S94 
are grown continuously, and receive the same 
amount of nitrogen every year, I do not re¬ 
cover more than one-half the quantity of 
nitrogen in the produce, and I generally ob¬ 
tain a better result where I ubq nitrate of 
soda as the source of tho nitxogon. If experi¬ 
ments arc tried with nitrate of soda in com¬ 
parison with enlpliate of ammonia, the pro¬ 
portion of tho two substances supplying equal 
amounts to tho soil, should ho 80 lbp. sulphate 
of ammonia to 100 lbs. nitrate of soda. In 1847, 
or a little more than thirty years ago, I directed 
attention to the question of recovery of nitrogen, 
and to make it plain, I said that it required live 
pounds of ammonia to add one huBhel increase to 
a crop of wheat. Althongh the farmers of this 
country have used artificial manures continu¬ 
ously ever since the time 1 name, they have 
never grasped the idea, nor does the question of 
increase in relation to the supply of nitrogen in 
tho manure, ever bocomo the subject of discus¬ 
sion amongst them. 
Whenever tho agriculture of a country de¬ 
mands a more concentrated produce than the 
soil can furnish from its own resources, the sup¬ 
ply of nitrogen in manure and its recovery in 
crops, assume an imixirtance superior to all 
other questions relating to mauures. Both as a 
question of science and economy the subject is 
equally interesting, and should your agricultur¬ 
ists view it in the same light as I do, they will 
hardly allow thir ty' years to pass without attempt¬ 
ing to measure growth by tho amount of force 
supplied to the crop. 
-♦-*-*>- 
SOMETHING ABOUT GOOD TOOLS AND A 
GOOD TEAM? 
PEOFESSOn W. J. BEAU. 
Foe a beginner it is better not to buy a very 
large assortment of tools at the outset. His ex¬ 
penses are likely to bo large and lie may not 
know exactly what he wants. Of this he may 
be certain that, poor tools are not economical, 
itemeuihor that a day's work of a man is often 
worth a dollar 1 or a dollar and a half, while a 
good hoe can ho bought for half that amount. 
Labor that is perfor med with a dnll, rusty hoe 
that iH loose on tho handle, will cost more thau 
that performed with a nico new implement. It 
is economy to throw away poor tools and buy 
good ones. To some extent the same is true of 
a team. It takes aH much time of the driver to 
care for and drive a poor team as it does a good 
one, whilo the cost of feeding each may be about 
equal. Tho wages of a driver will cost about as 
much as the wages of a team of two good horses. 
Why waste a half or 1 a third or even a quarter of 
the labor of a valuable man in set.ting him to 
work with a cheap, light or inferior team ? 
A good handy fast-walking team is more 
economical at a high price than a team which 
walks slow or which is awkward or of poor 
quality. A poor tool or a poor team is always 
dear at any price and is oue of the signs of mis¬ 
management and poverty. An implement, should 
he as light as is consistent w ith strength. There 
is a great satisfaction in handling excellent tools. 
It is well to be a little shy of patent high-priced 
implements of all kinds, unless you have plenty 
of money to spare. 
The thrifty man, on garden or farm, will take 
care of the tools and the team. He will paint 
the former, oil them, clean them, and house 
thorn. The Clueless man will leave them iu the 
open air, scattered about the promises whore 
they were last used, or he will leave them along 
the road or iu the lane, or in front, of his barn 
or dwelling-house. We can nearly always judge 
of a farmer’s care, and generally of his success, 
by seeing liis tools and how he tabes caro or 
them. Many men are heavy-fisted aud twist 
and pry and break or soon spoil nearly every 
implement they lay their hands on. They are 
pr rad of displaying their strength. They are 
very unlucky. Others, or tho best of hands, 
take hold of tools with care and use them 
properly. Such men are handy, lucky (?) and 
profitable to employ. To which class will each 
of my youug readers strive to belong: the handy 
and expert or the clumsey and slow ? Those re- 
maiks will apply to men everywhere, iu all 
trades, iu every business or even iu the profes¬ 
sions. 
The gardener or farmer will need a few car¬ 
penter tools. It will he very fortunate for him, 
if he has hud some instruction and practice iu 
the me of such tools and in keeping them iu 
good repair. Other things being equal, the 
natural mechanic will have much tho advantage 
over the one who has no tact in using tools. 
Mechanical ingenuity is a priceless gift, but 
those who havo not this gift can learn to do 
much bettor than they usually do. Some of tho 
most profitable and interesting work I ever per¬ 
formed was in planning and in making suitable 
places for all of my tods and implements. 
When of suitable size and shape, au implement 
always looks better when standing up or hanging 
up. For small toolH, a sorb of cupboard, four 
feet wide eight feet high and twelve or eighteen 
inches deep, is convenient. Two doors swing 
•open in oppo ite directions. A narrow strip, np 
and down the center of tho front, will hold the 
<daors closed when desired. Such a case will 
hold a siirpi isiugly large number of tools. They 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
may he hung on the iuside of the doors on con¬ 
venient blocks or pinB made for the purpose. 
On each side of the inside of the case I havo 
made small pockets for an assortment of nails, 
screws, bolts, rivets, wire, gimlets, cold-chisels, 
twine, a vice, small rope, and numerous other 
small articles which cost but little and are often 
needed in cases of an emergency. A person will 
save much time and perplexity by thus being 
a little fore-haudod. In saving perplexity, be 
enjoys life the bettor, makes monoy faster and 
will probably live the longer. 
A small slate or sbinglo should hang near, on 
which should be noted down at the time when¬ 
ever any article gives out. This may he con¬ 
sulted each time before going to town and the 
supply should then be replenished. The pro¬ 
prietor can thus save much time and be saved 
many journeys to town in going for small 
articles without which it is impossible to proceed 
in his work. After a little it will be a good 
thing to have an extra plow, hoe, rake, spade, 
fork, saw, hatchet etc., in cases of an emergency. 
Ofton half the value—yet, the full value of au 
implement—may be saved by having it on hand 
in case of breaking something or in ease of 
wanting to employ more help. It is not always 
economy to use the fewest number of tools 
poBBiblo. 
Nice suitable labels can be bought much 
cheaper than they oan be made by hand. To 
prevent errors by loss or misplacing of labels, 
a small plan of the grounds should bo made. 
Even a rude pencil sketch which is not mathe¬ 
matically drawn to a scale, may often save 
confusion. On the plan, record the name, 
relative position of tho plants and number or 
number of rows of each, their length etc. This 
will aid in making accurate experiments. 
These simple notes, requiring but little time, 
will also often serve a usefnl purpose in ar¬ 
ranging for a rotation of crops in succeeding 
years, and serve to aid in planting the right 
amount of each variety and in determining the 
proper time to plant it. 
To aid iu keeping the sorts pure and un¬ 
mixed, samples of plants, like strawberries, 
raspberries or any other thing which is likely to 
spread, should- be planted in squares or blocks 
with considerable space betwoen them; or still 
better, separate the varieties which look alike 
by a plot of some other crop. The nearer any 
two kinds look alike, tho greater tho need of 
leaving a broad spaco between them or of 
planting unlike thiugs between them. Small 
seeds of new plants and all seeds which start 
slowly should always he sown in rows or drills, 
never broad-cast. This will aid iu early weed¬ 
ing. 
(file (Patton. 
j 
THE FARMER’S GARDEN 
In times gone by and even now too frequently 
the farmer’s garden was a quarter acre, more or 
lesB, of land inclosed by a fence, and where well 
cultivated, it contributed largely to the health 
and comfort of tho family as well as to the pros¬ 
perity of the farmer himself. Bat these little 
gardens are expensive luxuries, requiring a large 
outlay of severe, back-aching work. Where 
land is so plentiful, as on most farms, the model 
garden will be so arranged that all crops can be 
cultivated by horse-power and some one of the 
many improved implements adapted to the work. 
Where necessary to inclose the garden, leave, 
for turning a border of grass, about twelve feet 
wide, on all the four sides. Plant no trees on 
this border, for unless a.u ample space is occupied 
they will soon oast a shade over a large share of 
the area, riant, in rows running the whole 
length and far enough apart to allow a horse to 
pass. These must be regulated according to the 
varieties planted and the training of the horse. 
I rememLor working successfully a well-trained 
horse attaehod to a common cultivator of one tooth 
among carrots only fifteen inches between rows, 
thereby saving time and hard labor. I some¬ 
times plant double rows of onions, lettuce, etc.,-* 
that is, every second space is just wide enough 
to admit of using a hoe while the others are 
wide enough for horse cultivation. 
I have found fall plowing beneficial, especially 
on heavy lands. When the earth is thrown up 
in rough ridges it gives tho frost a hotter chance 
to operate on the soli dining winter. On the 
arrival of spring, when soil and weather are 
propitious, then let the cultivation commence. 
Begin at one side with long rowH of the early 
kinds which, when large enough to be seen, can 
be safely worked with a light cultivator, using 
common harrow teeth as being cheap and 
effective, in lieu of something better and more 
costly. As often as you work that portion 
already planted, go over the whole, thus destroy¬ 
ing a vast number of weeds and preparing, for 
the later plantings, such a fine seed-bed aa will 
push the vegetables to their best growth and re¬ 
quire much less labor than where the weeds are 
allowed to riot until planting time. . Thou, again, 
as the early crops are removed and no second 
crop is to follow, give that portion a thorough 
fall fallowing. Some advise planting the coarser 
Yogotutdos in tho field with the corn ; hut as is 
ofi on the case, since tho cornfield is a half mile 
or moro away, the overburdened houBe-wifo will 
find tho walk rather too much on a hot morning 
when the butter must be worked and the bread 
watched in the oven; hence it is quite likely the 
good man would find but few vegetables on Ids 
table after they were growu. I plant my beets, 
beans, peas, onions, potatoes and everything 
else that can be grown in that, way, in hills in¬ 
stead of drills and find a groat saving of labor, 
especially hand-weeding. I admit that a larger 
crop may be grown by close planting, bat yet I 
grow vegetables by my plan at a less cost, aud 
moreover the ‘‘no time" excuse for a poor 
garden will not apply in this case, as a half- 
hour’s work per week during the season for 
each member of any farmer's family .will produce 
an abundance of the usual vegetables. 
M. B. Feinoe. 
-* 4 ~*- 
TAKING NOTES AND MAKING PLANS FOR 
THE GARDEN. 
PROFESSOR W. J. BEAL. 
Wuebe several varieties of one or more spe¬ 
cies are raised, they should he accurately la¬ 
beled. Do not tenet to memory for a single 
day. You may be ill or called away from home 
or wish to eutrust tho harvesting of the crops 
to now persons. 
Tho careful gardener will take notes of his 
successes and failures; the merito and demerits of 
this and that variety; tho proper time of Bowing 
ripening etc. These notes will he taken every 
few days in tho field, not trusting to memory. 
Ho will thus preserve aud make use of all his 
good ideas. They will be impressed on his 
mind. 
The plans should be well Btudied and worked 
over during the early part of winter. Most 
people never have a definite plan of operations, 
but shift often and work in many ways to a 
great disadvantage. Every person can accom¬ 
plish more with lesB labor and consequently with 
greater profit by working to some plan. In case 
of an emergency, he is the better prepared to 
obange with intelligence, success, and little loss 
of time. 
Agricultural College, Lan3lng, Michigan 
-■*-*-*- 
OKRA, OR GUMBO. 
The seeds of Okra may be treated the same as 
coffee and answer very well as a substitute. It 
is usually cultivated for its fruits, however, 
which when green are cut up and used as a 
flavoring for soups. Sometimes they are used 
pickled, tho same as capers. 
Okra (Hibiscus esonlentua) is a half-hardy 
annual, needing a rich soil and a warrU, sheltered 
situation. The seeds should he sown iu drills a 
foot apart and the drills three feet apart. There 
are several varieties, of which that kuowu as 
■‘Improved Dwarf " is as good as any. The out 
shows the leaf and fruit. 
■ ■■ - 
CULTIVATION AND USE OF OKRA. 
Okba is grown here extensively, though not 
in as large quantities as most other sorts of 
vegetables. It is very productive and of easy 
culture, so that almost any family that possesses 
only a small garden, raises a few plauls to draw 
its own supply from. It would not pay the pro¬ 
fessional gardener therefore to devote much 
labor and space to its growth. 
At corn-planting time, about half-a-dozen or 
so seeds are dropped in hills, from Lhree to fonr 
feet apart, in properly prepared ground. When 
about four inches high, the plants are all thinned 
out to ouo, kept hoed and clear of weeds. Any 
ground of medium fertility suits it, providod it 
is not too muoh shaded. In order to keep tho 
plants hearing through the whole season, the 
pods ought never be allowed to harden or form 
seeds. There are two varieties of it, the long- 
podded tall, and the short-podded dwarf sorts. 
The latter is generally preferred. 
Okra is used in soups ; it is also stewed and 
erved like asparagus or salsify. French cooks 
MAY H 
make a Bort of dish—called gumbo—by con¬ 
glomerating a variety of vegetables, herbs and 
spices ; the chief ingredient of it being okra. 
Tho ripe seeds are sometimes used as a substitute 
for coffee. Farehed and ground, they are some¬ 
times given in tho last stage of yellow fever, it 
being tho popnlar belief that they are a specific 
against the black-vomit. Okra stalks, troated 
like bass-wood bark, yield a tough fiber which is 
not unfrequontly used by market gardeners for 
the purpose of tying their vegetable bunches,. 
Okra as an aliment is considered wholesome. 
Harris Co.. Texas. G. Maetl. 
Jat in f.fljus. 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
Old places are always interesting, but an old 
farm-house and grounds which havo been in the 
hands of thrifty owners, are especially so. We 
love to hear the children say, if Grandfather 
planted that tree ; that hush waB a favorite of 
grandmother ; father raised that tree, aud moth¬ 
er set out that shrub.” Old homesteads should 
have bnllowed associations. They should link ua 
with the paBt in life, and the future in death. 
Hero our ancestors lived, aud from hero they/ 
went, waiting for us to follow. The very air is> 
to us not like other air, but filled with memories - 
so tender, and tho rustling of the leaves, and tho 
murmurs of the branches overhead and all! 
around, are so suggestive and so full of memo¬ 
ries that it is all sacred. Wo must teach our 
children to have more respect and veneratiora 
for age. Let them guard carefully what our 
fathers planted, and have a jealous care for the 
thiugs they loved. 
How welcome spring is to the animals ! They 
look over tho barn-yard fences as one would look 
out of a prison, and long for the green grass. 
Instinct tells them it is the very medicine they 
want to clear their systems of fever, to purify 
tho blood, aud renew all the functions of life. 
Get them out as soon as possible, and at night 
fec-d a little hay so that the change may not be 
too sudden. We had a oow abort once by turn¬ 
ing her abruptly out to pasture. Sheep will not 
eat much hay after they go ont to grass, but they 
will eat oats, and this will keep up their strength. 
The first grass, or rather the young grass, is 
weak, immature, and stock need something with 
it or it will make them too loose ; generally there, 
is more or less old, dry grass mixed with the 
new to act as an antidote or check, but this is. 
not always tho case, and then they should have. 
Borne dry fodder ; straw is Letter than nothing. 
We turned the sheep ont into a lot wo are go¬ 
ing to sow with oats, and as it was surrounded 
by a stone wall they have got into a way of climb- 
iug over it. To day they have been put into tho 
regular sheep pasture. If this experiment of 
keeping them a few days, or trying to, in the 
oat lot results in making them unruly, we shall 
regret it. Last year they did not get out once, 
because the field was fitted for them. It is a 
poor practice to let stock of any kind run out in 
the spring before tho fencoB are fixed, arid then 
they should be put into the lot intended for 
them aud kept there without changmg, aB long 
as possible. This is one objection to changing 
’ pastures, as it is apt to make stock uneasy aud 
breachy. We have taken up dividing fences 
and made the fields larger bo stock could range 
longer without being moved from one lot to an¬ 
other. With a large range a poor fence will 
keep animals, while in a small field the fence 
must be higher and stronger. 
The pet lambs are growing finely, showing 
that instinct was, aud is, a better guide thau old- 
notions. They have got too big now to oat 
through a rubber nipple and have been taught 
to drink. What a stubborn instinct that is 
which makes a lamb, or colt, or calf, look up to 
find food when first horn, aud how Laid it iu to 
make them look down and drink ! These lambs 
have grown as fast as the best ones in the field. 
What rollicking fellows they are ! 
Old Jack sprained his ankle two mouths ago. 
Bottles of liuiment and gargling oil were ap¬ 
plied. Ho was used a little, but it made him 
lame, and ho, finally, he was condemned to the 
hospital and another horse pnt in his place. We 
made up our mind that rest was the heat medi- 
ciue for sprains, so his water was carried to him 
and ho was not taken out of tho stall for a 
month. Meanwhile nothing was put on. He simp¬ 
ly stood still or lay down as he liked. The swell¬ 
ing went down, and now he is out to grass and 
does not limp at ail. He is going to have an¬ 
other month of rest to give tho muscles time to 
recover their natural toue aud strength, [and 
then old Jack will be himself again. By tho 
way, he is twenty-four years old ibis spring and 
a veteran of the late war. 
Wo aigh every day for rye straw. It is so 
nice and clean for bedding the little pigs and 
calves. Oat straw gets so broken up by the 
