England, fine crops are obtained by a high state 
of tilth and early sowing—these requisites doubt¬ 
less being still more important in the* warmer cli¬ 
mate of the United States. Drilling has proved^ 
quite successful, in the few instances where this 
'inode of sowing has been adopted, resulting in 
ten to twenty per cent saving in seed, and in ad¬ 
ditional product. Few crops derive more advan¬ 
tage from rolling. Early sown crops are invaria¬ 
bly the best. * If sown late, the chances are ten 
to one against a productive one, as the young 
plants are checked by dry weather, from which 
they rarely recover. The best time for cutting, 
is when a few of the grains retain the slightest 
possible trace of green color on the chaff. Very 
early oats may be cut somewhat greener,.as they 
will ripen afterwards in the midst of hot weather— 
a reason why they may be cut greener in this 
country of hot sun, .than in the cooler climate of 
England. Oats are more liable to heat in the 
stack than either wheat or barley, on account of 
their more compact layers, and hence should be 
left in the shock till well dried. In dry soils and 
climates, autumn sowing is recommended as de¬ 
cidedly best. 
The results of many experiments are given to 
Show the comparative value of different varieties, 
but that are here omitted as being not generally 
applicable to this country. 
Polishing Plows. 
There is hardly a farmer to be found, who has 
not at some time had his patience tried, with hav¬ 
ing to stop every few rods, back his team, and 
scrape off the dirt from the mould-board of his 
new plow; and this for two or three days upon a 
stretch, before the coating of sand and iron had 
been worn through, and the proper iron mould- 
board, made its appearance, smooth and bright, 
ready for.use and wear. 
How; to all those who are expecting to go 
through with the old operation of polishing a new 
plow, by scraping it the coming "spring, I would 
propose the following cheap and effectual remedy: 
Go to any druggist shop and procure 4 oz. of 
sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol;-which will cost 
from five to ten cents, according to the conscience 
of the druggist . Take a stick and wind upon the 
end a woolen rag, and tie it on with a coarse strong 
twine, making a swab; set your plow where it 
will- be exposed to the sun, if convenient; then 
pour the-sulphuric acid into an earthen bowl, and 
dilute it with an equal quantity of rain or river 
water. Take the swab and thoroughly moisten 
every part of the plow that requires polishing; 
work fast, lest the acid eat up your swab before 
you have gone over the surface, and be careful 
not to get any on your clothes or skin, for it is 
very corrosive. Let the plow stand about 24 
hours, then scrape off the scales which will have 
arisen all over the surface-wet'with the acid; hitch 
on the team and go ahead; and in from fifteen 
minutes to one hour, the plow will be smooth and 
bright. 
The rationale is this . The outer coating of the 
castings'is composed of a mixture of sand and iron, 
more or less porous, thus admitting the free pass¬ 
age of the acid, which decomposes the iron, chang¬ 
ing it to an oxide, and as soon as the solid iron is 
reached, the action of the acid terminates, or is 
very slight, owing to a want of surface upon which 
to act. 
Farmers, try it; and when you are made ac¬ 
quainted with some simple, cheap contrivance, for 
promoting the comfort, and lessening the expense 
of others as well as yourself, make it known by 
writing a few lines to the editor of some good ag¬ 
ricultural periodical like the “Country Gentlman” 
and “ Cultivator/’ and thus let your light shine 
before men. E. D. Peirson. Hudson, Mich. 
Manure Cellars. 
A great mistake is often committed in the man¬ 
agement of manure cellars. The manure is per¬ 
mitted to accumulate unmixed, except with such 
small portions of straw, plaster, &e.) as mav be 
used in sprinkling the stable floors, but which 
prove whqllv insufficient to . prevent the rising of 
the ste^m and odors, “like a gross fog Boeotian” 
through every crack and crevice into the apart¬ 
ments above. Very perfect and tight floors will 
indeed exclude them, but will not preserve, the 
valuable portions of the manu-re, like mixing the 
whole mass into an inodorous compost. Plaster 
or gypsum, w r ith water, contributes to retain the 
ammonia, and is useful on the land to a certain 
extent; and pulverized charcoal is excellent for 
the same purpose. But for the common purposes 
of farmers, for using on a large scale, nothing is 
equal to dried mould, turf, and swamp muck or 
peat. Enough of these materials should be carted 
into the manure cellar, or under some contiguous 
shelter, to form a mass at least equal to the whole 
of the manure from the'stables. If well dried by 
remaining there a long time, they will not only- 
act chemically in. retaining the ammonia of the 
dung, but they will also act to a very great ex¬ 
tent mechanically, in absorbing all the liquid por¬ 
tions. They should be applied in thin successive 
layers as the manure is gradually deposited. 
Many farmers have a large portion of their fences 
fixed, so as not to be moved, the borders of which, 
after a time, by escaping cultivation, become rich 
with vegetable matter. No better use can be 
made of the turf in these fence borders than mix. 
ing into compost. Where peat exists within con¬ 
venient distance, it may be drawn to great advan¬ 
tage during the winter season. 
The Mineral Theory. 
The experiments of Lawes, in England, as our 
readers may well know, have* contributed very 
largely to overset the former theories, that the 
application of the richest mineral constituents of 
manures is all that is necessary for increasing 
fertility and raising the largest, crops. It is true, 
that when important mineral ingredients are ab¬ 
sent from soils, it becomes a matter-of great con¬ 
sequence to supply them. But experiments indi¬ 
cate that this is not a common deficiency; and 
that the application of the compounds of ammo¬ 
nia are of far greater importance. A late number 
of the Gardeners’ and Farmers’ Journal (English) 
contains the report of an experiment , which, in the 
opinion of that journal, furnishes a complete refu- 
