THE CULTIVATOR. 
will be no roof-boards ahead to nail the wire to ; then 
turn the nail end of the wire down, and the hoe end of 
it up against the guage board, and butts of the last 
laid course of shingles, and nail the wire to the shingles 
below; this puts you to the necessity of driving a few 
small nails in the shingles towards the top or ridge of 
the roof. 
A lath will answer for a wire, and a piece say three 
inches long, and thick enough to rest below the guage 
boards, and against the butts of the shingles, to catch 
behind them, and thus advance the guage boards ex¬ 
actly to their places. The guage boards determine the 
face you lay to the weather, of your shingles. I have 
put it at six inches, but if you wish any other space, 
you must make your guage boards of the width to ac¬ 
complish it. With these preparations, any boy of com¬ 
mon sense, who knows how to drive a nail, can be in¬ 
structed to shingle in a very short time; and I think 
in one-quarter orone-half less time than in what I have 
considered the common manner, the shingling may be 
done. w. t. l. 
-e-ee-- 
Composts—Muck and Dissolved Bones. 
The value of bones, broken, ground, or dissolved, 
for fertilizing purposes, is well understood, theoreti¬ 
cally, at least, by most of our readers. Still no great 
attention is paid to their collection and use, and it is 
therefore one of those subjects upon which, believing 
we are working for the best interest of the farmer, we 
give “line upon line and precept upon precept/ 7 seek¬ 
ing to incite to their more general employment as a 
manure. 
Bones consist of an earthy tissue of fine cells, in 
which an organic substance called gelatine is inclosed. 
This gelatine, according to Stockiiardt, is abundant 
in nitrogen, and readily putrifies if moistened with 
water and left standing in the air ; thus becoming fit 
for the nourishment of plants and causing an extreme¬ 
ly rapid and vigorous vegetation. “ The forcing 
power,” he adds, “ which finely powdered bonedust 
exercises upon vegetable growth is owing to the gela¬ 
tine it contains.” The earthy tissue of bones is prin¬ 
cipally phosphate of lime, “which in like manner 
exerts an exceedingly beneficial influence on the growth 
of plants, and in especial is very favorable to the de¬ 
velopment and formation of seed. Hence the abun¬ 
dant produce of healthy grain , after dressing with 
bone dust.” 
We see, then, that bones are rich in the elements of 
great value as a manure. In many places they can 
be procured at small cost—merely the trouble of pick¬ 
ing them, or of laying by out of the reach of prowling 
dogs ; and in a short time several bushels could readi¬ 
ly be obtained by most farmers. The mode of pre¬ 
paring them for use is thus described (Patent Office 
Report for 1856,) in Mr. Brown’s Essay on Swamp 
muck, before alluded to : 
“ Bones may readily be brought into the forms of 
paste by applying five pounds of sulphuric acid to 
every hundred pounds of bone. If the bones have 
been ground, half this quantity will be sufficient. Take 
a half hogshead tub, place the bones therein, dilute 
the acid with three times its bulk of water, turn on 
half the quantity and let it remain for twenty-four 
Stir the mass, and if the bones are not all dis¬ 
hours. 
solved, pour on more of the acid and water, and 
so 
continue until the whole is reduced to a pulp or paste 
When this has been effected, dry, finely-pulverised 
muek should be intimately mixed with this paste, until 
the whole will be in such a state as to scatter readily 
from a shoyel.” 
A most economical method of applying this bone 
paste as a fertiliser, is first to compost it with muck, 
as described by the same authority. Layers of muck, 
six inches thick, we sprinkled with bones prepared as 
above, untiPthe pile was completed. This compost is 
considered by Mr. Brown, as “ next to muck and 
barn-manure in value, and plenty of instances,” he 
adds, “ might be cited to sustain this opinion. In gar¬ 
dening, and especially on the light lands commonly 
used for that purpose, this compost is one of the most 
convenient to use, quick in its effects upon the plants 
to which it is applied, and yet permanent in its re¬ 
sults.” 
This method of dissolving bones or of treating bone- 
dust, with oil of vitriol, or sulphuric acid, is that by 
which the far-famed “ super-phospate manures are 
manufactured. It is a readily soluble phosphate of 
lime, and therefore of prompt and efficient actios and 
value. Composted with muck, it may readily be ap¬ 
plied to the soil, and will give increased results in this 
combination, besides being safe and convenient of ap¬ 
plication to the soil. 
Royal Tours Plum. 
Large, (an inch and a half in diameter,) nearly glo¬ 
bular, a distinct but shallow suture extending half 
around, the whole surface plump and obtuse ; skin 
reddish purple in the shade, but very dark purple in 
the sun, with a conspicuous blue bloom ; stalk half an 
inch long, set in a small and shallow cavity; flesh, 
light brown when fully ripe, juicy, quite high flavored, 
at least “ very good,” according to the pomological 
scale—nearly free from the oval, flat stone. An ex¬ 
cellent plum. Specimens, from which the accompany¬ 
ing drawing was made, were received from Ellwanger 
& Barry of Rochester, and were fully ripe during the 
latter part of 8 mo. (Aug.) 
-»-*-«- 
Plan of Barn —Our correspondent, H. H , has sent 
us a good plan of a horse and cattle barn, but in the 
description of the mangers and feeding racks, a part 
of the reference letters were omitted, and the cross 
section does not show the different positions sufficiently 
to enable us to make drawings from the sketches sent. 
