156 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
May 
sod, in consequence of some remarks I had read in the 
“Albany Cultivator,” from the pen of the late lamented 
Judge Buel, to which publication I am-indebted in a 
great measure for my success. A. A. Mullett. 
EXPENSE OF CULTIVATING TEN ACRES. 
Manure and hauling,..$20 00 
April i 1, 7 days plowing at $1 50 per day,. 10 50 
“ 2 days' harrowing at $1.50 per day,. 3-00 
“ 30th to May 4, Striking out,... 1.25 
Man 5 days planting at 50e.,. 2 50 
Boys dropping,. 1.25 
Three bushels corn at 40c.,. 1.20 
May 15, Replanting, «fcc.,. 1.00 
Plowing some 4 times, 3 days each $1,. 12 00 
Boys harvesting same,.. 9 00 
Cost of cultivating ten acres,.$61.70 
or $6.17 per acre, exclusive of rent.. 
P. S. I cut the whole of the corn, and the fodder has 
been sufficient to save from 8 to 10 acres of hay, my 
usual consumption. 
Muck Compost. 
Will you have the kindness to give us your views as 
to the comparative value of compost, composed of equal 
parts of rich swamp muck and yard manure, with de¬ 
composed yard manure, when applied as a top-dressing 
to light upland soil; and also the value of the same 
compost compared with green manure for the same 
purpose? 
What do you think would be the value of a compost 
made with equal parts of rich mould, the washings of 
higher lands, and yard manure, compared with de¬ 
composed and green manure as in the foregoing, when 
applied as a top-dressing to a black, lowland soil? 
What would be the comparative value of a compost 
composed of equal parts of good sandy loam and yard 
manure, when applied as a top-dressing to a clay soil? 
Should not the earthy part of a compost be of a 
character opposite to the soil on which it is to be ap¬ 
plied? 
Do you consider that compost, when applied to the 
land, is more valuable than would be the parts that 
compose it when applied separately; and if so, what 
are the changes that render it more valuable? 
What would be your opinion as to the comparative 
value of the different kinds of compost, when applied 
to tillage lands of the above description? 
Woodstock , Vt., 1848. A Subscriber. 
We cannot give a precise answer to the above ques¬ 
tions. “ Swamp muck” varies greatly in quality, and 
that which some people would call “ rich,” might not 
be of the very best quality. Animal manures also vary 
in value. Stall-fed animals, or those which eat the 
richest food, produce the strongest manure; and one 
load of this manure, abounding in ammonia, would 
probably go as far in decomposing peat and rendering 
it soluble, as two loads of manure from stock fed only 
on straw or poor fodder of any kind. Various persons 
have used muck compost; but perhaps the most accu¬ 
rate experiments with muck compounded with animal 
manure, were made by Lord Meadowbank, forty years 
ago. According to his trials, a compost made of one 
part stable manure with two parts of peat, fermented, 
and thoroughly incorporated together, produced effects 
on several different kinds of crops, and on various soils, 
equal to the same quantity of unmixed manure,— 
whether the latter was applied in a fresh or decom¬ 
posed state. But we presume the peat in the case re¬ 
ferred to was of the best character. 
In general we should think “ rich mould” which had 
been washed from u higher lands,” would be more val¬ 
uable than “ swamp muck.” 
We do think “ that [peat or muck] compost, when 
applied to land is more valuable than would be the 
parts of that compost when applied separately.” The 
vegetable food contained in peat, in its natural state, 
is locked up by noxious acids, which are neutralized by 
the alkalies of animal manures. Thus Dr. Dana ob¬ 
serves: “ the solubility of geine is wonderfully increased 
by the action of alkalies.” 
But we would suggest to our correspondent the ad¬ 
vantage of testing these questions by accurate experi¬ 
ments of his own; and when these have been made we 
should be pleased to learn the results.— Eds. 
New Mode of Setting Posts. 
The first, and one of the most important subjects to 
be considered in the .commencement of farming, is that 
of fences, and as there is no other business that re¬ 
quires more wisdom and economy to ensure success, it 
is necessary first to determine on good fences in all 
cases, and then to consider how they may be made 
good at the least possible expense. As the post and 
board fence is adapted to more situations and circum¬ 
stances probably than any other, and as the manner of 
constructing it is somewhat varied and expensive under 
any and all circumstances, it may be well to suggest 
here a new and cheap mode of setting posts, which is 
the most expensive part in the labor of constructing a 
good and cheap board fence. 
A small pile driver may be constructed so as to fit 
the bolsters of a common wagon, with the hammer to 
work immediately behind the hind axle tree; the ham¬ 
mer should weigh about two hundred pounds, to be able 
to drive large posts with facility, without being too 
heavy for one horse to draw up without a purchase; 
the frame work may be so constructed as not to be 
unwieldy, or much more inconvenient to shift on or off 
of a wagon than a common hay or wood rack. When 
in use, the wagon containing the machine must be 
placed on a line with the fence, with the hammer di¬ 
rectly over where the post is to stand, the wheels firmly 
blocked, and the horses detached. The post, having 
been sharpened, is raised to its place by the hammer 
rope, in the same manner as heavy piles are raised, 
when a few drops of the hammer set it firmer than 
could be done by digging a hole for the purpose, and 
with less than half the expense of labor. The horse 
is then attached to the wagon which is drawn to where 
the next post is to stand, and the same process re¬ 
peated. This method may be adopted on all level land 
with the best success; it is a perfectly simple opera¬ 
tion, and so cheap that it only requires an introduction 
to get it into use in a very short time. 
Pile-driving, heretofore, has been very correctly con¬ 
sidered a heavy and expensive business; but when we 
consider the difference between the expense of building 
and working a machine to drive large piles, thirty or 
forty feet deep, and another to drive small ones, two or 
three feet, it will be readily seen that fence posts may 
be driven, in the manner described above, much cheaper 
and better than they can be set in any other way. 
When the posts are set. the boards should be nailed on 
the middle post with one nail in each, and allowed to 
lap at the ends from four to six inches. A narrow 
board should be put up and down the posts to cover 
the ends of the boards, and pins made of cedar or some 
durable timber, put through into the posts, passing 
under the boards to prevent any bad effects from the 
expansion and contraction of the boards in wet and 
dry weather, which, though very small in one length, 
amounts to enough to do much mischief, in loosening 
posts and breaking nails, in a long stretch of strait fence. 
The posts should be sawed off at the top, with an in¬ 
clination downwards from the face, and a short sound 
piece of board nailed on to carry off the rain. This is 
the cheapest good board fence that can be made, and 
should you consider it of consequence, I will give you 
a plan and estimate of the expense of a machine, and 
the building of such a fence. Dean. Lyonsdale, 
