AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
m 
SOAKING WHEAT IN BLUE VITRIOL. 
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Ill the Agricultural Gazette for May 5th, 
J. C. C. attributed the loss of a wheat, crop 
to soaking the seed in blue vitriol. This 
called out two replies, one of which we 
copy : 
On reading the statement of your corres¬ 
pondent “ J. C. C.” of the suspected failure 
of his wheat crop from the use of blue vitriol 
as a dressing for the seed previous to sow¬ 
ing, I was involuntarily led to a review of 
my own practice during a iongperiodol years, 
when, after trying various ingredients as pre¬ 
ventives of smut, I settled down to this as 
not only the most efi'ective, but the safest 
antidote to this hateful disease. So strongly 
am I impressed in its favor that I always 
maintained, and still continue to maintain, 
that no farmer need have smutty wheat ex¬ 
cept through his own negligence in prepar¬ 
ing the seed tor the drill, dibble, or broad¬ 
cast. But “ J. C. C.” objects to it as en¬ 
dangering the germination of the seed, and, 
in fact, destroying his crop ; a serious charge 
if true, and one which ought not to be made 
but on good and sure foundations. I for one, 
at least, am not disposed to rest satisfied 
without further inquiry as to the strength of 
the solution, length of time occupied in the 
immersion of the seed, and various other 
particulars, of which as yet we are ignorant; 
for “ J. C. C.’s ” expression “ dressing the 
usual way ” is far too vague not to require 
further explanation. What is “ the usual 
way V ’ I protest I know not ; and shall 
thankfully await information thereupon. 1 
know what my own “ usual way ” was—not 
on a very small scale either—but to the 
extent of 50 to 00 acres annually. For the 
accuracy of the operation I can vouch, al¬ 
ways making a point of having it conducted 
under my own eyes, and very often with my 
own hands. To prove that 1 wish not to ask 
for more than I am perfectly willing to im¬ 
part myself, 1 beg to submit the following as 
my “usual way ” of preparing seed wheat, 
in the firm conviction that if carefully and 
thoroughly carried out there need be no ap¬ 
prehension of failure. For I may here add 
that a vast deal more depends on strict at¬ 
tention to the minutiae of this, as of most 
other agricultural operations, whether practi¬ 
cal or merely experimental, than many, 
otherwise excellent farmers, may be dis¬ 
posed to think necessary. It is not enough 
to give general directions to a bailiff or yard¬ 
man, that you wish your seed wheat pre¬ 
pared after such and such a recipe—you 
must see to it yourself; and even assist at 
the most important points by your own per¬ 
sonal exertions. I say this without mean¬ 
ing the least disparagement of either the care 
or judgment of your overlooker ; who, when 
once in possession of your plan of operations 
(only to be obtained directly from yourself) 
may, and ought, if conscientious and active, 
to be trusted to do in your absence what he 
is fully aware would have been done had you 
been present. But we must get on, or our 
steep will never be ready for the drill. Take 
then a tub or vessel of convenient form for 
holding 3 bushels of wheat, and a space of 
some 6 or 8 inches beyond, for skimming, 
washing, and stirring. Place this tub over 
a wider but shallower vessel, similar to the 
underback of a mash-tub; into which the 
wheat, when washed and skimmed, may, by 
a cock or other means, be drawn off from the 
tub above. But we are forestalling matters. 
Prepare the steep as follows: Dissolve 
about 3 lbs. of blue vitriol in water (hot if 
wanted for immediate use, otherwise this is 
immaterial); to this add water enough fairly 
to swim the quantity of seed you intend to 
steep—say 3 bushels ; into this liquor then 
sift gradually and lightly, by means of what 
in some places is called a reeing sieve, the 
wheat as above mentioned. The heavy- 
grain will fall to the bottom, leaving the 
lighter portion, seeds of certain weeds, smui 
balls (if any), and other rubbish, to float at 
the top. These must all be carefully skim 
med off, and the main body of the wheat be¬ 
low well stirred from'the bottom, to make 
sure that the whole is thoroughly washed 
and skimmed. This process over, some re¬ 
commend a prolonged immersion in the li¬ 
quid of from one to three or more hours ; but 
1 never could see any necessity for this. In 
the first place its adoption would be attended 
with great additional inconvenience, to say- 
nothing of the extra expense, from the ne¬ 
cessary enlargement of the apparatus for 
steeping and washing a much larger quan¬ 
tity at a time than I have named. As soon, 
therefore, as you are satisfied that the wash¬ 
ing, skimming, &c., is accomplished, and the 
liquor drawn off into the underback, empty 
the wheat on to the floor, which latter ought 
to be thoroughly washed and cleaned be¬ 
tween the steeps, and, after spreading it 
about a little, sift over it enough hot slacked 
lime to facilitate the progress of drying. The 
wheat will be fit for drilling or sowing in a 
few hours, but if even delayed for a day or 
two will take no harm. The same liquor 
will serve several steeps, merely replenish¬ 
ing with fresh water and about i lb. of blue 
vitriol to each succeeding bushel of wheat. 
Such was my practice during many years of 
my farming life, nor did I ever experience 
any failure of plant from the use of this steep, 
though I certainly have from chamberlye ap 
plied too strong and immersed too long. 
How to account for “ J. C. C.’s ” failure I 
know no more than he does ; but as he says 
it was sown when the ground was dry, is it 
not as fair to presume that the failure was 
quite as likely to have been occasioned by 
want of the requisite moisture to cause the 
seed to germinate properly as by anything in 
the composition of a steep in such universal 
use, and, with common care, so harmless as 
a solution of blue vitriol, even, though much 
stronger than I applied it?—-S'. Taylor , Glou¬ 
cester. 
GRAFTED CHESTNUT TREES. 
The Cincinnati Gazette publishes an inter¬ 
esting letter from Mr. Sheldon I. Kellogg, to 
the Wine Growers Association, dated Bor¬ 
deaux, France, on the cultivation of the chest¬ 
nut. He says : 
“I have been much surprised in seeing the 
great dependence the poorer classes make 
upon the large chestnut for their daily food. 
It is cultivated in this neighborhood in great 
abundance for this purpose. All classes use 
them more or less ; the rich having them 
daily brought upon their tables as dessert, 
either boiled or roasted. It is often made 
into a soup, which is highly esteemed. They 
are cooked in a multitude of ways, and I 
know nothing of a ferinaceous nature which 
is so very delicate and nourishing. 
“ The marron, or large chestnut, is the 
produce of the wild chestnut after being en 
grafted. The wild tree, at three or four 
years of age, is cut square off, say four or 
five feet from the ground. The stump is 
then split twice. These splits intersect at 
right angles at the center of the stump. 
There is then inserted one good-sized branch 
of the same tree in every section of the 
splits, making four branches in each stump. 
Care is always taken to make the bark of 
the branches and the bark of the stump join 
each other as closely as possible. The graft 
is then surrounded with clay and moss, to 
prevent the overflow of sap, and it scarcely 
ever fails of success. The period selected 
in this climate for this operation is the month 
of February. The produce of this graft is 
usually a fine, large, beautifully colored 
marron, about the size of our buckeyes. 
They are much more delicate in texture and 
flavor than our own wild chestnut. They 
are never eaten without being cooked. The 
tree is very beautiful.” 
ADULTERATED GUANOS. 
METHOD OF EXAMINATION. 
The following we find in the Agricultural 
Gazette : 
The shameless frauds practiced by some 
dealers have been long known and exposed, 
but how are such to be detected by practical 
farmers, who are not chemists, and yet want 
a supply just at a time when a dealer is at 
hand and ready to sell ? A case of this kind 
came under my knowledge some time since, 
when the sale and term of purchase had 
been settled between the parties. It was 
then understood that the money was to be 
paid on the day following {£10 per tun); I 
therefore had little enough time to effect 
even a slight quantitative analysis. The 
sample I received was about four ounces. 
Having been accustomed to experiment with 
several varieties, it occured to me that by a 
few simple processes, it would be possible 
to attain to a pretty correct idea of the 
moisture contained in a given weight (which 
ought not to exceed 10 to 12 per cent) of the 
quantity of ammonia in the soluble salts, of 
the insoluble matters, the most valuable of 
which is the bone phosphate, in its state of 
extremely minute division. I now, there¬ 
fore, endeavor to recite, in the most simple 
terms, the processes adopted by me, and 
which I now venture to recommend to those 
who have not at command a more refined 
analysis : 50 grains of the sample to be ex¬ 
amined are dried in a paper placed upon the 
hob of a grate, then weighed to ascertain the 
loss of water, and rubbed in a small mortar 
to a fine powder ; two-thirds of the quantity 
(say 36 grains) of fresh air-slaked lime are, 
in like manner, placed on the hob of a grate, 
and equally dried and weighed, and are then 
triturated together. The weight being accu- 
rafely noted, they are transferred to a small 
balanced saucer, moistened with a dessert 
spoonful of rain water, and stirred with a 
pointed quill. Ammoniacal gas is imme¬ 
diately developed, but in much greater vol¬ 
ume when placed upon the warm grate till 
dry. The mixture is then to be treated with 
boiling water sufficient to bring it to a paste, 
stirred repeatedly and left in heat till dust 
dry, when the volatile ammonia will have 
been totally expelled by the lime. The loss 
of weight will be found to vary according to 
the quality of the guano. In one experi¬ 
ment made by me it was proved that a mix¬ 
ture of 50 grams of dry guano, and only 26 
of lime=76 grains, so treated, had lost 
grains. This loss, if assigned to ammonia 
only, would indicate 13 grains ‘in the 100 of 
the ammonia actually existing as a base to 
some or all of those acids which are found 
in the soluble ingredients of pure and sound 
guano. If by repeated experiments of the 
kind, with different samples, certain definite 
quantities are left, and the loss of weight 
ascertained, a pretty correct idea of the ac¬ 
tual quantity of potential ammonia will be 
attained, sufficient at all events, to guide the 
judgement of a discerning practical agricul¬ 
turist. Professors Anderson and Way con¬ 
cur in the opinion that “ there are are only 
two constituents which practically require 
to be considered in the estimate of the com¬ 
mercial value of the phosphates.” This is 
admitted, for the phosphates which exist in 
some of the salts soluble in water contain 
ammonia. \et the one most available in 
turnip culture is the bone earth (phosphate 
of lime), which remains in the insoluble 
