isntssums. 
AMERICAN INST. FARMERS’ CLUB. 
Notes of Discussions, Extracts from Let¬ 
ters, &c. 
David Pettit's Shallow-Plowed Farm. — Ml'. 
Greeley announced that he had been down to 
see David Pettit’s shallow-plowed farm in 
Salem county, N. J., whence have issued so many 
figures favorable to shallow culture. He says 
he found the farm lying on a bed of marl, prob¬ 
ably thirty feet in depth. Ho believed the whole 
farm so underlaid. It crops out in places. The 
land is worth $300 per acre in any condition in 
which you could put It. Plowing was being 
done, and ho measured it, and found the plow 
was running fully six inches deep—doing better 
work than farmers generally do with a plow. 
Mr. G. said, “ He would have to be a worse far¬ 
mer than any I know of who could nol get good 
crops from that farm with almost any kind of 
plowing." 
Propagation of Heath. — Nellie D.VBOLL, 
North Stephentown, N. Y., asks how Heath is 
propagated, what soil is best suited, and where 
seed can be obtained. Mr, Fuller said it could 
be grown from seed, but It. was preferable to 
propagate from cuttings, which could bo ob¬ 
tained from plants procured from nuraery men. 
Best soil, one-fourth pure sand and throe- 
fourths leaf mold. 
To Prevent Potatoes ^profiting.— Wm. Har¬ 
rison asks how to prevent potatoes sprouting 
in summer. Dr. Hkxamer sold keep them in a 
cold cellar and scoop them over occasionally. 
Mr. Greeley said keep them iu a temperature 
just above the freezing point. 
Testing the Purity of Done Dust mid Super¬ 
phosphates. — Mr. Trio m pads, Staton Island, 
allowed how any farmer, with the aid of a little 
sulphuric acid, could determine the purity, or 
otherwise, of ground bone or phosphates. He 
put a little bone meal in a tumbler, added three 
or four times its hulk of water, and an equal 
quantity of sulphuric acid, stirring the whole 
thoroughly. The union of water and aatd pro¬ 
duced heat which dissolved the bone, holding it 
In suspension and allowtngany heavy substnueo, 
as marble dust, or sand, with which It might be 
adulterated, to settle at the bottom, where It 
may lie discovered after pouring off the liquor. 
The bone dust tested was from the establish¬ 
ment Of Lister Bros., and, after tost and ex¬ 
amination, was pronounced pure. Prof. Whit¬ 
ney spoke of sulphuric add 11 s an agent in dis¬ 
solving bones. Ho said, substantially: 
We must take Into consideration the nature 
of bones. They contain about one-hull’ their 
weight of phosphftleof lime mid a little loss than 
forty per cent, of organic matter, a portion of 
which Is capable, by decomposition, of yielding 
ammonia. The rest is made up of small quanti¬ 
ties of other substances, among which Is a I race 
of lime, probably existing as a carbonate. If we 
put. the bones in a pit, for example, oue lined 
with clay, and pour water upon them, and, after 
adding oil of vitriol, cover them over, we shall 
have those results. The beat given out by Ihe 
combination of the water with the virriol, will, 
of course, raise the temperature of the mass, 
and possibly assist the production of ammonia, 
from the organic matter, hut the great advan¬ 
tage comes from the fact that the oil of vitriol 
drives out the phosphoric acid from n part of 
the phosphate, producing sulphate of time, while 
tint liberated phosphoric acid unites with the 
rest of the phosphate to form super-phosphate, 
in this latter the phosphoric acid is soluble lu 
water, which accounts for the rapidity with 
which it acts upou crops, if there is any free 
ammonia front i he bones the sulphuric acid will 
unite with It to constitute sulphate of ammonia, 
a condition lu which ammonia is very available 
for manure. Sulphate of ammonia, as a com¬ 
mercial article, has been extensively used as a 
fertilizer, with good results, but for somo reason 
does not show as much advantage as an equal 
quantity of ammonia in natural fertilizers— 
such as barn-yard man lire and guano. It is quite 
frequently mixed with commercial fertilizers to 
supply any deficiency in the certified percentage 
of ammonia in the original product. 
Feeding Onlitioge to Cow#, — J. \V T . Winter, 
West Bath, Me., writes that one can feed cab¬ 
bage, turnips, or even salt hay—which is the 
strongest milk lnfector there is—without affect¬ 
ing the taste of milk and butter, if it is only fed 
about, the time of milking. “ I feed a good many 
turnips and aome two or three tons of salt hay 
to my cows every winter. 1 always feed imme¬ 
diately after milking, and by the limothat milk¬ 
ing comes around again the milk is pure.” 
Ilow to HaIkc Water from a Deep Well.— E, L. 
Briggs, Grand Rapids, Mich., asked the cheap¬ 
est method of raising water for u small amount 
of stock from a well fifty-three feet deep. Frol'. 
Whitney says he can raise it by suction for the 
first thirty feet, and the remainder of the way 
by force pump; or he can put a force pump to 
the bottom. He will have to work It by hand, 
because we have not yet secured the cheap pow¬ 
er which is so much desired in such instances. 
[tubbing Seed Puekuge* by Postmaster*.—Dr. 
Ssrim read a letter stating that certain packages 
of seeds which he hud forwarded to friends, had 
been opened, the seeds taken out and replaced 
with old paper, and thus delivered to the parties 
to whom they were addressed. Another gentle¬ 
man, who is largely engaged in mailing bulbs, 
stated that within three weeks five hundred 
packages mailed by him had failed to reach their 
destination. 
Drape* in the Cayuga Volley.—S, J. Parker, 
ithaea, N. Y., writes;—“ We have had no grape 
in the Cayuga Valley for winter eating that 
equals Rogers No. 1. All of Rogers’grapes have 
a little of the harshness of the parent, Mam¬ 
moth. This is lost in the No. 1 by keeping till 
December 1.0 or January 1. Of all his hybrids 
none bore more or better fruit than this one. 
The excellence of it is that this number can be 
picked green—that is, with no more color than 
a foreign green Malaga—and ripen in boxes, and 
be eaten with as much pleasure as the foreign 
grape. So well is this established that some of 
the professors of Cornell University arid stran¬ 
gers, as well ns our citizens, are willing to pay 
twenty-five or thirty cents for No. 1 when Con¬ 
cords are ten cents per pound. I am a decided 
friend of the Eumelan, and also of the Iona. 
Doth have excellences well worth considering. 
The past season was one of the severest we ever 
bad. It would have been better had our vines 
been barren than to have had so many lost for 
want of ripening. In many places we literally 
trod the ground, late In the fall, strewn with un¬ 
ripe grapes, while grapes from Ohio and else¬ 
where were thrown on us at cost, less than that 
of the boxes and freight. Yeti hope our grape 
growers will not be discouraged. Martha, last 
fall, far exceeded our expectations. It is a fine 
grape. The Sugar grape of our Shaker friends 
of Mount Lebanon, I am very sorry to sny is, in 
my opinion, not worthy of attention in any 
place where any other grape will grow. It is 
worse in foxiness than the Unehol cf the Agri¬ 
cultural Department, and not earlier than that. 
The Mary Ann, in Mr. Cornell’s vineyard, six- 
miles down the Cayuga Luke, Inst, fall was very 
early in the market, sold well, and may ho con¬ 
sidered as proven as a valuable early viucyard 
grape. 
Killing Crows. — T. Renxett, Chester, Pa., 
writes that the Legislature of that State has 
made it a penal olTenco to destroy the crow; he 
thinks it should have offered a bounty for ( heir 
destruction, and adds:-"There are many silly 
people who sny those birds should not bo killed— 
they were created for a. good purpose. The wolf, 
weasel nod rat were also for somo use in crea¬ 
tion, but it is generally thought they can bo dis¬ 
pensed with. To say nothing about the killing 
of insectivorous birds, the corn annually de¬ 
stroyed in Pennsylvania by the crow and crow- 
b lank tru'd would pay a bounty i o soon extermi¬ 
nate them, if it was not for the shyness of those 
thieves and pests. We put corn around t he field 
for the birds at the time the crop is coming up. 
It is at the time of the ripening they pick open 
the husk, eat part of the ear and let the rest of 
it spoil. Weannuully have bushels of the largest 
ears spoiled in this way." 
L. A. Thomas, Dubuque, lown, presents the 
other side of the question. He asks:—” Of wliat 
crimes and misdemeanors is the crow guilty, 
that, lie should be excluded from the provisions 
of ii law protecting other birds? In the spring 
plowing time, did those whoobjoct to them ever 
notice the great, iinnibor iff crows engaged 
among the fresh turned furnnvs, picking up 
something; and, when disturbed in one part of 
the field, dying off to another ? What are they 
doing there? I once killed a crow thus engaged, 
just to find out what, he was doing, and his craw 
was full of cut-worms. The young crow Is a 
most, voracious eater. He will gulp down a 
good-sized lizard, frog, or mouse, or any number 
of grubs, out-worms, and caterpillars, and in¬ 
stall! ly clamor for more. Thus he will continue 
to clamor ftnd cal, and eat and clamor, all the 
day long, and during the entire period of his 
young crowhood. Even in the night he will still 
clamor for food, after having been gorged all 
the day. It is sale lu estimate that, the two par¬ 
ent, birds w ill each make a trip for food once iu 
tour minutes; their joint arrivals being once in 
two minutes, each bearing, upon an average, a 
hull-dozen of these insects and vermin, which 
will make ISO per hour, or 2,8881a six teen hours— 
about the length of time the crow works. T 
have seen u pair of crows destroy a. caterpillar’s 
nest of at least a thousand grubs iu less than an 
hour. The crow and I he blackbird are almost 
the only birds that will destroy the common cat¬ 
erpillar—that pest of the groves and the orchards 
—and yet. they are more universally hated and 
execrated than nil other birds, ihe hawk uot ex¬ 
cepted. I could never understand the reason 
for this universal hut rod.” 
When to Apply Plaster, M. <!. CttORSEY, 
Lockport, N. V., writes that, if the desire is to 
benefit, wheat, “sow in the autumn, soon after 
the seed is put in: If for clover, in the spring, 
before the spring ruins are over, or else your 
plaster will full to ward off the effects oi’ the 
drouth. Plaster sown in dry time might as well 
or better lie kept in the store-house, as it can in 
no possible mariner assist tho plant, unless sown 
while the atmosphere is charged with moisture. . 
This is my experience for fifty years, and has 
never failed once.” 
Failure of ihe black Locust.—D. Turner, Con- 
nollsviUe, Fa., recommends tho planting this 
tree in rooky places, where little else can be 
grown. Iu order to mako the growth valuable 
for posts, &c., it should be thick. Mr. Lawton 
said that because t he foliage starts so late in the 
spring, the locust may bo grown in pasture lands. 
The grass gets a good start before the leaves put 
out, and the nitUircof the foliage Is such that its 
shade docs not seem t o utToet the grow th of grass, 
even lu tolerably dense thickets. 
Cooking Food for Stock.—W. H. Wilmot, Lawn 
Ridge, III., writes that one of his neighbors has 
settled the question satisfactorily in favor of 
cooked food for stock, lie has a mill that cost 
888, run by two horses, that will shell and grind 
into fine meal, fifteen bushels of corn per hour. 
He has also an apparatus (cost $120) that will 
cook this fifteen bushels of meal thoroughly iu 
one hour and a-half, ami one-quarter of the cobs 
from the corn will furnish the heat; or he can 
cook with a bushel of cobs a barrel of potatoes 
ill twenty minutes. The question of fuel, then, 
in the case. Is only nominal. Here, then, is a 
saving of four bushels of corn by two and a-half 
hours of labor i ho cost of which will not be over 
fifty cents at most. The steamer can be put up 
near the bouse, and used for washing, reodering 
lard, scalding hogs, &e. 
Low* iliut do not Give Milk.—E nds Burt, 
Lawrence, N. Y., lias ” a most valuable now 
milch cow,” which two years ago gave only a 
pint or milk daily for five weeks; last year she 
did better, but this she is doing as badly. She is 
eight years old, healthy, and fleshy. Jle wants 
to know Wliat will make that cow give milk. 
Dr. Trimble said ho should think Mr. Burt had 
had experience enough with that cow to know 
that, the best thing ho could do with her is to 
make her into beef. 
Birds or Grapes- Which ?-8 am. B. Mesereau, 
Hempstead, L. 1., iu order to save his grapes the 
present season, had about concluded to shoot 
the birds which should attempt to feed upon 
them, when his eagle eye rested on a paragraph 
stating that tho Commander of the Club had 
said that a man who would shoot a bird for eat¬ 
ing fruit ought to bo kicked, [Commander—in¬ 
terpolating-1 do not know whether 1 said so or 
not, but if I did not, I say so now,] and he con¬ 
cluded to ask the Club’s advice, for he did not 
want to incur Hie Commander's displeasure. He 
has about, a dozen vines that bear fruit. Last 
year the birds claimed the entire crop. Should 
he shoot them? Mr. Lawton said that tor a 
small sum he could buy a uet and spread it over 
the vinos and keep the birds off without injur¬ 
ing the l'ruit, and lie could supply the birds with 
other food. The gallant Commander would not 
protect his vines with a uet even. He would 
plant more vines for the pleasure of seeing the 
birds eat the fruit, Mr. Dodge said that but for 
the work the birds do there would be no grapes. 
The fact is, the birds are really co-partners in 
t he grape business, and arc entitled to o share of 
the profits. Dr. Trimble said that on the grapo 
vines hereabouts is a caterpillar which destroys 
both loaves and fruit. The birds eat tlicso ene¬ 
mies of the vine-. The safety of the fruit crop 
depends upou tho birds. Dr. Grant's vineyard 
at Iona whs in the neighborhood of a forest full 
of birds. They aid him in keeping off tho in¬ 
sects, and then to prevent their getting more 
than their share of the fruit, ho employed a boy 
with a rattle to run and rattlo through the vine¬ 
yard in all directions. There are certain birds 
that will cat grapes. 
The Commander—nave you any objection ? 
Trimble — No, I have not; but there are two 
sides to this bird question. 
Commander.—Which sijlo are you on ? 
Trimble.—O n the side of tie? birds. Tho fact 
is, we cannot grow grapes without birds. 
Mr. Bergen said he could not stive his fruit 
from the “feathered songsters"' without a good 
deal of special and miscellaneous shooting. 
Draining Saratoga Spring*.—A brilliant genius, 
who has lived all his life in some hollow orother, 
suggests that the waters of Saratoga lie con¬ 
ducted to New York, through the intervening 
villages and cities; that ti stock company or¬ 
ganized for this exploit would amass a fortune 
speedily by supplying this nectar to those who 
would take it at small cost. The whole subject 
was referred to the Committee on Balloons. 
How to Secure Cool Chambers.—In reply to a 
question previously asked the Club, George S. 
Hir.r., Ansonla, Conn., writes that hn keeps bis 
chambers cool by ventilation. His house has a 
fiat tin roof, the lower story is nine and a half 
feet between joints, the second nine; the attic is 
four feet high in the highest plane, and two in 
the lowest, with nine windows of three lights 
each, which are kept open six months in the 
year. The chamber windows are hung with 
weights, so the top sash can be lowered at. will, 
and thuR the desirable cool temperature is se¬ 
cured. Mr. EHidcje said one important means 
of securing cool chambers iB to have the roof ol’ 
as light color ns possible. 
Rape for Winter Soiling, —W. 8. Groves, 
Westhoro, Mass., suggests that it is not, only im¬ 
portant to dairymen that com should be sown 
for soiling stock during the dry term, hut that 
sonic provision lie inudo for green forage after 
frost. He has planted ratio for that purpose, 
and does not Intend to do without it. again. Es¬ 
pecially butted' dairymen should provide if, for 
he never fed any forage to cows which equaled 
it lor producing good butter. 
The While Mulberry Tor Bird Food.— GEORGE 
J. Knight, Brownsville, N. Y., believes the birds 
save and loavn us more and better fruit than we 
could get, were they destroyed, and adds: “I 
would say to all farmers, plant a few white mul¬ 
berry trees for the birds, as well as for tho chick* 
cos and the children. The trees arc hardy,grow 
last, aud bear abundantly, I Will give,you my 
experience. During the numia vmttcauUa speou- 
lation, I planted a lot of them. They soon be¬ 
came worthless. I saved some white mulberries 
near the carriage-house and granary. About the 
same time I planted a cherry orchard, and a va¬ 
riety of plum trees. They r.i flourished finely, 
and soon had fruit lu groin abundance. The 
mulberries wore ripe about the same time with 
the Cherries, and continued ripening until late 
in Urn autumn. The birds wore delighted with 
the white sweet, fruit, and left the cherries un¬ 
touched. Chickens and children loved them. 
My beautiful grove of forest trees surrounding 
my house was vocal with the foatbored song¬ 
sters. J would not allow any gun to be dis¬ 
charged near the house or grove. The birds be¬ 
came very tame, sometimes sit on the banisters 
of ray piazza and sing cheerily and merrily 
within a few feet of mo. Their tameness was 
pleasant to see—none to make them afraid. Iu 
process of time my mulberry treos interfered 
with my buildings, and I wns forced, reluctant¬ 
ly, to cut them away. Soon my chorrles became 
knotty, wormy, imperfect, and but few on the 
trees. The cherry trees and many of tho plums 
evinced signs of decay; large, black balls or 
knots on the limbs of old and young trees. 
They are nearly all dead now, and very few 
birds to bo found iu the neighborhood. No 
cherries, no berries. This I believe to be the re¬ 
sult of cutting away those splendid mulberries. 
I never saw an applo tree borer iu my forty-ttve- 
year-old apple orchard until just before I sold 
my farm, four years ago, and after the mulber¬ 
ries were destroyed,” Mr. Lawton seconded 
Mr. Knujut’s recommendation, aud said tho 
mulberry is as easily propagated from cuttings 
us the currant. 
Sowed Corn for Soiling. — John II. CURTIS, 
Cherry Creek, N. Y., writes:—“Two years since 
I sowed one acre of corn. The pasture began to 
dry lip, and we never had such a drouth in this 
section, and about this time I began to feed the 
corn to my cows. It continued very dry until 
winter, so much so, that there was scarcely a 
green thing to be found in the pastures. My 
neighbor's cows that bad no sowed copn to out, 
wore almost starving,and nearly dried jap, while 
mine gave a good mess or milk and unproved in 
tie8h. There were several men of good judg¬ 
ment who estimated that one acre of sowed 
corn us being worth seventy-five dollars; and I 
am confident it was worth all of that to me. I 
would, therefore, say lot every dairyman, if the 
prospects are fair for a good season and plenty 
of feed, sow a good field of corn; it will not 
come amiss, and if the prospects are that we arc 
likely to get a very dry season, sow double the 
quantity—at least one acre to every ten cows; 
for it Is certainly tho dairyman's antidote for 
short pastures, short eropB of hay, and short 
pockets. The ground should be wall mauured 
if it is not already very rich. I generally sow as 
early as the 1st of June. If it is a dry season it 
is much better to sow earls, so that the corn will 
get well started and shade tho ground, and it will 
then stand quite a bard drouth. I always sow 
the largo Western com, as it will yield nearly 
double the quantity of feed that the smaller 
varieties will. If sowed broadcast, it requires 
from three to four bushels per acre; and, if 
sowed with a drill, about half as much. I prefer 
sowing with a drill, for the reason that it takes 
so much less seed. A bushel and a half of seed 
will sow an acre in drills from twelve to fifteen 
inches apart, and three inches in the rows. It is 
uot much more than half the work to out it than 
when so Wed broadcast. There Is uo better crop 
to seed down with than sowed corn. Some of 
the best meadows that I have got were seeded 
down with it; but. perhaps it is not to be recom¬ 
mended, as it might interfere with tho growth of 
the corn, but, 1 think, not much. I always feed 
it at night, when l feed but onco a day, as I can 
get tho cows to eat so much extra after tilling 
themselves pretty well iii tho pasture through 
Ihe day; and always food in the stnlls, and then 
each cow can get what belongs to her. I see that 
some correspondents have had trouble in getting 
Cows to eat it, but I have fed it several years and 
never had a cow refuse to eat it, and never 
hoard of such a thing before; and 1 t hink there 
is no crop that we raise here in Chautauqua that 
pays (is well, considering tho expense of raising 
it, as sowed corn." 
Tho Vice-President of t he New York State Ag¬ 
ricultural Society turns Ills nows into a pasture 
after milking, and draws bis com out, into tho 
same, scattering a stalk or t wo in a place, and 
the cattle eat it greedily and ruminate all night. 
Ilia hogs run In the same pasture, and consume 
what Hie cows do uot eat —hence there is no 
waste. 
How to Seed Land lu Gross.—GEO. P. CASH, 
Towanda, Fa., has a piece of land that, was in 
buckwheat last year, which he wants to get in 
grass. He asks if if is best to sow tho grass seed 
wit h buck wheat, or alone. Mr. Curtis says 
never with buckwheat—barley is a better crop 
to seed with. Mr. Fuller, urged that. It wns hot¬ 
ter for the future crop of grass to sow the clover 
or timothy alone. It is nil nonsense to suppose 
that a crop of grass cannot, he grown without 
raising one or two other crops with it. Our 
finest lawn grasses grow without I,ho “protec¬ 
tion" of a crop of burloy, wheat or oats. Mr. 
Cuims says tanners cannot afford to let the 
land lie a year without producing something 
marketable. Mr. Fuller replied, then let them 
sow the grass seed in the fall, after tho spring 
crop is oil', and let. it occupy the whole ground. 
They will get a better crop of grass tho next 
year thereby. Mr. Bergen Indorsed Mr. Ful¬ 
ler's position. Ho had found he got. more profit 
from his grass crop when it was seeded without, 
any grain crop. Ho got a far hotter sward. 
Waste of Fertilizer*.—Mr. Reade read tho fol¬ 
lowing paper: 
“ I do nnt. behove there is an aero of land on 
this continent where the manipulation and crop¬ 
ping Inis been long enough couiliiuod to bring it- 
to tlm best texture, the best, depth, and thus 
developit.il Its plnnl-producingpropei lies, which 
iu some cases may require u .score of years, but. 
has i hereafter grown (ess valuable, because lack¬ 
ing some elements that have been taken out, of 
the soil mid uover returned, lu placing the 
grains and the grasses among tlm iieoessitio* of 
Hie highest civilization, the Creator arranged 
that,after these grains and grosses had done 
tlmir part, toward the sustenance of animal life, 
the residuum returned to the soil, in conjunc¬ 
tion with Intelligent labor, should be adequate 
to the growt h of crops u8 largo, at least, as the 
original production. Tho loss, therefore, entries 
from a. waste of this nat ural supply. What are 
some of these wastes, ami how can a saving be 
effected? 
“ Begin with man. It is impossible to accu¬ 
rately estimate Urn money value of the eurieli- 
Ing material which comes of t he food consumed 
iu a single year by a single individual. Wocuu 
approximate it by supposing t he following ex¬ 
periment: Taken, quarter of an acre of ordi¬ 
nary land; plant it. with corn, without immure. 
Adjacent to t his take another quarter of an aore, 
and in t he seven hundred hills that, would about, 
cover it the usual distance apart, place the entire 
accumulation of excrement, from one individual 
for oue year, which would not. be far from two 
hundred pounds of solid matter, and Horn three 
to four hundred quarts of liquid, treating them 
otherwise precisely alike. At harvest time 
weigh separately tlu> respective crops, mid in or¬ 
dinary circumstances, is there the least doubt 
but. tuttt tho enriched quarter would yield five 
bushels more than the urmnrlched, not to say 
anything About a portion of the plant food that, 
would remain in the soil for tho use of a second 
crop? J have uo question but that the differ¬ 
ence, especially wheu the land was considerably 
exhausted, would average eight bushels instead 
ol five; but for the purposes of an experiment, 
we will take tlm smaller amt the safer number. 
We have a! least. iSMXHMKJU of adults in this no¬ 
thin, that coiisumo an average man's food daily. 
Five bushels of corn for each would mako 165,- 
000,0(H) for the whole, worth in market over $150,- 
iXKijKHj. .Nearly all this fertlllzingmatcrial Is lost 
iu cities and three-quarters of it. in the country, 
bo that It will not. be at all extravagant to say 
that the aggregate loss from this source alone 
will nnmmliy reach $120,000,000. Add to this the 
wasted slops from the kitchen and wash-room, 
and you may Increase tho $120,000,000 by 5,000,Out) 
more. With regard tohuman excremouts, I will 
sny that, tho value herein given is much below 
that of the best European writers, and not. over 
one-half that, of tho Chinese', who for centuries 
have esteemed this as their most, valuable fer¬ 
tilizer. and Avitli wonderful painstaking pre¬ 
served 1L from waste. 
Now, take animals. The Tarmers of this ootm- 
ii\y permit at least ouc-quurtor of what comes 
trum their cal. Mo to be lost, aud I believe tills 
estimate far too low. I kuotv ol' men at tho 
West who winter filly bend oi'stock, and do not, 
take out of their barn-yards one hundred loads 
ot manure in the spring, if they take arty; and 
oven in the most carefully ami economically 
managed sections of this country. I think thin, 
the commercial value ot tho material saved 
each winter season, from each animal, will not 
exceed twelve dollars; whereas, the2,000gallons 
Of urine (more or less) that a cow secretes and 
discharge* miring the twelve months, is con¬ 
sidered worth, on the other side of the Atlantic, 
at least, forty dollars,and should be worth thirty 
dollars on this, a very large proportion ol which 
is entirely wasted, lu the mutter of tlm solid 
portion, after the sun and rain has had unob¬ 
structed access to It for months in our farm 
yards, situated not unfrequontly on a slope, 
many times on a soft loamy or sandy subsoil, 
ami always Avlierc there Is abundant cnance for 
un outflow of surplus water, its value is very 
nun.-li decreased. A recent analysis, made by 
oue of the most distinguished chemists in this 
country, of manures taken from the same yard, 
portions of which Avert; covered, while others 
were exposed to tho rain ami sun, boa delnon- 
sl otted that tho water-soaked and water-washed 
portions possessed less than half thu raunoy 
value of those that the sou mid nun had never 
touched. Now, take horses and hogs. Not u 
little of our horse manure burns up before it is 
incorporated with the soil; the urine ol' our 
horse stables, among our most valuable fertiliz¬ 
ing fluids, is not more than half saved; and as 
to our hogs, the uoxJous air arising from the 
place where they are kept furnishes all the evi¬ 
dence of Avvistu that is needed on ibis point. Add 
to this the droppings of our poultry, the Avaste 
Of docaying vegetable matter rotting in places 
where its decomposition subserves nogoou pur- 
lOse, but Avhjch would add value to the compost 
leap, and the aggregate assumes proportions 
that astound us. 
If the wasted enriching material of this 
country could I'm. all saved and ivlsely applied 
to the needy soils, I believe it Avould lie a safe 
business transaction to undertake the payment 
ol Avhat remains of our national debt, with the 
Increased product* if. would give us in Uvoyeurs, 
thus making the voluntary taxation, which wc 
ourselves perpetrate, pay the involuntary, about 
Avhleh we endlessly grumble. And here I mi 
met by tlm object ion coming from certain local¬ 
ities, that although on the poorer soils, and 
where the farms are small, as at- the East, this 
waste may ho costly, in the rich bottom lands of 
the great. West, which God has endowed with 
such wondrous fertility, the case is altogether 
different. In answer. I have only to point to 
sections of this country that, oaeo gardens, are 
noAv deserts, and to the fact stated to me by tho 
commercial editor of the Chicago Tribune, one 
or tho most careful observers in tho NVust* that 
laud in that section wus groiviug poorer every 
year, and that in his belief tho census of 1870 
ATould show I hat ih nil of the older grain groiv¬ 
iug States tho product per cultivated acre would 
be considerably less than In 1880. The West, to¬ 
day ts wliat Virginia was years ago. Who shall 
say that some tittle in the future she may not bo 
wliat Virginia Is miAV. 
1 As to the remedy, l suggest, for tho savingof 
human exorement*, as the readiest, the cheap¬ 
est, and t he most easily applied arrangement al' 
Avliich the prairies of the country will admit, 
something nu tlm principle of the earth closet. 
”here Ihe vault hoav is, I would place a water¬ 
tight box, sot on castors, that- might run on a 
three by tour Joist raihvuy, which when full 
could ho drawn out, and from thence removed 
to a shed.AvImn the material could be worked 
over, preparatory to subsequent, use. Three 
pints of dry earth would be ample for the use of 
a single person tor a day, Avhicli, with re little 
thought and care, could be provided wilhout 
much trouble or cost. As to the city, f know of 
uo way to save tlm Immense waste until tho 
sewage can bo utilized, as It already is in somo 
other countries. I recommend that, so turns 
possible, the slops from tho kitchen and cham¬ 
bers be each day emptied on the top of a cov¬ 
ered mound of enlib, to he increased in size as 
often as t he original muss of muck or loath lias 
exhausted Its absorbing poivei t urge that 
every new-built. Imru be provided with an ample 
cellar, where three, feet nI' earth can he at least; 
annually, or soml-annuullj, deposited to hold 
the urillO that falls from the stables above, nr 
that soma other way he devised that shall save 
for our longing lands this rich and appropriate 
food; and that Avben cattle are gathered at. 
night, during the summer, they boottherstublod 
over this bulk ol' loam or dry muck, which, per¬ 
haps, is the. most readily available mode, or clsi 
lu a 
Sim 
i yard generously covered with the same, or 
liar absorbents, ami wherefrom, each morn¬ 
ing, every particle of solid matter may ho gat h¬ 
ered into a pile and placed beyond the reach of 
either sun or rain, and over which, as occasion 
may require, a liberal supply of plaster, or dried 
earth, or chammil dost may be scattered to held 
theamitmnin. Thosaniesuggestions will nppl.v to 
the sa ving of urine In mir horse stables; ami as 
to hog pens, they should be new covered with 
fresh eart h at least, twice each week, and even 
then much that is valuable will escape. Finally, 
I urge every farmer to remember that tho earth 
is not something to he ruthlessly plundered, but 
rather a consignment, of capital to ho used to tho 
best advantage for one's own temporal comfort, 
the general good of tlm Slate, and the Avoal or 
mankind; and that any loss ol’ this capital, tho 
result of wastes needlessly incurred, Ihhii injus¬ 
tice in hla posterity, an lujury to the State, and 
an insult to tho good Being >vho has Invested 
him Avlt.il this stewardship.” 
Mr. Curtis commended the foregoing paper, 
but suggested t hat farmers would bo aloAVto pre¬ 
pare a water-tight box Avlth castors for privies. 
Ho used a box AVit.h straps for handles by AVhieh 
it could be moved. Mr. Fuller said t here could 
bo no doubt as to tin* value of the manure 
Avastcd. 11. is not a question of value, but of tho 
prion of labor. Me could not. afford to spend two 
or three dollars saving slops and gathering ferti¬ 
lizing material when he could procure the same 
or greater value for fifty cents. When farmers 
can afford to devote labor to saving it av)H bo 
done. It. Isa question of profit; and the profit 
must depend upon the supply of labor. Mr. 
Lyman cited au Instance in Now England when, 
a farmer had found it. did pay- Mr. FULLER Bald 
that In the case named It was a question of capi¬ 
tal, which all farmers do not have. Nor con 
capital bo applied Avitli the same profit, in all 
localities, to the same business. There is no 
doubt; as to the Avaste; nor is there any doubt as 
to its value; nor is there any doubt, this waste 
AVltl bo utilized ns soon aslt will pay to utilize it. 
Mr. vv iutnev said it is well kmiAvn that, an ave¬ 
rage sample of soil will absorb about throo- 
tont.lia or one pm* cent, of ammonia, and the uso 
of dry earth will both save manure and prevent 
foul odors. The utilization of scAvage in Edin¬ 
burgh buz raised worthless lands to a value of 
$2,500 an acre In twenty-five years, uml caused 
thorn to yield in a siugle season successive cut¬ 
tings nf grass equal to a growth more than ten 
feet high. If Mr. Keade'h suggestions are fol¬ 
lowed they Avill not only add many a bushel of 
grain to tho granary, but save many a case of 
typhoid to the dwelling. 
The vigilant Commander said tho hints given 
by tbc essayist would help him to utilize what is 
uoav an offense. He should put somo ol' them in 
practice. 
- 
INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES. 
Agricultural and Art Adh'ii oT Ontario.—The 
Board of officers for the current year is consti¬ 
tuted as follows: /bra.—H on. D. Christie, Paris. 
Vlce-Prcx. Hon Jas. Skcad, Falkirk. Trmn. - - 
George Graham, Brampton. Sec. — Hugh C. 
Thomson, Toronto. Assist. See.—Arts and Mim- 
ffleturesDepartment. William Fdwards,Toron¬ 
to. Cbf/mM.— Prof. Croft, University College. 
Vcl.SwVWi- Andrew Smith. Seedsman.—.hi nius 
Fleming, Toronto. (Jen. Sunt.— W. A. Cooler, of 
Alienator. Supt. Art* and, Moiivfiu turcts. J. E. 
Pelt, Slept, (train, Boots, amt the Hint. Dept. — 
James Fleming, Toronto. CummUtecx.—i) u horses 
- Messrs. Skead, MeDonell, mid Shipley, On 
en til a — Messrs. Christie, Gibbons, and White. 
Ou sheep aud pigs Messrs, Cowan, Wilson, ami 
Shipley. On Implements and poultry Messrs. 
Gibbons, Walton, and While. Ou Judges mid 
Delegates Messrs. Christie, Rykort, and Farley. 
On Arts Department—Messrs. Beat ty, Rykortund 
BueklumL On Hurt, and Ag. Products Messrs. 
Mills. IliJckliiml. and Itykort. On Dairy—Messrs. 
Wilson, MeDonell, and Skead. The exhibition 
will be held ou tho fid, Ith, 5th, 8th and 7th of 
October next, Tho entries for horses, cattle, 
sheep, swine and poultry will close on the fid 
September. For grain, field roots, &«., on the 
10th. September, ami for horticultural products, 
ladies’ Avork, &c„ on the filth. 
Western Social Science Axh'ii, — The Second 
meeting of the Western Social Heicneo Associa¬ 
tion* (organized at. Chicago, Nov. 11th, 1888.) will 
be held iu Chicago, June 8th and 9th, 1870. Valu¬ 
able papers will no read on tins occasion, on 
the subjects of Finance, Kdueutiou, Jurispru¬ 
dence. Crime, Pauperism, Deal’ Mutes, Idiocy, 
Insanity. Criminal Abortion, Public Charity, and 
other allied topics. The co-operation of nearly 
all Ihe officials of Stain Institutions in the West, 
also of many college professors and other men of 
equal eminence and ability in other walks of 
life, has been secured. Funds have been ob¬ 
tained, in part. Tor tho publication of a volume 
or transactions. The Association will also hold 
a special meeting at some time during the sum- 
mi . lu Indianapolis, under the auspices ol the 
State authorities; when the question will be 
discussed “ What is tho duty of Indiana to her 
neglected insane and idiotic population?”— 
Fred. H. Wines, Corresponding .Secretary, 
Springfield, tllinois. 
Elmira, iV ¥., Farmer*’ Club. At a recent, 
meeting of this Club,— by the AVay, one of the 
most not! ve and i-llieieri t In the State, it was de¬ 
cided to have a thorough practical trial of Im¬ 
plements used m the cutt ing, curing ami gath¬ 
ering of liny. The trial to toko place at Elmira. 
Committees of practical farmers have been ap¬ 
pointed to examine and report upon tedders, 
horse-rakes, mowers, and on forks, pulleys, 
We look upon the meeting, if rightly conducted, 
as a move In a practical direction, to enable 
members and others to act wmfi rsinmlingly rn 
the purchase ot important and valuable farm 
implements. 
.lark moii <’«>., Mo., Hart, .Wii has elected offi¬ 
cers lor tho current year as follows: Pres. A. 
Proctor. Yice-Prtx. - Z. S. Ragan. Sec. -I'. P. 
Bennett. Treax .—John Bryant, Jr. IHreetprx — 
.1. G Blair, K. M. McGee, W. L. McBride, Henry 
Parker, A. lienick. 
