns so well filled 
with last year’s forage, now Summering over, 
and such a superabundance of sustenance on the 
ground for our stock through another Winter 1 
Never, to our own knowledge. And for all that 
let us be devoutly thankful ! 
Last Saturday, we lay gasping in the heated 
and parched atmosphere, wishing— wishing — 
wishing —scarcely daring to hope that it would 
rain, and fearing the worst to the growing crops. 
To-day, on Monday, we look out in gladness at 
the drenched vegetation, and on the soaked land, 
with revived hopes and anticipations, and feel in 
our inmost heart that every intelligent creature 
will respond with us—how beautiful is the rain ! 
--o-«-—-- 
Crops in Kentucky. —Mrs. C. H. 'P., of Win¬ 
chester, Clarke Co., Ky., adds to a business let¬ 
ter under date of July 13 : We have rain this 
morning after a drouth ; wheat all sound, though 
injured by rust ; corn good ; very little fruit of 
any kind ; oats dead ripe. I had roasting ears 
July 6th from the King Philip corn you distrib¬ 
uted. I pinched off the runners from my grape 
vines, leaving only two, and these have grown 10 
to 12 feet already. 
-0-4 »- •»-- 
What is the Earth .Answers. 
“ What is earth, sexton 1 A place to dig graves. 
—What is earth, rich man 1 A place to work 
slaves.—What is earth, graybeard 1 A place to 
grow old.—What is earth, miser I A place to dig 
gold—What is earth, schoolboy 1 A place for my 
play. —What is earth, maiden 1 A place to be 
gay. _What is earth, seamstress 1 A place where 
I W eep.—What is earth, sluggard A good place 
to sleep.—What is earth, soldier 1 A place for a 
battle.—What is earth, herdsman? A place to 
raise cattle.—What is earth, widow ? A place of 
true sorrow.—-What is earth, tradesman 1 111 
tell you to-morrow.—What is earth, sick man ? 
’Tis nothing to me.—What is earth, sailoi 1 My 
home is the sea.—What is earth, statesman ? 
A place to win fame.—What is earth, author ? 
I’ll write there my name.—What is earth,- mon¬ 
arch 1 For my realm ’tis given.—What is eartlj, 
I Christain? The gateway to heaven.” 
