270 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
IMPROVING LAND BY GREEN MANURES. 
It is believed by some, that the best kind of vegetable 
growth for turning in, in the form of green manures, is 
Indian corn sown broadcast. If it be intended to apply 
lime to the land, it would be well to do so the fall be¬ 
fore. Then as early in the spring as circumstances will 
permit sow corn broadcast, say three or four bushels to 
the acre, and as soon as it has grown as high as it can be 
conveniently turned under with a deep working plow, 
turn it under, and immediately sow another crop in the 
same W'ay, turning that under as before, but with a me¬ 
dium plow run crossways of the previous furrow. In 
the middle and southern states, three crops can thus be 
turned under in one season. It is believed that no sys¬ 
tem of manuring or renovation, except the heaviest ap¬ 
plication of stable manure, can compare with this plan 
in its results. If the land be very poor the first crop 
■will be very light, but light as it may be it will yet add 
a considerable portion of the elements of vegetable nu¬ 
trition to the soil; and thus the second crop will be greatly 
improved, and the third will be all that can be desired. 
It is believed that in this way four times as much im¬ 
provement will be effected in one season, as can be by 
means of clover in three or four years. For this purpose 
farmers in the north should use the tall kinds of southern 
corn, as being of more rapid growth and furnishing vast¬ 
ly more matter for the soil. * 
LIMING LAND. 
In the application of lime to land, it seems to me that 
one great object is generally overlooked. All the lime 
intended to be applied in one season is generally spread 
at once, thus leaving it in a kind of stratum, instead of 
being, as it ought to be, thoroughly mixed with the soil. 
Would it not be better to proceed as follows: Suppose 
you intend to apply sixty bushels to the acre. First 
spread twenty bushels carefully over the acre of ground; 
then turn the soil with the heaviest, or rather deepes't 
operating plow you have. Then spread twenty bushels 
more in the same way, and turn that in with a medium 
plow passing across the previous furrow. Then spread 
the remaining twenty bushels, and harrow that in, or 
turn it under with a light seed plow. This would effec¬ 
tually mingle the lime through the whole depth of the 
soil. Any one can see the reason of the thing and the 
advantages of it; the only objection to it being the labor; 
but that is not more than is requisite to bring the soil 
into the proper condition for seeding. If wheat or any 
small grain be intended, then the third application can 
be made at the time the seed is sown. I do not much 
like the usual plan of applying thirty bushels one year, 
and three or five years thereafter thirty bushels more, 
and so on, unless deficiency of means prevents the whole 
being applied the same year. The idea generally is, 
that, like manure, the first application is exhausted or 
nearly so in three or five years, and that then another 
application is necessary. I do not think the lime is ex¬ 
hausted, but the small quantity applied having been dif¬ 
fused through the whole of the soil by successive plow- 
ings, the soil is not sufficiently calcareous. Now if we 
apply the whole quantity as suggested above, the soil to 
its entire depth will have become charged with it; and, 
if enough is applied I do not believe it will be exhaust¬ 
ed in twenty years, if then. * 
BIG HEAD IN HORSES. 
A correspondent, with the signature :c T.,” of Green¬ 
wood, Miss., wishes information on the disease in horses 
called l( big-head.” We do not find this disease in any 
catalogue or treatise at hand, and are not aware that it is 
known in this part of the country. In the fourth volume 
of the American Farmer, a writer speaks of having cured 
it by running a hot iron through the swollen parts. But 
as little seems to be known in regard to the disease, we 
give the remarks of “T.,” and if others are acquainted 
with a better mode of treatment, we hope they will com¬ 
municate it. 
“I presume you are acquainted with the disease—its 
name is peculiarly expressive, so that one could not welll 
be mistaken, even though he had never seen it before. 
It is the second horse I ever owned (out of a vast num¬ 
ber) that hasbeen similarly afflicted. That case, I believe I 
cured; but the cure was almostas badasthedisease. I will 
give it you. After having perforated the enlarged part, or 
swelling of the bone, in several places with a brace and 
bit, (hole about 1-8 of an inch in diameter) without as 
1 could perceive, any beneficial effect, I was recommend¬ 
ed to make an incision under the skin just or near the 
top of the swelling, and put in 10 grs. arsenic, put up in 
thin paper, on each side of the horse’s face. This I did, 
and you may imagine the effect produced in a day or 
two; the poor horse’s head soon assumed a size varying 
but little from a flour barrel; in time, mortification of 
the part near where the arsenic was put followed, the 
whole of which, in about three month’s sloughed off, and 
on one side taking part of the bone with it. I left the sore 
too much exposed, which I believe was the cause of the 
bone coming off. To cure it, which required a long¬ 
time, I used only a greasy cotton cloth bound round the 
head so as to prevent it being rubbed off. This cure is 
certain I am told, but so tedious, besides being objection¬ 
able in other respects, that I will only be tempted to try 
it again as a last resort.” 
Value of Urine —The great waste of manures, (as 
well as other matters,) is the crying sin of'the American 
farmer. Even the best farmers in this section and in 
New-England, where greater economy is generally ob¬ 
served in saving manure than is generally practiced in 
other sections, we seldom find proper means used for the 
saving of urine, which, when carefully preserved and 
applied, has been proved of great value. In some parts 
of Europe, great pains are taken to save and apply this 
substance in the most profitable manner. In Holland 
and Flanders, it is said to have been the means of bring¬ 
ing much of the original sandy and sterile tracts of coun¬ 
try, into a state of garden cultivation. The Heath and 
Broom which grows on the poorest soils, are encour¬ 
aged, till their roots bind the loose and white sand to¬ 
gether. These being cut, small patches of diminutive 
clover are induced, or a few patches of potatoes are 
planted, when a cow is kept. The urine is collected 
carefully in a small tank, or perhaps a cask sunk in the 
earth, and this is the nucleus from which, in a few years, 
a little farm will s pread around. W. 
Sheep of the late H. D. Grove. —The wool from 
these sheep has lately been disposed of at Lowell. It 
was sold in assorted lots, as follows :—158 lbs. at 85 
cents per lb.—361 lbs. at 70 cents—538 lbs. at 62 cents— 
137 lbs. at 60 cents—197 lbs. at 50 cents, being an aver¬ 
age of 68 cents per lb. for the whole. These fine sheep, 
it will be remembered, are soon to be sold, for the bene¬ 
fit of Mr. Grove’s family. For time of sale, &c. see ad¬ 
vertisement. 
Hedges for the South —Mr. Affleck, in a letter 
to the Planter’s Banner, speaks of the Cherokee or non¬ 
descript Rose, as one of the best hedging plants for the 
south. He says—« It has but one objection—that it is a 
vine; and if left to itself will cover a space of from six to 
ten feet. It is hardy; grows readily from cuttings or 
seeds; forms with a moderate degree of care, a good 
fence in three or four years; when well grown is utterly 
impassible to man or beast; will bear the knife well in 
pruning, (which necessary qualification in a hedging 
plant, I fear is wanting in the Maelura,) and forms a 
beautiful sight all the year round, with its glossy, ever¬ 
green foliage. When in bloom, it is indeed most beau¬ 
tiful, with its long wreaths of snow white flowers—the 
whitest of all white roses. There are miles of splendid 
hedge of this plant in this vicinity—more than sufficient, 
one would think in the way of example, to have entirely 
abolished the unsightly, expensive rail fence, particular 
ly in a country that must soon be void of timber. I am 
preparing for some miles of it, this fall—but not so ex 
tensively as I would if it were not that I am experiment 
ing with another plant that I am confident will form bet 
ter and more beautiful hedges than even the famed Eng 
lish Hawthorn. It is the ‘ Microphylla Rose,’ (red) a 
standard, and just the plant for this purpose.” 
