844 
AM'EHIOAN AORlGTT/tiTtJBlSlv 
The Back Volumes of the American Agriculturist, 
neatly bound, can now be supplied from the commence¬ 
ment. These of themselves constitute a beautiful and 
valuable Farmer’s Library, embracing a compendium 
of all the important agricultural articles that have ap- 
peareed during the last thirteen years. First ten volumes, 
new edition, furnished bound for $10. 
Bound volumes XI, XII and XIII (new series), $1 50 per 
volume; unbound, $1 per volume. The whole thirteen 
volumes furnished bound for $14 50. 
New-York, Thursday, August 9. 
This paper is never sent where it is 
not considered paid for—and is in all cases 
stopped when the subscription runs out. 
Oats on Long Island. —We have been 
shown a fine sample of oats grown this year 
upon the farm of the Brothers William and 
Frederick Bartlett, near Deer Park, in Suf¬ 
folk County, Long Island. The stalks are 
about five fleet high, as large as an ordinary 
lead pencil, and the heads are well filled 
out, having 100 to 120 kernels in each. The 
seed—the common western black oat—was 
sown early in the spring, without manure, 
though last year the land was treated with 
20 bushels of lime and 100 pounds of guano 
per acre for a corn crop. The soil is a fria¬ 
ble loam with a clay bottom, and has been 
cultivated for a number of years. These 
heads were like the average of the field, and 
no special care was taken in their culture. 
The chief points of interest in connection 
with them are, the favorable character of 
this season, and the fact that such oats can 
be raised on land only 33 miles from New- 
Yorlc City, but in so poor repute that it was 
sold to the present owners, about a year 
since, for $14 per acre. We have abundant 
evidences, of which this is one, that there is 
on Long Island plenty of cheap farming 
lands, which, from their nearness to the 
great metropolitan market, can be cultivated 
at a far greater profit than many of the west¬ 
ern prairies. 
Permanent Grounds and Buildings for 
Agricultural Exhibitions. —The Onondaga 
County Agricultural Society of this State are 
making arrangements for the purchase of a 
lot of ten acres of ground, at $500 per acre, 
located near the city of Syracuse, The site 
is of easy access, and convenient for the 
erection of permanent fixtures. The amount 
needed was $10,000, of which $9,050 has 
been subscribed, besides promises for sev¬ 
eral hundred dollars more, if needed. To 
effect this, a joint stock company was formed 
among the members of the Society, and this 
company “ retain possession of the land, and 
give the Society the privilege of buying it of 
them at the purchase price, with taxes and 
interest added, at any time before the expira¬ 
tion of five years”—the Society to pay the 
annual taxes and interest for the use of the 
land. They have resolved to raise $3,000 
for buildings, fences, and other necessary 
structures, which they are to be allowed to 
remove if they do not purchase. Members 
from the County pledged themselves to raise 
two-thirds of this sum in life-memberships, 
at $10 each, and the citizens of Syracuse 
are to raise the other thousand. The ad¬ 
vantages of this arrangement, in giving the 
Society a local habitation, are quite appa¬ 
rent. 
-- ■ mam —- 
Twitch Grass for Hats. —This grass, 
which is beginning to be cultivated in some 
parts of this country, is highly commended 
for braiding. While it is in blossom, cut off 
the upper joint, and proceed with it in the 
same manner as with rye or other kinds of 
straw. It bleaches white, and will be found 
tougher than the straw of either wheat or 
oats. 
The Erie Railroad Farm. —The Elmira 
Advertiser says thatthe New-York and Erie 
road is now being mowed, from the Hudson 
river to the lakes. The area of the mowing 
lot amounts to about 3,000 acres. The ob¬ 
ject is to destroy the mulleins and thistles, 
to prevent their seeding, complaints having 
been made of these nuisances by many farm¬ 
ers along the line. 
Corn from Africa. —The Boston Traveler 
says, “ We have before us a sample of corn, 
from a lot of 292 bags brought to this city a 
few days since, from Winnebah, coast of 
Africa. The importation of this useful arti¬ 
cle from that quarter, is a circumstance we 
had never before heard of. The corn re¬ 
sembles our white southern corn, but the 
kernels are somewhat smaller. It is said to 
weigh well 
The Pennsylvania Poultry Society an 
nounce their second annual show, to be held 
in Philadelphia during the last week in No¬ 
vember. We see that an incubatory ma¬ 
chine is to be there, in the full exercise of 
its functions, and that it is to “ occasion 
much delight to those who have never seen 
eggs hatched by steam.” We presume that 
this will be of sufficient interest to the hens 
to call out a full attendance ; but we are 
afraid that so commendable an attempt to 
lighten their domestic cares will not be duly 
appreciated by them. Hens are not pro¬ 
gressive ; the old way is good enough for 
them ; and we predict that the “ old fogies” 
will still prefer to do their own work in their 
own way. 
The American Herd Book —-We learn that 
the second volume of this work is now in 
press, and will be ready for subscribers in a 
few weeks. The number of pedigrees con¬ 
tributed being so much greater than was an¬ 
ticipated, has caused a considerable delay in 
getting it out. There will be upwards of 
2,500 pedigrees, and over fifty portraits of 
living animals, all well executed. This will 
be a valuable aid to the Short Horn breeders of 
the country, in having a standard of breed¬ 
ing to which they can refer, and thus keep 
their records pure and distinct. About fifty 
pages of introductory matter accompany the 
records, historical and otherwise, which will 
be of great benefit in their future progress. 
and the Fulton market, but who can't, for 
the life of him, find the Money market. 
Yankee Notions tells of a friend who 
says he has seen the Washington market, 
the Jefferson market, the Catherine market, 
For the American Agriculturist. 
OUR WATERLOO CORRESPONDENCE. 
BURNED BONES—GUANO—TA FEU-CROPS IN SENE¬ 
CA COUNTY, N. Y. 
As you say you are “ not defenseless,” I 
should like to see your reasons for the opinion 
that bone earth, in the form of burned bones 
(Refiner’s animal charcoal) is of little conse¬ 
quence to a soil that has been exhausted of 
its phosphoric acid; and that it is only valu¬ 
able for the organic matter it contains, or 
that may be added to it by Peruvian guano 
or ammonia salts. True, I am a tyro in or¬ 
ganic chemistry, and also I have never yet 
had a piece of land so poor as to need any 
special application of inorganic or mineral 
manures ; but I have seen soils directly ben- 
efitted by their application, in the shape of 
lime, plaster, leached ashes, &c., and as 
phosphoric acid is placed in the soil by bone 
earth, more abundantly than by any other 
substance of equal weight, I can not resist 
the opinion, that burned bones, if not treated 
with that powerful solvent, sulphuric acid, to 
make them immediately available to plants, 
will, in the process of time, be dissolved in 
the soil into “ mineral plant food.” 
In putting in this plea for phosphate of 
lime, or bone earth, I fully agree with you 
that the organic matter of the superphos 
phate is generally of much more direct im¬ 
portance to the growing crops ; and I can 
also say from experience that a soil well 
treated with manure containing a large per¬ 
centage of nitrogen and carbonaceous matter, 
finds bone earth, potash, and other minerals 
enough in the debris of said manure for all 
the purposes of a maximum vegetable 
growth. Even Liebig,that great stickler for 
the direct application of minerals to a worn 
soil, as a nucleus for the collection of atmo¬ 
spheric plant food, had to wait four years to 
see the full effects of his minerals on his ten 
acre experimental plot. May we not then 
infer that if burned bones had “ little or no ef¬ 
fect on most kinds of crops ” the first year, 
that a longer time would have given a more 
favorable result 1 
Our pattern farmer, John Johnson, has 67 
acres of wheat now being harvested under 
the most difficulty, perhaps, that ever a poor 
farmer met with before in our sunny climate. 
Yesterday, Sunday, July 29th, was a fine 
drying day, the only one we have had in 
weeks without one or more showers ; but at 
four o’clock this morning we were again 
greeted with the first of a series of light 
warm showers, thermometer at 74°. 
Early planted corn on a well-drained soil 
is well-eared and very forward ; late-planted 
on the same soil is slender and feeble ; but 
such a growth of grass and vegetables gener¬ 
ally, particularly cabbages and beets, my 
eyes never beheld; methinks California 
alone can beat us. 
I call Mr. Johnson our pattern farmer, be¬ 
cause he tiles even that which other farmers 
call sufficiently dry land ; again, because he 
is the first hereabouts who has brought from 
New-York those elements of plant food, 
