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ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY. FEBRUARY 10, 1855, 
{WHOLE NO. m, 
Mr. Howard said he did not deny that lime 
was an essential element of the soil, and con¬ 
stituted a part of the food of plants, which 
should be supplied in proper quantity ; but he 
did not think that the state of things in Penn¬ 
sylvania was a just criterion for the granite 
soils of New England. 
Hon. Seth Sprague asked, what was the 
action of lime? It had been said that it ex¬ 
hausts land. Is it so ? lie had seen little 
benefit from lime on sandy land. Mr. Jenkins 
said two of hi3 neighbors used several wagon 
loads of lime on various crops. The effect ■was 
rathei 
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injurious. 
Mr. Bradbury remarked that this last case 
verified his statement in regard to the use of 
lime in Pennsylvania, where they do not expect 
much profit until the third and fourth years, 
by which time the land is restored to its natu¬ 
ral strength. Besides, farmers there put on 
vast quantities, much more than farmers here 
would think of doing. 
Mr. Buckminster, of the Ploughman , in¬ 
quired what use was made of the land for the 
first two years, to which it was responded, that 
once in four or five years they put in clover. 
The farmers there do not calculate on getting 
grain from the land more than half of the time. 
The lime does not tell till the third and fourth 
years, after which the land again declines. 
The lime was manufactured very cheaply 
there. Air. Bradbury had made it himself at 
a cost of only five cents per bushel, and it 
could be bought for eight. 
Col. Newell thought that lime would be a 
cheap manure at the cost here, if it would pro¬ 
duce similar effects on our soils, and last seven 
years. Farmers here cannot manure their 
land so cheap under the present system. 
Mr. Dodge, of Sutton, thought lime could 
not be used in Massachusetts. It is a deadly 
enemy to the manure heap, dissipating the 
ammonia which it contained, and if used on 
land in connection with other manures, would 
produce the same effect. 
It. S. Fay, of Essex, gave an interesting 
sketch of grain growing in Europe. lie tho’t 
THE MAXIMAL USES OE LIME, 
At the second meeting of the Mass. Legis¬ 
lative Ag’l Club, the “ Cereal Grains ” were 
the subject of discussion, and the value of 
Lime as a manure for the wheat crop, was re¬ 
marked upon at some length by different mem¬ 
bers. We condense, from the reports in the 
Boston Agricultural papers, the substance of 
what was said on this subject, and add some 
remarks which study and experience have 
suggested, 
Mr. Freeman, of Orleans, had noticed land 
where wheat grew, many years ago, that will 
bear corn now, but wheat will not grow even 
if well manured. There was some property 
existing in the soil then which it does not 
possess now. He had seen corn taken off of 
land and wheat put on, but it would not grow 
—while grass, following corn in the same way, 
flourished vigorously, showing that there was 
something wanting for the wheat. There was 
no difference in this result between winter and 
spring wheat. 
Mr. Bull remarked that Mr. Brown, of 
Concord, who had raised fine crops of wheat, 
had made use of lime to the extent of 15 bush¬ 
els to the acre, sown broadcast, and perhaps to 
this manure his good crops were attributable. 
Mr. Howard, of the Cultivator, asked if the 
lime was used in such a way as to show its 
comparative effects, and being answered that 
it was applied over the whole field, remarked 
it must, then, be left wholly to conjecture, 
what its results were in regard to the crop. It 
was formerly supposed that a good deal of 
lime was necessary to secure a good crop of 
wheat; but Mr. Emmons, the N. Y. State 
geologist, after analyzing the soils of all parts 
of the State, found that the lands of the best 
wheat-growing counties contained the least lime. 
In Seneca county, at present one of the great¬ 
est wheat counties in the State, only one-half 
per cent, of the ingredients of the soil is lime. 
He mentioned this to show that the utility of 
lime for raising wheat was doubtful. 
Mr. Bradbury, of Newton, said that in the 
wheat-growing counties of Pennsylvania and 
Maryland, great quantities of lime were used, 
and it was considered indispensable. They 
formerly raised large crops of wheat without 
any manure; but their lands gave out, and 
geologists advised the farmers to apply lime. 
They did so, and the result was that they ob¬ 
tained as good crops as ever. Lime was gen¬ 
erally abundant, but its good effect was so ob¬ 
vious, that the farmers in the non-limestone 
counties transported limestone from the others 
to manure their lands. In some parts of these 
States the roads are macadamized with lime¬ 
stone, which, becoming finely pulverized, is 
blown by the wind upon the adjoining fields, 
and has a sensible fertilizing effect upon them. 
It is the practice among farmers in Cumber¬ 
land, Dauphin and Franklin counties in Penn¬ 
sylvania, and in Maryland, to apply 80 bush¬ 
els of unslacked lime per acre once in about 
seven years, plowing it in after it becomes 
pulverized by the action of the sun and rain. 
They do not expect much from it the first or 
second year, but during the third and fourth 
they reap the benefit. 
Above we present a portrait of the Bull 
“ Balco,” winner of the first prize in his class 
at the N. Y. State Fair in 1354. This 
Short-Horn Bull was bred by Tiros. Bates, 
and sold at his great sale of 1850, then 14 
months old, to the Earl of Burlington, by 
whom he was used one year, and was then 
bought by Mr. Tanqueray, of whom he was 
purchased by his present owners. In 1853 
when on exhibition only, before our State Ag’l 
Society, he was spoken of by the Committee, 
as “ destined to prove a valuable addition to 
the Short-Horns of the United States, placing 
that valuable breed upon an equal footing 
with any which the world can produce.” His 
pedigree is as follows : 
Balco, (9918,) red and white, calved Feb. 23d, 
• 1849 ; sire, 4th Duke of York, (10167.) 
dam, (Wild Eyes, 15th,) by 4th Duke of Nor¬ 
thumberland, (3649.), 
g. d. (Wild Eyes, 8th.) hv Duke of Northum¬ 
berland, (1940.) 
g. g. d. (Wild Eyes, 2d,) by Belvedere, (1706.) 
g. g. g. d. (Wild Eyes,) by Emperor, (1975.) 
g. g. g. g . d. by Wonderful, (700.) 
S- 8■ 8- 8■ 8■ d. by Cleveland, (145.) 
g- g- g- g- g- g- d. by Butterfly, (104.) 
g- g- g- g- g- g- g- d. by Mr. Hollon’s Bull, 
(313.) 
g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g- d- by Mr. Mowbray’s 
Bull, (2342.) ■ 
g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g- d. by Mr. Masterman’s 
Bull, (422.) 
Descended from Mr. Michael Dobisons’ Stock. 
use of lime is on the wane in Maryland and 
Pennsylvania,— that after a few applications 
its effects have been found to be much less pos¬ 
itive and marked in their character. This is 
also the case in Great Britain. 
We have little doubt that in some instances 
lime would be found beneficial upon soils 
which have heretofore failed to produce wheat. 
It is a subject which might very profitably be 
experimented upon in the New England States, 
and in the eastern part of our own State. A 
large number of careful trials, however, would 
be required to settle the question of the action 
and effects of lime, for it is one of the darkest 
in the whole range of Agricultural science. 
CARE 0 E ANIMALS. 
their roots after supplies of that fertility 
which results in an abundant yield. It thus 
saves in the cost of the land, in fencing, taxes, 
Arc., and something in the labor of cultiva¬ 
tion, and still produces more real profit than 
the contrary course. It is better to economise 
in land than in labor—and many a farmer, if 
he would sell half his land, and put his whole 
force and capital into the cultivation of the 
remainder, would make money much faster 
than he now does. 
True Economy does not 
without sowing. 
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and 
look well to thy herds.— Prov. XXVH., 2-3. 
We do not propose a homily upon this 
text from the wise man, yet a few observations 
may not be wholly out of place. Too mauy 
of us need “ line upon line, and precept upon 
precept,” to induce that thoughtful action 
which always yields the best returns, not only 
in physical prosperity, but in mental and moral 
improvement. There is at this day as much 
need of heeding the words of the wise man, as, 
undoubtedly, there was in his own. The ex¬ 
hortation conveys more than the mere fact of 
giving an occasional glance at the animals 
which \ye may chance to own, and which, 
therefore, claim our care and protection. It 
goes deeper into the subject, and commands us 
to be diligent, to know how our animals are 
getting on—what their state or condition is. 
Diligence, therefore, implies a constant watch¬ 
fulness over all their wants, a care to know 
that every thing is done which well can be, to 
make them comfortable and happy. There 
should be a kindness, so to speak, in all our 
intercourse with them. This will make them 
docile, and attached to us. Beasts are often 
made vicious by the bad .management of those 
who have their care and training. Kindness 
continued to the brute creation, the domestic 
at least, is never lost, but re-acts and is benefi¬ 
cial to both brute and master. These things 
tell on the profit as well as the pleasure of the 
owner. Diligence goes farther, and looks to 
their protection and sustenance. They are 
provided at all seasons with what will yield 
them the most comfort and content. 
The man who is diligent to know the con¬ 
dition of his animals would not turn them out 
in the cold blast, to draw comfort from the 
lee side of a fence, nor leave them all winter on 
a bleak plain, with the mistaken idea that ex¬ 
posure made them hardy. He would have 
learned the fact that such a course greatly in¬ 
creased the cost of their keeping, while, aside 
from that, the animal decreased, or, at least, 
made no advance in value, so that he met with 
a double loss by the course pursued. He, 
expect to reap 
Hence manure, to keep up 
and add to the productive power of the soil, 
is constantly supplied, and thoughtful care on 
this subject is ever characteristic of the farmer 
who succeeds. Read the reports of premium 
farms, of large crops, of profitable experiments 
in agriculture, and this ever seems the key and 
the explanation of their results. A judicious 
expenditure in the collection and preservation 
of manure, is always a paying investment.— 
And there are a thousand sources of fertility 
now neglected which it is the province of true 
economy to discover and secure. We must 
feed, if we would take from the soil, and the 
more generous the husbandman the greater his 
reward. 
True Economy does not stop with a mere 
glance at first cost. In farm stock, for in¬ 
stance, it costs little more to raise, to anv 
given age, a good animal than a bad one, 
while one may be ten times as profitable as 
the other. The good may cost more at first, 
but they are sure to prove valuable—while 
the cheap are almost certain to be poor and 
dull of sale. The best breeds of animals—the 
best grains—the best varieties of fruit—all 
these are sought for by the truly economical 
cultivator of the soil. The subject is a verv 
suggestive one—but the reader can take it up* 
for himself, and follow it out practically in his 
own operations. AYe venture to assure him 
that it will not be a losing business, even un¬ 
der any seeming failure, if it incites him to a 
more extended aud thorough study of the 
subject. 
HINTS ON FARM ECONOMY 
Economy, properly practiced, is one of the 
cardinal virtues. But true economy dees not 
always consist in mere saving and stinting— 
it requires wide and far-reaching views, and a 
generous and self-reliant spirit, to decide prac¬ 
tical questions upon that just basis which 
secures the greatest measure of success. Thus 
there is an economy of the farm which only 
the judicious and thoughtful take into account, 
and -which the wisest cannot claim fully to 
comprehend. From the nature of his calling, 
and the wide aud ever-varing range of influen¬ 
ces acting upon it, the best instructed must 
necessarily remain in the dark upon many sub¬ 
jects which derange his plans and interfere 
with his success. 
It cannot be denied, however, that light and 
knowledge with an important bearing upon 
the true Economy of Agriculture, still remains 
very generally unused and unheeded. Let 
us point out, briefly, some of the beacons 
kindled on the route of Progress—some of the 
truths established by the researches of Im¬ 
provement. 
True Economy works thoroughly and faith¬ 
fully. It does not require a large area of land 
to exert itself upon ; it glories in raising 
ninety bushels of corn upon a single acre, 
rather than thirty — upon forty bushels of 
wheat rather than ten. It gives much labor — 
all the labor required to do the work in the 
best manner— up€n little land. It leaves no 
fertile farm six inches below its own, all untill- 
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