282 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Aug, 
Norman Horses. 
Eds. Cultivator —I was much gratified with a com¬ 
munication in your April number, over the signature 
“ F. M. R.,” giving some notes of a tour made in France 
last summer. The portion which particularly attracted 
my attention, was his notice of the u Percheron” breed 
of Norman horses, corresponding, as it does, in every par¬ 
ticular, with the communications which I have made on 
the same subject in your valuable Journal, and several 
other agricultural papers. The identity of the conclu¬ 
sions he arrives at, with my own, in regard to the value 
of this animal to cross upon our lighter races, is more 
gratifying from the fact that he does not appear to be 
aware that this breed of horses has been introduced into 
our country. That Mr. R. has not seen my articles, I 
am well satisfied, or he would have made some allusion 
to my importations. Any man having a knowledge of 
the good points and qualities of a horse, and enjoying 
the opportunity of cross-country travelling in Norman¬ 
dy, (the only way these horses can be seen to perfection) 
must inevitably arrive at the same conclusions. I have 
seen in Normandy, similar performances to that of the 
grey he alludes to, as having carried him, with an another 
person 14 miles within the hour, before a heavy cabrio¬ 
let—this vehicle, I think I am safe in saying, is full as 
heavy as our ordinary four-wheeled Jersey wagons for 
two horses; it only confirms what I have constantly ad¬ 
vanced, that these horses will break down any other 
breed, more especially the thorough-bred, in rapid tra¬ 
velling before heavy loads, and that to an extent to 
which no one can be aware who has not repeatedly seen 
their performances. His idea in regard to the cross of 
the Morgan horse, is undoubtedly correct, and I am 
only astonished that the breeders of Morgan horses ap¬ 
pear to regard this assumption as a stain upon the es- 
cutchion of their favorite breed, whereas I do not hesi¬ 
tate to assert that it is the point which gives all its value 
to the breed. That a similar breed, of larger size and 
superior qualities, will some day spring from the impor¬ 
tation of the Percheron, I have not the slightest doubt. 
fc Diligence,” now 16 years old, is still as lively as a colt, 
and in successful practice at his favorite stand in Penn¬ 
sylvania ; he has long since paid all the expenses of the 
cost and importation of himself a id six others, be¬ 
sides having my farm constantly worked by themselves 
and their progeny, since 1839. Yours very sincerely. 
Edward Harris. Moorestown, N. J., June 17, 1852. 
Retention of Manure by the Soil. 
It is not an uncommon opinion that under-drains con¬ 
vey off the enriching and soluble portions of manures, 
dissolved and carried down by rains. On this subject. 
Prof. Mapes makes the following remarks, which as ap¬ 
plicable to all ordinary cases, are strictly just;—- To 
suppose that manures in a state of solution will be wash¬ 
ed from the mouths of under-drains, is an error—for it 
is impossible to filter downward in the fluid form, through 
any fertile soil. Even the brown liquor of the barn-yard 
will have all its available constituents abstracted by the 
soil, before it descends into the earth thirty-four inches. 
If this were not true, our wells would have long since 
become useless, the earth’s surface would have become 
barren, and the raw materials of which plants are made, 
which now occupy the earth’s surface and surrounding 
atmosphere, would have passed towards the earth’s cen- 
ter; but the carbon and alumina of the soil, each of 
which has the power of absorbing and retaining the ne- 
cessary food of plants, are agents for carrying into effect 
the laws of nature for the protection of vegetable growth.” 
The power of the soil to absorb manure, of which am¬ 
monia may be regarded as a chief constituent, is of course 
limited—but it doubtless exceeds all ordinary cases in 
practice. Prof. Way found that by filtering a portion of 
putrid drainage water through a few inches of soil, it had 
lost all bad odor, and contained no longer any ammonia j 
but he also found that by filtering fresh liquids of this 
sort, which had not yet begun to putrify, through such 
a layer of soil, they even lost all tendency to putrify.” 
His experiments also prove that the soil has a power of 
absorbing potash, soda, magnesia, and phosphoric acid, 
as well as ammonia—and these with lime form the chief 
elements of manure. 
The quantity of muriate of ammonia, absorbed by the 
soil was found to be about one grain in one hundred and 
fifty—the ammonia constituting less than one-third of 
this salt. If therefore, the average quantity of ammonia 
in yard manure is one two-hundredth part, then the 
amount of manure which may be applied to land, if 
plowed nine inches deep and thoroughly intermixed, be¬ 
fore the soil is saturated with .ammonia, is no less than 
two-fifths of the whole bulk of the soil, or about five 
hundred loads per acre. The same fact will also show 
that to prevent completely any danger of loss from com¬ 
post heaps, the amount of soil, or similar absorbent, 
should be more than twice that of the yard manure used 
in mixture. As the absorbing power is chiefly owing to 
the clay it contains, it will be understood that heavy 
soils will retain more manure, when very copiously ap¬ 
plied, than those of a lighter character. 
The theory of the value of gypsum depending on its ab¬ 
sorption of ammonia from dew and rain, retains but a 
slender hold on probability, when it is remembered that 
four pounds of rain water never contain more than one 
grain of ammonia—and that all the ammonia that falls 
in our heaviest storms would be absorbed by a layer or 
film of soil ten times thinner than the finest bank-note 
paper. 
The Horse-Racket. 
Every boy knows, perhaps, what a snow-shoe is—that 
is, one with very broad soles of wood, to enable him to 
walk without breaking through, on a slightly crusted 
snow. A similar contrivance to enable horses to travel 
upon bog-meadows, in plowing, harrowing, carting, sled- 
ing, &c., may be new to most of our readers. Its con¬ 
struction is thus described by "Wm. H. Howard, in the 
Granite Farmer. “ They are nine inches long and eight 
wide, with a hole in the center the size of the bottom of 
the horse’s foot, with a bar of iron across the bottom of 
the hole, about three-fourths of an inch wide and the 
fourth of an inch thick, on which his foot rests; also four 
leather loops, equi-distant, through which to pass a strap, 
and buckle around the fetlock joint.” These, we are in¬ 
formed, admit the horse to tread safely where the mud 
is deep. 
