needs of clay soils in this line are often so 
masked by their physical condition, from lack 
of drainage and proper t illage, that they may 
be rich enough in all elements to give n long 
succession of good crops, and yet may .appear 
to be quite worn out. While fresh, these soils 
have so much organic matter accumulated in 
them that their permeability to a ir and water 
and their texture are sufficiently good for a 
time. But as this organic matter disappears 
not the most skillful tillage’avails to extract 
profit from them without under-drainage. 
The question of fertilization must wait for 
that, before its solution is possible. 
When any soil has, by overcropping, begun 
to fall in productiveness, we seek for the rea¬ 
son in the interrogative way. Availing our- 
* selves of the teaching of experience, as above 
noted, we try a potash fertilizer upon the light 
soil, or a phosphatic one upon the clay, and 
discover at once that the luxuriance of the 
vegetation thereon is renewed, and for several 
successive crops nothing more seems requi¬ 
site. But then a second falling off is seen, and 
potash, or the phosphate, will not work reno¬ 
vation as before. The farmer without Chemi¬ 
cal knowledge is quite apt to say at this point, 
“Oh,yes, you have stimulated your land for a 
year or two with that stuff, and now it is ut¬ 
terly spoiled. I told you so. Nothing will 
bring that land up, now, but a heavy dressing 
of manure.” To many this looks not, unrea¬ 
sonable and in fact the remedy is a good one. 
But you have certainly secured a few good 
crops cheaply before having to resort to dung¬ 
ing the land. But perhaps you cannot dung 
it, for lack of dung. Is the land spoiled, aud is 
there no other cure? 
In the light soil that now refuses to respond 
longer to potash, it is quite possible that both 
phosphoric acid and nitrogen, iu available 
forms, have now run short. It may be worth 
while to inquire which, by dressing a part 
with potash and a phosphate, a part with pot¬ 
ash and a nitrogen salt, and a part with a fer¬ 
tilizer containing all three. Supposing that 
the last only gives a good crop, you will think 
perhaps that hereafter, so long as that land is 
in tillage, you must supply a “complete fertil¬ 
izer,” as it is ealled. For special crops, requir¬ 
ing an excess of one element, a special fertil¬ 
izer is demanded. This, at least, is the general 
teaching, and it would seem entirely reason¬ 
able, if we are to assume that hereafter the 
land is to be unable, to do anything of itself. 
But this is not true. The laud cannot entirely 
meet your demand for large and continuous 
crops, but except ill the most intensive cul¬ 
ture of special crops, what it can do is well 
worth taking into consideration. You do uot 
do this at ail when you surrender yourself un¬ 
reservedly, for the future, to the use of “com¬ 
plete" aud‘•special” fertilizers. This iu agri¬ 
culture is equivalent to what is called “empir¬ 
icism” in medicine, and that is dangerously 
close to quackery. It is a poor soil indeed the 
natural resources of which we can afford so 
entirely to ignore. Dr. Atwater of Connecti¬ 
cut emphasized a different lesson when, in a 
course of experiments conducted on a number 
of farms under his direction, it was clearly 
proved, in the majority of cases, that for corn 
nitrogen in the fertilizer was so little needed 
that it did not nearly return its cost. The to¬ 
tality of my experience for twenty years is 
quite confirmatory of Dr. Atwater's results. 
By keeping an account of what fertilizer went 
on to this piece and on thatmsuccessive years, 
of what crops were taken off, and their yield, 
I have been able to forecast with great 
closeness the succeeding requirements of each 
lot. Thus, 1 have prevented the overcharging 
of any lot with any one or two elements put 
into it year after year, with no check or cog¬ 
nizable indication to guide me iu the work 
and prevent waste. The consequence has been 
a truly remarkable economy, which aston¬ 
ishes and makes incredulous nearly every 
visiting farmer, who imagines from the looks 
of things that I aiu very lavish of ma nure. 
Yet this fertility Inis been now maintained 
for many years at an annual average expense 
of a little over slo per acre, growing market 
produce, nursery stock, seeds and fruits with 
satisfactory results aud a constant improve¬ 
ment. 
It is true, however, that I get a good deal 
for my $10, and f get it simply because I buy 
the elements of fertility mostly uumixed, in 
their simplest aud cheapest forms, aud as a 
rule apply them separately, according to the 
needs of each plot, as indicated by the record. 
By this method I am, of course, sometimes 
liable to sbave too close, aud get a proportion¬ 
ally unsatisfactory result; but with this I 
rectify my course, coming back to the land 
for a new departure. I think it, better to lose 
a litt.Je in this way and know it, than to be 
wandering all the time in the dark, at an un¬ 
knowable expense. 
The practical reader will here be apt to 
want to know my method more in detail, and 
such a desire ought to be satisfied so far as 
it may be. It would take many more pages 
thau the Rural can spare to do so fully, and 
more than I could ever write. I had hoped to 
close the subject in this second article, but 
must take another for such particulars as I 
am able to give. 
A BAG HOLDER. 
It is annoying to try to put grain into a bag 
alone. Various hag holders have been shown: 
but 1 like mine, shown at Fig. <>■>, as well as 
any. Any kind of inch lumber will do for 
the bottom, which should be IS inches square, 
Fig. 63. 
and two thicknesses of boards, one across the 
grain of the other to prevent spiffing. The 
standards are made of hard wood, seven in¬ 
ches wide, aud three feet, two inches high. 
The braces at the bottom are four inches 
vide and 10 inches long. The back standard 
is linch higher than the other. The ends 
of the standards are hollowed, as shown in 
the cut. To use it, turn the top of the bag 
down about two inches,and place this over the 
standards. The spring from both sides will 
hold the bag open, iu place. Try it. 
A FRIEND. 
HANDY HAY-CUTTER. 
I FIND a tool shown at Fig. 02 very handy. 
It is made out of a broken spade. The edge is 
Fig. 62. 
ground fine. It is just the thing to cut hay or 
straw in the stack. 
Mooresville, Mo. E. E. H. 
----- 
A GATE FASTENER. 
There has been much to say about gates in 
the Rural, but not much to say about the 
way to fasten the gate after yon once get it. 
I refer to swing gates. I tried rope-loops, 
chains, pegs and turn pins, and none of them 
gave satisfaction. The fastening shown at 
Fig. 01, is the best I have ever used. Stock 
Fig. 04. 
raisers who are situated near a railroad should 
look carefully to their gate fastenings. The 
one I show will please them. 
Palma Ills, J* p < 
A PERFECT VENTILATOR FOR HEN-HOUSE. 
The illustration shown at Fig. 61, is taken 
from the Loudon Fancier’s Gazette. It is the 
invention of Capt. Terry of the English Laug- 
shan Club. There is a partition at the middle 
of the pipe so that the air entering at the 
mouth-piece, must pass into the house. It 
causes the foul air to pass out at the exhaust 
end. Circulation is thus provided without 
draught, and the elbows break the force of 
strong currents of wind. The mouth-pieces 
can be moved around to face any wind. 
Cam. 
“Every Man is presumed to know the Law. 
Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises from Ig¬ 
norance of Law.'" 1 
Here are some recent judicial decisions of 
interest to farmers: 
Animals Imported for Breeding Pur¬ 
poses.— Under the law admitting free of duty 
“animals specially imported for breeding 
purposes,” it must appear that breeding is the 
special aud not the incidental object of the 
importation. If the animals are imported for 
sale, or on speculation, or for working pur¬ 
poses, they cannot bo admitted under such 
provision, either on the presumption that, they 
may be afterward used for breeding or other¬ 
wise. This was the interpretation of the law 
given by Assistant Secretary Fairchild, and it. 
has just been sustained by the United States 
District Court for the Western District of 
Texas in the case of the United States vs. 196 
Mares. 
Negligence in Crossing Railway Track 
on a Highway'.— In crossing or approaching 
a crossing of a railway, it is the duty of a 
traveler to stop before crossing aud listeu for 
approaching trains, aud one who fails to do so 
aud is injured, is guilty of contributory negli¬ 
gence in such degree as to bar recovery of 
damages therefor.—Chase, admr., v Maine 
Cent. Ry. Co.—Filed Sept. 20, 1880, Me. 
An engine aud boiler were sold under an 
agreement reserving “title and ownership” in 
the seller uut.il the purchase price was paid. 
The property, being delivered to the buyer, 
was destroyed by fire before payment. The 
Supreme Court of Georgia held (Randle vs. 
Stone et al.) that in the absence of negligeuco 
on the part of the buyer the risk was that of 
the seller, and that the risk must fall on him. 
It. M., Bristol , J'enn. —A person here ships 
a lot of ginseng to an Eastern commission mer¬ 
chant to sell for his account, und asks him to 
advance him on it. The shipment arrives in 
market, the merchant examines it, and then 
telegraphs the shipper to draw for a certain 
amount. He takes the telegram to the bank 
and draws the sum stipulated. The draft is 
sent on for collection. In the meantime the 
merchant finds out that the ginseng is mixed 
with bogus roots. Can commission merchant 
morally or legally refuse to pay the bank the 
sum named in his telegram? 
Ans.— If the telegram was sufficiently ex¬ 
plicit, as it appears it was from the statement, 
it amounts to an engagement to honor the 
drawer’s bill forthe stipulated sum. “In some 
1 cases the drawee may incur obligation to the 
drawer; if he has agreed to accept the bill, 
and it is drawn on the faith thereof, and af¬ 
terwards he refuses to accept it, he will be 
bound to indemnify the drawer,” or any one 
who holds the draft in good faith for all losses 
aud expenses incurred through his breach of 
the engagement. Story on Bills, section 118. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name 
and address of the writer to Insure attention. Before 
asking n question, please seo If It l» not answered in 
our advertising columns. Ask only ft few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper. 
gypsum for potatoes; treatment fuh 
WIRE-WORMS AND WHITE OR bits; GREEN 
MANURE crops. 
F. M. F. {no address).— 1. Of how much 
value is plaster or gypsum for potatoes; and 
what is the best method of using it? 2. Will 
plowing under green crops on laud badly in 
fested with wire-worms and white grabs put 
a stop to a good share of the damage to corn 
and potatoes: laud hilly, soil heavy ? 3. Give 
the most approved method of green manuring 
such land; number of crops to be plowed under 
aud what to sow. The land is much inclined 
to “wash.” 
Ans.-I . Potatoes contain a considerable quan¬ 
tity of lime in their vines, the ashes of which 
consist of 46 per cent, of this mineral. The 
ash of the tubers has only 2}I per cent, of 
lime; 1,000 pounds of the vines iu a green 
state contain 5 l £ pounds of lime, but 1,000 
pounds of the tubers contain only three ounces 
of it. Hence the result of a dressing of gyp¬ 
sum or sulphate of lime or of leached wood 
ashes, which are two-t hirds carbonate of lime, 
is to encourage a vigorous growth of vines. 
This conduces, to some extent, to the growth 
of the tubers, but as these contain a large 
quantity of potash—the ash has 60 pel’cent, of 
potash and 10 per cent, of phosphoric acid— 
these substauces must be present in the soil 
or the luxuriant vines will be apt to cover 
small and few tubers. Gypsum alone, there¬ 
fore, is of little value for potatoes. As super¬ 
phosphate of lime contains a good deal of gyp¬ 
sum, it is more useful than gypsum 
alone because of its phosphoric acid, and 
the superphosphate will be more beneficial 
along with fresh wood ashes or potash salts. 
2. Wire-worms feed upon the roots of plants 
and upon decaying vegetation. Hence it is 
not advisable to [.low iu green crops as a 
means of exterminating these pests or white 
grubs, which have the same habit. It would 
be better to summer-fallow the land aud so 
starve the worms and grubs, or grow for plow¬ 
ing in some crop to which they have an aver¬ 
sion. It is said they dislike buckwheat, and 
this crop has been recommended as a means of 
clearing the land of grubs and wire- 
worms. It might be a good plan to grow 
some green crop, such as rape or mustard, 
which is grovvu quickly and Is readily eaten 
by these creatures, and dust it with a mixture 
of 100 pounds of plaster and one pound of 
Paris-green, and then plow it under. J his has 
been used with complete effect in ridding the 
land of white grabs, and wire-worms as well. 
3. The best method for green mauuriug land 
is to grow such crops as can be ready for 
plowing in the least time, and which will fur¬ 
nish the most valuable fertilizing material. 
Clover is the best green mamireerop; but it 
cannot be grown on poor land, hence it is 
available only for keeping land iu good condi 
tion. For poor land, other crops must be 
grown, aud of these, buckwheat is the best as 
regards rapid growth, for two crops can be 
grown iu one season. The second crop may 
lie plowed in, ui time to sow rye, which, in its 
turn, may be turned under iu time to plant 
corn. If this is intended to be turned under 
it should bo sown thickly in the rows aud kept 
well worked until it is in blossom, aud then 
plowed in across the rows by the aid of a drag 
chain to draw it iu the furrow. All these 
crops will give over 30 tons of green manure 
per acre and will fill the soil well with organic 
matter. Thirty bushels of lime per acre may 
then be sown on the plowed laud and worked 
iu with the Acme harrow, to avoid tearing up 
the corn. Rye may then be sown and grass 
seed, with clover iu the spring, or alone if 
thought best. Laud so worked will be great¬ 
ly enriched, and if turned u little deeper at 
each plowing will be deepened considerably 
aud saved from was ting. The laud may be 
kept in grass for a few years, or in clover for 
two years. The sod turned under in August 
will fit the laud for wheat, iu an excellent 
maimer. By pursuing this method land may 
be kept improving at the least expense. 
“REDUCING” BONE-DUST IN A COMPOST HEAP. 
,/. Y. D., Meadow Brook , Robbinsville, N. J. 
—1. I have purchased a car-load Of fine bone- 
dust, and v isli to make the phosphoric acid 
more available without the use of vitriol; eau 
1 do it with stable manure? 2. The bone is 
raw, of course, aud contains from 4 V toS.'.j 
per cent, of ammonia, aud 40 to SO per cent of 
bone phosphate, and I propose to mix iu muri¬ 
ate ol' potasli analyzing 50 per cent, potash; 
how much of this should 1 use, and can I mix 
it with the bone anil matt tire when putting 
them together? I wish to get the whole so fine 
as to use the mixture with a Keuip manure 
spreader, aud to bo able to spread the whole 
at one operation. 
Ans.— 1. You can reduce the bones in this 
way easily and much more cheaply than with 
vitriol; but to compost the whole car-load to 
the best advantage will need the use of con¬ 
siderable manure. Make a pile of manure 20 
feet square, in such a place that you cun drive 
all round it, or if obliged to drive only on one 
side, make it long aud uot more than 12 feet 
wide, putting the manure evenly all over, and 
one foot deep. Over this spread throe inches 
of the bone. Cover this with another foot of 
manure and another three inches of bone, al- 
