SCtrjj^ss. 
THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL. 
J. B. LAW KB, OK ROTHAM8TED, ENGLAND. 
It is a woll-OPtablibhed fact that coal ami the 
various carbouaccous deposits found below tlio 
surface of the soil, are derived from an extinct 
vegetation. If no such deposit existed, and our 
only supply of fuel were derived from living 
vegetation, the present condition of man upon 
the earth would be altogether different from 
what It Is. 
Our dependence upon an extinct vegetation 
for our supply of food, as well us for our fuel, 
has not, 1 believe, up to the present time, 
been In any’ way the subject of discussion. 
Our investigations regarding the exhaustion 
of soil have made it nppear possible, or per¬ 
haps probable, that fertility, or tho power 
possessed by soils to furnish food for man, is 
largely' dependent upon the residue left in the 
eoilby a previous generation of plants. Owners 
and cultivators of the soil are constantly com¬ 
plaining of Its exhaustion, and they probably 
may think that a process so easily performed, 
oau hardly be worthy of scientific investigation, 
whereas, carried out with care and over 
periods of time sufficiently long, such investi¬ 
gation is capable of yielding very valuable in¬ 
formation. 
In a field sot apart for growing continuous 
wheat crops, thirty-nine years have elapsed 
since certain parts of it received manure of any 
sort. Two bushels of wheat are drilled on the 
acre every autumn, and tlio straw and grass 
letnoved. Every one might safely predict that 
under such treatment the produce would de¬ 
cline; but tho slow rate of decline, and the 
vefy long period which must yet elapse before 
the soil Ceases to grow wheat, would hardly have 
be£n anticipated. Adjoining this unmanured 
pl6t is one which received every year a supply 
of! all the necessary mineral food of tho wheat 
plant, the quantity beiag more than that con¬ 
tained in the largest possible crop. Tbo pro¬ 
duce in this experiment is so slightly larger 
thin that of the umnanured space, that an ex¬ 
perienced eye could hardly detect any differ¬ 
ence between the two crops. 
To what aro we to attribute this want of 
effect upon the wheat by these manures? It 
may be said that these manures are not sup¬ 
plied iu a form suitable Tor the plant to assimi¬ 
late; our answer to this !m, that the same min¬ 
erals when applied with ammonia or nitric 
acid, will produce a crop two or three times 
larger. We must, therefore, look for some 
other explanation, and it is difficult to attribute 
it to any other cause than to the absence of 
active nitrogen. 
Iu all soils nitrogen is found in various com¬ 
binations, as nitric acid, as ammonia aud in 
combination with carbon. It is in tho last 
form that by fur the largest quantity exists, and 
it would appear probable that the ammonia and 
nitric acid are principally derived from the de¬ 
composition of this carbonaceous matter. Our 
soil still contains large quantities of organic 
cafbon and nitrogen, sill! the quantity is sensi¬ 
bly declining and thu crop is declining with it, 
and at present it does not appear quite evident 
wliat is to prevent the complete exhaustion of 
the soil taking place when the whole of the or¬ 
ganic matter is gone. 
It is said that plants can assimilate tree ni¬ 
trogen ; that rains and dews furnish ammonia 
to the soil; that the soil condenses nitrogen in 
its pores; that the slow combustion of organic 
matter within tho soil produces uaseeut hydro¬ 
gel which unites with nitrogen forming am¬ 
monia. Without attempting In any way to es¬ 
timate the value of these several processes for 
furnishing nitrogen to plants, I will merely re¬ 
mark that our wheat crop will derive as much 
boaefit from them as the wheat in other fields, 
stiff .the nitrogen obtained from these sources as 
well us from tho organic matter stored up in 
tho soil by a previous generation of plants, bus 
not prevented a gradual decline in the crop. 
It would appear tliul upon an ordinary soil 
having u clay subsoil, the mineral food of tho 
wheat is largely in excess of the nltrogon ob¬ 
tained both from soil and atmosphere. As ni¬ 
tric acid is constantly passing away in the 
drainage water, wo may assume that the am¬ 
monia supplied by ruin, dew, or condensed In 
tbo soil, is converted into nitric acid and unless 
arrested by the plant, escapes into the drains. 
A similar process goes on when the organic 
matter iudlie soil is decomposed. Nitric acid 
and ammonia appear to represent thu active 
and transitory fertility, while the organic ni¬ 
trogen forms the inactive but durable fertility. 
In what manner those huge amounts of or¬ 
ganic matter tiavo accumulated in our soil, I 
do not attempt to explain. Upon the uowly 
cleared laud iu the States some ol the organic 
matter would be due to recently existing vege¬ 
tation, but upon land similar to iniue which 
has been under arable cultivation for qjmtu- 
ries, and which bus for nearly forty years been 
subject to exhaustion, wo mustgobuck to a very 
remote period to account for so large an accu¬ 
mulation of organic matter yielding nitrogen. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
HINTS FOR JANUARY. 
LOOK BEHIND AND BEFORE. 
Many of the bints for last month aro equally 
applicable for this. Now is the time to make 
plans for the campaign of 1879. Take an in¬ 
ventory of the farm-stock und everything on 
hand. If this has never been done before, the 
proprietor will doubtless be surprised to find 
how much he owns. Straighten up the books, 
and the little debts, and collect those due from 
neighbors. Small accounts should not run 
long. Trust not to memory. Arrange the 
books for the business of the year. Study 
over the plans considerably in detail, aud do 
not wait till the ground is ready to plow before 
deciding what to do. Look over the past and 
study thu good hints and the failures—whether 
all was done to tbo best advantage; whether 
there was too little or too much help. This 
should lead to better plans for the future. 
Nothing can bring lurger returns, for the time, 
than a few' weeks epeut in accordance with the 
above suggestions. 
ENGAOE HELP. 
Look about early in the season, and get your 
pick of hands in the market. Make a written 
bargain iu detail, no matter if you aro wull 
acquainted. This will prevent misunderstand¬ 
ing. The man agrees to remain a certain num¬ 
ber of months ; to perform certain chores Sun¬ 
day, or holidays; to start about such an hour 
in thu morning, and close at such an hour in 
the evening. If, In case of an emergency, he 
works longer, he may have certain privileges 
to compensate for it. In ease he quits before 
his time Is out, he only receives a certain stipu¬ 
lated sum. 
CAKE OF CELLARS. 
If they are too cold, bank up the outside 
with something, or place a double thickness of 
newspapers over the windows. This lets in 
some light und prevents the escape of heat. 
A double iloor, or a fire in the room over the 
cellar, will help to keep out the frost. A kero¬ 
sene stove in the cellar may be used in extreme 
eases. Ventilate on suitable days, aud clean 
out decaying vegetables and fruits. 
WOOD, TOOLS, ICK. 
Cut a supply of 'wood, posts, rails, and logs 
for lumber, ready to be moved easily on the ad¬ 
vent of sleighing. No thrifty farmer will leave 
these things to be done in the biPxn - seasons, 
Get wagons and buggies repaired and painted, 
us well as tools and implements Ter summer 
use. Make stone-boats, cut luH^^TTkes aud 
stakes, aud get ready everything which cun he 
got ready. Snow may be scraped from the 
ice to keep it clear and allow it t<> freeze thick. 
If you have never tried it, build a cheap lee- 
house, and enjoy a cheap luxury next sum¬ 
mer. Tho cakes should he cut of even size, 
aud set on edge dose together. There should 
be perfect drainage at the bottom, but no ac¬ 
cess of air. Around all, place a layer of eigh¬ 
teen Inches of sawdust. 
cows. 
Treat them generously and kindly, but do 
not keep them fat. unless they are to be turned 
off for beef. A cow is a machine, a laboratory 
for converting raw materials into milk. If 
little be given, little will bo received. All ani¬ 
mals should have exercise, especially those 
kept for breeding. Home of them are natu¬ 
rally lazy, but they will be the better for stir¬ 
ring about in the open air. It is cruel to koep 
animals tied up or shut up for days at a time. 
They need light, too. Direct sunshine exerts a 
powerful Influence for good on animals, as 
well uh on plants. Do not overlook a good 
supply of pure water two or three times a day; 
or good ventilation and proper clearing of 
stables. When the ground is frozen and 
covered with snow, it may be well enough, on 
pleasant days, to scatter tho fodder, and allow 
the stock plenty of room to pick it up, but 
when it is muddy, no one but a sloven will 
fodder on tbo ground. Good racks should be 
made for the sukc of convenience and econ¬ 
omy. 
CALVES AND BHEEJ*. 
Lard and kerosene are good to keep ilea 
from calves; sulphur mixed with suit is good 
to drive ticks from sheep. Calves, like all 
animals, should be kept growing from birth to 
maturity. Here Is Jouu place where the profit 
comes in. Therein always a loss of lime aud 
feed and more, loo, by allowing young anl- 
muls to “stand still " lor hix months or more 
of the year, Sheep are well clothed, aud need 
shelter from snow and rain, und perhaps from 
tho very strongest winds, but cold agrees with 
them. Feed them well ; give them plenty of 
water, iu small (locks; keep them dry, and 
they may stay out iu tho aold and thrive. A 
close dark pun is a poor place for sheep. 
-——-- 
NOTES FROM MAPLEWOOD FARM. 
HECTOR BERTRAM. 
A GbOD WORD FOR PEA CULTURE. 
Why are not peas cultivated to a greator 
extent, as a field crop, in the Eastern State* ? 
They yiold well on good soil, und ripen early, 
uiukiug one of the best of foods for swine iu 
fall. Cooked, or soaked in milk until soft, 
they are excellent for fattening purposes, and 
their ripening bo early makes them available 
before corn is huBkcd. In fact, we lmvc yet 
to learn that corn is superior to them. Mixed 
with oats, and ground,, they are excellent for 
horses or cattle. Sheep eat them greedily, 
and fatten on them. They increase the weight 
of the wool, though not ns much as beans. 
There Is not so much oil in the former, ns in 
the latter. After a erop of peas, the land is 
left clean, mellow, and rich. At least It has 
not been exhausted by the crop. The land 
from which they arc taken, is left iu fine con¬ 
dition for wheat, nr for any other cereal. We 
have been succssful in seeding to clover after 
pens. To sum up, there are very many rca- 
; sons why peas may he ruined with profit as a 
Held crop. We would not sow tlm small, com¬ 
mon field pea, but the large ldack-eycd Mar¬ 
row-fat. They are usually of quick sale at 
good prices for seeding in spring. Wo always 
calculate t® raise enough every year, to 
get the pigs well started, then finish with 
corn. We have sold bushels of them for 
eOoking, when green. They yield fully as well 
as tiie small variety, and the latter are not fit 
for table use. Each farmer should sow a small 
„ piece, ut least. As an old acquaintance re¬ 
marked the other day, “they aro handy to 
have around, anyway.” 
ECONOMY IN FATTENING PI08. 
We are giving the pigs all they will eat. 
They gain faster now than after it becomes 
cold, and require less grain to give them the 
same amount of fat. “ Which is more profita¬ 
ble for fattening purposes: pigs at six months, 
or u year old ?" is a question we have often 
asked ourselves, and have decided In favor of 
the latter. Young pigs while growing, re¬ 
quire much more food to fallen. They must 
be fed heavily the entire season. Figs that 
aro wintered fatten quickly the following fall, 
and cost no more than those six months old. 
It costs but liltlo to winter them. Wo have 
pigs that were u year old last month, that 
weigh over 200 pounds, and in tho same pen, 
separated by a partition, others six monts old, 
that w ill scarcely weigh 1300 pounds. Tho cost 
I of feeding lias been carefully estimated, und 
wo are satisfied that the ones that weigh the 
most, cost the least. They are grade Berk- 
shires. 
LEAVES IN THE PIG-PEN. 
Leaves make excellent bedding forqiigs and 
we are gathering large quantities for that pur¬ 
pose. No animal requires more bedding, und 
none, we fear, receives less, as a general tiling. 
-♦ ♦ ♦ - 
A SOILING EXPERIMENT. 
M. OAKF.Y. 
My experiment was nothing remarkable. I 
had either to rent land for pasture or soil my 
cuttle, and believing the latter tho better course, 
1 adopted it. The results aro nothing to excite 
wonder, nor aro they particularly noteworthy. 
But facts are always lu demand, und those 
which testify to ordinary practices and possi¬ 
bilities are, after ul), the facts of most interest 
to the farmers generally. Too often those pub¬ 
lished spring from extraordinary causes, aud 
indicate extraordinary efforts. My experi¬ 
ment cannot he classed among'sueh, and there¬ 
fore may he of value to others besides myself. 
Very many refused to adopt the system of soil¬ 
ing, because reluctant to undertake measures 
so revolutionary, and because, too, so many of 
its advocates are ’so enthusiastic over it as to 
east doubts upon It, by trying to prove too 
much, and thus appearing prejudiced. 
This was my first trial. It w as therefore to 
be expected that I should make mistakes. I 
see now where I might have saved myself not 
u few' dollars. Let me say, too, that almost 
every farmer would he better situated to take 
up the system than I was. for 1 had no clover 
to fall hack upon, us it had. failed to catch. I 
used very little timothy and depended entirely 
upon the crops grown during the season. 
My dairy consisted of throe cows ami tho 
land used w as a tritie over two acres ami three- 
quarters, more than half of which was In poor 
condition and budlcy run out. My object is 
butter making. Contrary to general custom. 1 
have my cow's fresh iu fall, und dry them off iu 
July and August. It was not of great Import¬ 
ance to me therefore whether my cows were 
well fed In summer or not, because there was 
no need that they should he fed high, as they 
were uot forced in milk or butter. 
I will compare, then, the cost of soiling with 
that of pasturing. I could rout pasture ut $2 
per month per cow. Tho account would be us 
follows: 
7 month* pasture, 3 cows, $»l per month .. $42.00 
SOILING. 
2 aeros lodilor corn, labor und Bead.... $22.20 
do outs and '4 rye do do. «.U0 
Htable nniuure, guano aud plaster..... 10-E> 
41.40 
Deduct twelve loads manure In yard, 1S.00 
Total ccmt sevon months’ soiling. $20-40 
Difference In favor of soiling..........$12.00 
This is the actual expense, as kept from day 
to-day. Much more manure Ihuu this is saved, 
but I have allowed something for what would 
have accumulated during tho night, if the 
cowb were pastured. Tho 818 worth cred¬ 
ited above, would have been dropped on neigh¬ 
bors’ fields instead of in my yard- It returns 
almost the total expenditure for fertilizers used. 
Tbo time required to cut the feed needed every 
day was less than an hour per day. The ex¬ 
pense for tho seven months would not be over 
82. ut the rate of wages 1 paid. 1 do not con¬ 
sider if; for the time lost in driving to and 
from pasture, would balance it. 
But there are other thing* to be considered. 
1 used sweet corn almost entirely. I found the 
cattle ate field corn equally well, and the result 
in milk was the same. SJwect corn cost me 86 
more than field corn would have done. 1'he 
manure used is charged against this ciop, 
but is hardly fair, for it is uot exhausted by it, 
but much remains to enrich next season s 
growth. 
After tho quarter acre of rye was used 
up, i had it plowed and millet was sown June 
11th at an additional cost of Only §1.50. Be¬ 
sides this, I had sown In May two acres of 
peas and oats in equal quantities, which cost 
me, with thu manure and Jplastcr used, 824.40 
I am now feeding the hay made from these two 
acres. With the millet I have enough t<> carry 
me through to tho lust of January. Add those 
items, 825.90, to the cost of the Bummer's soil¬ 
ing, 829.40, and the total is $55.80. This cov¬ 
ers the cost of ten months. Last year it cost 
me to feed and pasture for the corresponding 
ten months $102.85, making a saving this year 
of $47.15, I am satisfied with this without 
comparing the yiold in butter of the different 
years, especially w'hcn 1 know without going 
to the figures that tlio ffow of milk was more 
constant and that the expected quantity was 
always returned without variation, when soil¬ 
ing. I had hoped, however, to make this com¬ 
parison, but a change in the dairy hands would 
render it unfair. Tho rent of tho laud was 
nothing in this ease as it was at my disposal 
without cost. That can be calculated by any 
one desiring it. for bnnsc.lt. 
Middlesex Co., N. J. 
—- ♦ «--♦ -- - — 
MOISTURE-RETAINING POWER OF THE 
SOIL. 
A LETTER FROM DR. E. LEWIS 8TURTEVANT. 
1 have read wltb much interest tbo experi¬ 
mental attempt of the editor of the Rural to 
settle the question whether pulverizing the sur¬ 
face soil checks the loss of water from the soil, 
and if I differ from him as to Its value, il is be¬ 
cause it seems to we tlmt the experiments wore 
not devised In such a manner as to give a reply 
to the question asked. The conditions Involved 
In a plant pot of earth Immersed in water, and 
those which occur iu the field arc vastly ditto- 
ent 
We are sorry not to be able to give the figures 
of actual experiments which sliall prove that 
pulverizing the upper soil does act to conserve 
the moisture In the field, because we are not 
entitled to their first use, and to do so would 
violate a confidence, but these experiments le- 
l’erred to, as Well as our own observations upon 
experiments on the soil, tried lor other pur¬ 
poses, show clearly that a loose coating ol earth 
acts as a mulch and does conserve very largely 
the moisture of a field. For instance; upon a 
dry spot, a coating of Band was spread over a 
square yard or so, aud a kernel of corn planted. 
Iu the summer drought, the adjoining corn 
plants perished, while that mulched With sand 
neither wilted, rolled nor showed any other in¬ 
dications of insufficiency of water. Again: u 
plot of land from which the weeds were re¬ 
moved by hand, a* compared with an adjoin¬ 
ing plot where the surface soil was kept light¬ 
ened with tlio hoe to a depth of about two 
inches, showed noticeably less moisture of the 
Boil through the dry season, as observed by dig¬ 
ging boles to tlio subsoil. Of tlio crops.of corn 
planted on these plots, the unhoed crop curled 
Us leaves through lack of moisture, while tlio 
hoed crop did uot appear to suffer. Again : of 
two boxes, the one filled with Band, und the 
water surrounding coming within seveial inches 
of the surface, the evaporation from the sur¬ 
face was very great, and the water was kept to 
wlthlu a short distance of the top. In another 
box of earth, likewise standing In the water, 
but with a coating of two inches of sand, the 
evaporation was comparatively little. Again ; 
of two pots standing alongside on a green-house 
bench, the one with the surface hard, and tlio 
other with the surface pulverized, the former 
required more frequent watering than the lat¬ 
ter, in order to preserve tho life Of the plants 
therein. 
Again : In some experiments made to test 
the power of our common angleworm to con¬ 
vert a sobsoil and a sand info loam, carried out 
through last winter iu my study, one of the 
glasses used contained c6inpact subsoil; a sec¬ 
ond glass, clear sand ; and the third, ordinary 
loam, a half inch of vegetable matter being 
originally placed on tlio surface of each jar. 
The hard soil required a more frequent aud 
^abundant supply of water than did the loam 
^aud less was required for the Baud. 
