138 
THE CULTIVATOR 
The friend who has communicated the foregoing 
facts, gives the following, as what he believes the true 
theory of the action of moistened ashes on bones, and 
of the influence of the mixture thus formed on crops. 
Bones are about one-third organic, and about two- 
thirds inorganic matter, the former consisting of oil 
and glue; the latter mostly of phosphate of lime, with 
a very little carbonate of lime. It is a well-known 
fact, that if you put a bone into a strong ley and let it 
remain a few weeks, the potash of the ley will com¬ 
bine with the organic part of the bone, forming with 
it soap; the earthy part, principally phosphate of lime, 
will retain essentially the form and appearance of the 
original bone; but if examined closely, will be found 
to have lost its texture ; and if mixed with any dry 
substance, as clay, loam, or peat, may be easily crum¬ 
bled with it into a powdery mass. This is very simi¬ 
lar to the process of reducing bones by ashes. Were 
the bones to be put into dry ashes, they would heat, as 
in Mr. Pusey’s experiments, would crumble to pieces, 
and the organic part would escape in the form of am¬ 
monia and other gases. But if water be added, enough 
to keep the ashes moist, and to exclude in a great mea¬ 
sure the entrance of air, then the organic part of the 
bones will combine with potash and water, forming 
soap, and will leave the inorganic part (the phosphate 
and carbonate of lime) in a state to be easily mixed 
with any dry substance in the form of an impalpably 
fine powder; and although the phosphate may not 
have become as soluble as when changed to a super¬ 
phosphate by sulphuric acid, yet owing to the minute¬ 
ness of its division, it seems to be sufficiently soluble. 
The manure thus formed, containing all the ingredi¬ 
ents of wood ashes and of bones, is found to influence 
the growth of the crop sufficiently early in the season, 
though not quite as promptly as guano,- and to hold 
out and mature the seed perfectly. When composed 
of five or six parts by weight of hard wood ashes to 
one of bones, and kept in a cool place and sufficiently 
moist to prevent the escape of ammonia, it cannot be 
worth much if any less than half the price of Peru¬ 
vian guano, as a manure for Indian corn. 
Culture of Turneps, Rape, &c. 
Editors Co. Gent. —Will you have the.kindness to 
inform your correspondent, J. R. C., p. 136, Country 
Gentleman , that I grow turneps as follows : 
I get the land in fine condition by repeated plow- 
ings and harrowings. In wet seasons this is sometimes 
difficult to get; but I would wait a few days rather 
than have my land lumpy after the last plowing. I 
then apply lime as follows: Four hogsheads, (60 bush¬ 
els per acre, slaked)—each hogshead is slaked with 
one bucket of pickle, and covered with earth one foot 
deep, and used or spread after being in this state 24 
hours, and harrowed in immediately after spreading. 
(If near a gas-house. I apply two wagon loads of 40 
bushels each per acre, with good result.) I then apply 
20 loads of 40 bushels each of good stable manure, and 
harrow each way until I make all fine. I then spread 
three hundred of guano, mixed with one barrel of salt, 
and commence making drills 30 inches apart, turning 
lime, manure, guano and salt inside of drills. I then 
level the top of the drills with a rake, and sow imme¬ 
diately four pounds Skirving’s Improved Swedish Tur¬ 
neps per acre. In dry soil the drills should not be 
raised as high as in damp. 
I have always had. from 600 up to 1,000 bushels of 
good sound turneps from the above culture—oats next 
year -from 44 to 52 lbs. per bushel, and four tons of 
hay per acre after, of the best quality. On soil of good 
quality, 40 loads of stable manure would give a good 
crop, without any other fertilizer. But in our warm 
summers, the manner I apply manure is much better 
than the common way of applying in the drill and cov¬ 
ering over. The salt is good in dry summers; and in 
case the guano is used, half the above quantity (or 20 
loads) of manure will do. You also save the covering 
and rolling of drills by following my plan, which is 
an object in the turnep season. 
I always sow from the 15th June to the 12th July— 
best time, last ten days of June. 
After culture—from the repeated plowings and the 
late season of doing it, my ground is free from weeds. 
I generally run twice in each drill with a cultivator, 
and commence thinning when in the fourth leaf. Be¬ 
fore the close I go through the drills again with a cul¬ 
tivator, with a view to kill the growing plants in space, 
which will be the case if thinned in wet weather. 
Pull and trim with any heavy edge tool that will 
sever the tops and bottom at one stroke. The top of an 
old scythe answers very well. 
Your correspondent also asks about rape or cole. I 
do not advise any person to grow it for a crop, as the 
same culture would give a good crop if Swedes. I 
generally sow the ground when I dig early potatoes, 
say first twenty days of August. It makes growth 
about a foot high by the middle of October, and all 
kinds of stock are very fond of it. Our winters kill It 
out; but any kind of fallow land, sown in July, with 
two hundred guano, would give a good crop for feed. I 
could sell him one bushel for $4. 
On same page you answer a subscriber from Fairton, 
N. J. I could sell him a buck coming one year old, 
bred from my buck Rumpy, and one of the ewes that 
obtained the Royal Ag. Society’s prize at Norwich, 
both bred by Charles Large, Esq., England—price, $40. 
I could forward him to Boston, with the- old sheep 
which I am exchanging with F. A. Wier, Esq., of 
XValpole, N. H. Yours, &c., J. H. Reid. Fredericton , 
New-Brunswick, March, 15, 1854. 
Cure for Burns, Bruises, &c. 
Messrs. Editors —Having seen in your valuable 
paper, many good recipes, I take the liberty to send 
you an infallible cure for burns, cuts and bruises— 
Tincture of Arnica. I consider it the best for burns. 
It takes the fire out without leaving a blister; and the 
best remedy for cuts and bruises known. I have tried it 
and know it to be good E. H. 
