182 AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
sorb all the urine. I had all the wet sand and 
manure thrown from the stable into a heap 
under cover every day. The bulk was doubled 
by this process, and saved from the rains and 
evaporating effects of the atmosphere. 
In the early part of the following April, I had 
a bed prepared of the mud some 12 inches thick, 
and then the winter’s manure, sand and all, was 
hauled and put upon the top of the muck, in a 
heap as high as it would lay conveniently, six 
feet or so wide. The heap was made sufficiently 
long to suit the quantity, care being taken to 
have the whole covered a few inches with mud 
as fast as the manure was deposited. The ma¬ 
nure was left partially covered near the base of 
the heap, so as to admit the air, which soon pro¬ 
duced fermentation. I had it forked over twice 
and covered anew each time, and at the end of 
thirty days each load of original droppings of 
the cattle was increased six-fold, and worth 
more than double its bulk of stable manure, 
thrown out in the usual way, as I proved by 
subsequent trial. The above preparation I will 
call compost; and will presently show you what 
it did for corn on poor ground. 
Of the poor land alluded to above, I plowed 
several acres of the poorest in the autumn, not 
less than ten inches deep. The next May I 
cross-plowed, harrowed, and divided it into five 
plots. On lot No. 1,1 put nothing; this was to 
see the true state of the land; on lot No. 2, I 
putlime; on lot No. 3, plaster; on lot No. 4, wood 
ashes; on lot No. 5, the compost above named. 
I planted all the plots with corn, and the result 
was as follows: 
Treatment. Produced on acre. Gain. Cost p. bush. 
No. 1, Nothing, 13 bush. 0 85c. 
No. 2, Lime, 13 “ 0 $126’ 
No. 3, Plaster, 14 “ 1^ b. $1 15 
No. 4, Ashes, 25 “ 12 “ 50c. 
No. 5, Compost, 62£ “ 49 “ 38c. 
By the above it will be seen that the lime 
w r as lost and also the plaster, or nearly so. The 
extra one and a half bushels gained by plaster, 
cost $5 per bushel, and that gained by the use 
of ashes cost but 12-J- cents per bushel. That 
by the compost cost 26 cents per bushel for 
what was gained. This calculation is based 
upon the idea that the crops took the entire 
manures; such was not however the fact, for I 
found that part where the compost was put, to 
be twice as productive the next year, as those 
parts where the other substances were used. 
The year that I tried the above experiment corn 
was worth 75 cents per bushel, showing that I 
would have saved had I paid $5 per bushel for 
the ashes, and the compost might have cost 
double without loss to me. There was nearly 
the same difference in weight of the cornstalks 
that there was in the corn. J. H. D. 
Morristown , N. J. 
-c-Q-e- 
CLAIMS OP AGRICULTURAL PATENTS 
ISSUED FOR THE WEEK ENDING Nov. 8Tn, 1853. 
Seed Planting Cultivators —By George 
Phillips, of Philadelphia, Pa.: I claim the ar¬ 
rangement and combination of the side-pieces, 
slotted beam and slotted bars, and the hollow 
sectional axle or shaft, for the purpose of allow¬ 
ing the expansion and contraction of the side- 
pieces, as set forth. 
I also claim attaching the driving and gradu¬ 
ating wheel to the back part of the machine, by 
means of the notched bars, secured to the up¬ 
right post of the centre or draft beam by a bolt, 
upon which they move, and suspending above 
the same pawls, with either of the notches, thus 
enabling said wheel to perform its functions of 
regulating the height of the back part of the 
machine, and driving the distributing shafts, 
and to be drawn or thrown under the center or 
draft beam to form a pivot wheel, upon which 
the machine may be raised from the ground 
and turned in the manner specified. 
Feed Rollers of Straw Cutters —By Rob¬ 
ert Sinclair, Jr., & R. F. Maynard, of Baltimore, 
Md.: We claim for straw cutters the employ¬ 
ment thereon of alternate right and left fins, so 
arranged as to form a double spiral or screw, 
said fins being formed as set forth, and opera¬ 
ting together so as to prevent the straw from 
crowding to the right or left, and to compress 
the straw laterally as it is passed to the knives, 
and constituting altogether what we denominate 
the double screw propellers for straw cutters. 
Uniting Shovel Blades to Handle Straps— 
By Jonathan White, of Antrim, N. H. : I claim 
uniting by welding the iron handle straps to 
the sheet cast-steel blade, as set forth. 
ISkallanmus. 
THE SECOND WIPE. 
They told me he had won before 
Another’s heart than mine, 
And laid his first and deepest love 
Upon an earlier shrine. 
They said my spirit oft must grieve, 
If I my lot would cast 
With one who held so sacred still 
Remembrance of the past. 
I heeded not; my bark was launched 
With his on life’s swift tide, 
And earth holds not a happier heart 
Than mine—a second bride. 
I know that he had loved and lost 
What life may ne’er give back, 
The flowers that bloomed in freshness once 
Have withered in his track. 
I knew that she—the angel called— 
Looked out from yon blue heaven, 
A watcher o’er the earth-bound soul 
From which her own was riven. 
Together do we oft recall 
This dream of other years, 
Nor do I love him less to know, 
He once had cause for tears. 
More blest am I that it hath been 
My love’s appointed task 
To wake anew the “ rights of home” 
In which his soul may bask. 
Knickerbocker. 
TO A CHILD. 
On thou bright thing, fresh from the hand of God; 
The motion of thy dancing limbs are swayed 
By the unceasing music of thy being ; 
Fearer I seem to God when looking on thee. 
’Tis ages since he made his youngest star, 
His hand was on thee as ’twere yesterday. 
Thou later Revelation! Silver stream, 
Breaking with laughter from the lake divine, 
Whence all things flow! 
Examiner. 
-- 
GOING DOWN HILL 
“ That looks bad,” exclaimed farmer White, 
with an expressive shake of the head, as he 
passed a neglected garden, and broken down 
fence, in one of his daily walks. 
“Bad enough,” was the reply of the compan¬ 
ion to whom the remark was addressed. 
“ Neighbor Thompson appears to be running 
down hill pretty fast. I can remember the time 
when every thing around his little place was 
trim and tidy.” 
“ He always appeared to be a steady, indus¬ 
trious man,” rejoined the second speaker. 
“ I have a pair of boots at this moment, of his 
make, and they have done me good service.” 
“ I have generally employed him for myself 
and family,” was the reply, “and I must confess 
that he is a good workman—but nevertheless 
I believe I shall step into Jack Smith’s this 
morning, and order a pair of boots, of which I 
stand in need. I always make it a rule, never 
to patronize those who appear to be running 
behind hand. There is generally some risk in 
helping those who won’t help themselves.” 
“ Very true, and as my wife desires me to see 
about a pair o:f shoes for her, this morning, I 
will follow your example, and call upon Smith, 
He is no great favorite of mine, however—an 
idle, quarrelsome fellow.” 
“ And yet he seems to be getting ahead in the 
world,” answered the farmer, “and I am willing 
to give him a lift. But I have an errand at the 
butcher’s. I will not detain you.” 
At the butcher’s they met the neighbor who 
was the subject of their previous conversation. 
He certainly presented rather a shabby appear¬ 
ance, and in his choice of meat, there was a regard 
to economy which did not escape the observa¬ 
tion of farmer White. After passing remarks, 
the poor shoemaker took his departure, and 
the butcher opened his account-book with a 
somewhat anxious air, saying as he charged the 
bit of meat, 
“I believe it is time that neighbor Thompson 
and I came to a settlement. Short accounts 
make long friends.” 
“ No time to lose, I should say,” remarked 
the farmer. 
“ Indeed! have you heard of any trouble, 
neighbor White ?” 
“ No, I have heard nothing; but a man has 
the use of his own eyes, you know; and I never 
trust any one with my money who is evidently 
going down hill.” 
“ Quite right; and I will send in my bill this 
morning. I have only delayed on account of 
the sickness which the poor man has had in his 
family all winter. I suppose he must have run 
behind a little, but still I must take care of 
number one.” 
“ Speaking of Thompson, are you ?” observed 
a bystander, who appeared to take an interest 
in the conversation. “ Going down hill, is he ! 
I must look out for myself, then. He owes me 
quite a snug sum for leather; but on the whole, 
I guess the money would be safer in my own 
pocket.” 
Here the four worthies separated, each with 
his mind filled with the affairs of neighbor 
Thompson; the probability that he was going 
down hill, and the best way of giving him a 
push. 
In another part of the little village, similar 
scenes were passing. 
“ I declare!” exclaimed Mrs.Bennett, the dress¬ 
maker, to a favorite assistant, as she hastily 
withdrew her head from the window whence she 
had been gazing on the passers by. “ If there 
is not Mrs. Thompson, the shoemaker’s wife, 
coming up the street with a parcel in her hand. 
She wants to engage me to do her work, I sup¬ 
pose, but I think it would be a venture. Every 
one says they are running down hill, and it is a 
chance if ever I get my pay.” 
“ She has always paid us promptly,” was the 
reply. 
“ True, but that was in the days of her pros¬ 
perity.” I cannot afford to run any risk.” 
The entrance of Mrs. Thompson prevented 
further conversation. 
She was evidently surprised at the refusal of 
Mrs. B, to do any work for her; but as great 
pressure of business was pleaded as an excuse, 
there was nothing to be said, and she soon took 
her leave. Another application proved equally 
unsuccessful. It was strange how busy the 
village dress-makers had suddenly become. 
On the way home, the poor shoemaker’s wife 
met the teacher of a small school in the neigh¬ 
borhood, where two of her children attended. 
“ Ah! Mrs. Thompson, I am glad to see you,” 
was the salutation. “I was about calling at 
your house. Would it be convenient to settle 
our little account this afternoon ?” 
“ Our account!” was the surprised reply, 
“ Surely the term has not yet expired ?” 
“ Only half of it, but my present rule is to 
collect money at that time. It is a plan which 
many teachers have adopted of late.” 
“ I was not aware that there had been any 
change in your rules, and I have made arrange¬ 
ments to meet your bill at the usual time. I 
fear that it will not be in my power to do so 
sooner.” 
The countenance of the teacher showed great 
disappointment, and as she passed on in a dif¬ 
ferent direction, she muttered to herself: 
“ Just as I expected, I never shall see a cent. 
Everybody says they are going down hill. I 
