1861 ] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
203 
etc.; we purchase from the livery stables, and 
from other parties, in the city or otherwhere, 
all that can.be procured; paying from $5 to $10 
for the amount produced by each horse, or 
about $5 per cord. It is then hauled, in many 
instances six to eight miles, besides paying a 
bridge toll of twenty-five cents, for a two-horse 
team over and back, if it is taken to the east side 
of the river. Such a team will haul half a cord 
at a load. This is thrown into the hog pen to 
be worked ever with muck, etc. Many farmers 
during the winter and spring haul large quanti¬ 
ties of night soil and compost it. Muck, peat, 
sods, or the like, are spread to the depth of one 
to two feet, over a surface as large as is desira¬ 
ble. The outer edges are raised about two feet 
by banking up with the same material that the 
bed is made of, and this embankment slants each 
way, being at least one foot wide on the top. 
The basin thus formed, is filled with the night 
soil as it comes from the vaults. This work is 
done during cold weather; after the frost is out, 
and it has dried down a little, they commence 
at one side of the bed and shovel over the whole, 
mixing it as thoroughly as possible. Stones, 
sticks, etc., are thrown out, and it is left some¬ 
what piled together. In a few weeks it becomes 
fine and ready to use; fit to be spread and 
plowed in, or spread in the drill. A close water¬ 
tight box, the length of a common ox wagon, 
and as high as it is wide, with a portion of the 
top fastened so as to be removed for loading, is 
what is used for collecting the night soil; this 
can be put on wheels or runners as desired. 
Some is carted ten miles in this way, the expense 
of hauling and loading during the night season, 
being the only cost. Of course any other good 
material added to the pile when it is being over¬ 
hauled would add to its value; but here none is 
added usually, and it is seldom that any thing 
else is required even to bring very fair tobacco.” 
Summer Manuring Grass Lands. 
The dogma that it is very injurious to manure 
to lie exposed to the sun, is doubtless well found¬ 
ed, and it so coincides with common sense that 
summer top-dressing of grass lands, with stall 
manure, is seldom practised. Nevertheless, the 
fact stands that fine manure, that which is well 
rotted, and so composted that it can be evenly 
spread, particularly that which is largely mix¬ 
ed with muck or sods, containing considerable 
earthy matter, applied immediately after mow¬ 
ing, is more efficacious than any other manur¬ 
ing. That this is so under all circumstances, 
and upon all soils, we will not assert, but we 
have yet to learn of well conducted experiments 
which fail to indicate this as the best time to 
apply such manure upon permanent meadows. 
First, it is a mulch to the exposed roots and 
tender shoots, defending 'them from the scorch¬ 
ing rays of the sun, preventing the drying of 
the surface of the ground, and retaining in itself 
the moisture of rains and dews. 2d., It furnish¬ 
es at. once stimulating food to the plant cut off 
in its prime, enabling it to recover quickly from 
the check it receives from the close cutting, 
which is fatal to many grasses. It is necessary 
for us to cut the grass just at that time of all 
others, when cutting does the plant the most in¬ 
jury, namely, when it has exerted all the 
strength of its nature in the production of flow¬ 
ers, and in the preparation for producing seed. 
A little later, when the seed is* formed, many 
grasses begin to store in their roots material 
which they draw upon the following spring, and 
in which the vigor, and vitality even, of the 
plant is maintained through all the vicissitudes 
of the season. Timothy is a striking example 
of this. 3d., The manure, exposed as it is to 
moisture and warmth, rapidly decomposes. It 
is soon covered by the growing grass and con¬ 
tributes to its growth during the remainder of 
the season, and soon disappears from the sur¬ 
face altogether. 4th., It ordinarily induces a 
growth which warrants cutting a heavy after- 
math, and sometimes a third cutting, without 
injury to the sward. 
Valuable applications are, muck alone, fine 
and evenly spread ; any good loam, particular¬ 
ly a heavy clay loam on a sandy soil, or sand on 
a clay loam, and either or both on a vegetable 
mold, like a reclaimed swamp; loam or muck 
composted with stall manure, or in the hog pen; 
fine stall or barn-yard manure in condition to 
be spread evenly and finally, almost any other 
manure, compost or commercial fertilizer which 
is worth what it costs. 
Scabies or Scab in Sheep. 
The following communication is from a gen¬ 
tleman who has devoted much time and atten¬ 
tion to the means of exterminating parasitic in¬ 
sects upon sheep. In connection with many 
others w r c have long relied upon a decoction of 
tobacco in which the sheep should be dipped 
after shearing, as the best cure, and on the whole, 
as reliable and safe. We have, however, entire 
confidence in our correspondent’s accuracy. 
He writes: 
A few days since, while in conversation with 
some gentlemen, I stated that the “ Acarus 
scabies," or “ scab mite ” of sheep, burrowed be¬ 
neath the skin, and remained there about two 
weeks, depositing its eggs. The assertion in re¬ 
gard to the precise time the mite or its eggs re¬ 
mained under the skin, rather surprised those 
who heard it, and I was asked for my authority. 
Not being able to give it at the time, I promised 
to look it up and communicate it to the Agricul¬ 
turist. The best treatise of the subject, that has 
come under my observation, is that of M. Walz, 
entitled “ De la Gale de Mouton ,” published as 
far back as 1811. As I am not aware that this 
work has ever been published in full in English, 
and may consequently be difficult to find, I will 
cite an extract from it, in the “Edinburgh Ve¬ 
terinary Review,” for 18G1 (Vol. Ill, p. 230,) 
contained in a chapter on Veterinary jurispru¬ 
dence, treating of the “annual let of grass lands.” 
“ Acari,” says M. Walz, “are minute insects, 
which form, feed upon, and propagate scab in 
sheep, and mange in horses. Though no larger 
than the hole made by the point of a fine pin, 
they burrow under the skin, irritate the flesh 
below it, and travel from place to place on the 
body, extending their devastations. If one or 
more female Acari are placed on the wool of a 
sound sheep, they quickly travel to the root of 
it, and bury themselves in the skin, the place at 
which they penetrate being scarcely visible, or 
only distinguished by a minute red spot. On 
the tenth or twelfth day a little swelling may be 
detected with the finger, and the skin changes 
its color, and has a greenish blue tint. The 
pustule is now rapidly formed, and about the 
sixteenth day breaks, and the mothers again ap¬ 
pear, with their little ones attached to their feet 
and covered by a portion of the shell of the 
egg, from which they have just escaped. These 
little ones immediately set to work, penetrate 
the neighboring skin, and burying themselves 
beneath it, find their proper nourishment, and 
grow and propagate, until the animal has myr- 
aids of them to prej 1, upon, and torment him; and 
it is not wonderful that he should speedily sink.” 
In the appendix to “Wilson on Skin Diseaes,” 
will be found a chapter on the habits of these 
insects, with the experiments of Dr. Gales of 
the St. Louis hospital, on the human system, 
strikingly corroborative of this statement of 
Walz. Dr. G. found that the time required for 
the full development of scabies, by the inocula¬ 
tion of a living Acarus, varied from four to 
fourteen days, according to the condition of the 
patient experimented on. I will refer any of 
your readers, who desire to pursue the subject 
more fully, to the works of Walz and Wilson, 
already quoted, as also'to the u Memoire compar- 
atif sur V liistoire de V Insecte de la Gale," par Jlas- 
pail; “Rayer on Diseases of the Skin,” the 
works of Renucci, &c. In passing, I will claim 
for Walz the credit of having given a full histo¬ 
ry of these insects', with an accurate description 
of their appearance under the microscope, as 
early as 1810, while the existence of such an 
insect was denied by Galcotti, Biet, Chearugi, 
Rayer and other high authorities. And it was 
only in 1834 that their existence was proved be¬ 
fore the Academy of Medicine of Paris by M. 
Renucci, a young Corsican.—Not the first Cor¬ 
sican, -who overthrew previously established 
French authorities. In connection with these 
facts the attention of the readers of the Agricul¬ 
turist may well be directed to the unreliability of 
tobacco as a cure for scab. To effect a cure, it is evi¬ 
dent from the foregoing, that some preparation 
must be used, the effect of which will undoubt¬ 
edly remain for about sixteen days. The first 
shower of rain completely destroys the strength 
of any preparation of tobacco; and consequent¬ 
ly, all its power for good, as well as its power 
for harm of necessity ceases. 
Years ago I conceived the idea that astringent 
preparations like extracts of Tobacco, Ivy and 
the like, which have the effect of destroying 
parasitic life, also close the pores of the skin, 
and for a time retard and injure the growth and 
general health of the animal itself. This I sub¬ 
sequently proved by investigations accompan¬ 
ied by microscopic examination of the skin cf 
sheep dipped in an extract of Tobacco, a report 
of which -was published in the Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press. Yours respectfully, -. 
It is some time since our attention ■was first 
directed to the positive injury tobacco might be, 
and probably is, to sheep and to the growth of 
wool. And we have repeatedly mentioned the 
use of arsenic, and of mercurial ointment, by 
good shepherds in Europe, in preference to to¬ 
bacco. The statements above confirm the opin¬ 
ion that tobacco is not so efficacious in destroy¬ 
ing parasites as is usually supposed. The price 
of the article now is of itself an argument in 
favor of some at least equally efficacious sub¬ 
stitute. We took occasion some time since, to 
say a word in favor of a sheep dipping compos¬ 
ition advertised by the Brothers Lalor, and in 
this connection add that the testimony of exten¬ 
sive sheep raisers in favor of its judicious use 
is very satisfactory. 
How to Bring up and Keep np Land. 
He who believes in manuring his land with 
a pocketful of some patent fertilizer, must ex¬ 
pect to reap crops of corresponding size. The 
old-fashioned dung-heap must be our main re¬ 
liance. And here, economy must save, and in¬ 
dustry must gather up all possible elements of 
fertility. The manure cellar and yard should be 
provided with absorbents for saving the liquids 
