52 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan. 
has shown that they are very cheap instruments of im¬ 
mense national benefit.” 
I therefore renew the recommendation of my predeces¬ 
sor for the establishment of a separate bureau, to be en¬ 
trusted with the duty of promoting the agricultural in¬ 
terests' of the country. The vast extent and rapid deve¬ 
lopment of the mineral resources of the country seem to 
require that adequate provision should also be made by 
law for the collection and analysis of the various mineral 
substances which have been, or may be discovered, so 
that their properties may be understood, and their value 
correctly appreciated. 
The purchase of a farm in the vicinity of the national 
metropolis, to be tilled and managed under the direction 
of the bureau,"has been suggested as an important auxil¬ 
iary in illustrating the best modes of culture. If this 
idea should be favorably received, I would respectfully: 
add that Mount Vernon, whose soil was once tilled by the 
hands, and is now consecrated by the dust, of the Father 
of liiS Country, should properly belong to the nation, 
and might, with great propriety, become, under its aus^ 
pices, a model farm to illustrate the progress of that pur¬ 
suit to which he was so much devoted. 
Economy of Manures. 
We have been greatly interested in the perusal of a 
lecture with this title, delivered by Dr. Thos. An¬ 
derson before the Highland and Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, and published in the Transactions of that 
association. Dr. A. observes that there are many 
questions in regard to manures which are yet un¬ 
settled, and that these questions can only be solved 
by the mutual exertions of cc science and practice.’ 5 
He says:— 
u I hold it to be certain that the two must go together, 
and that though some of the facts we require maybe de¬ 
termined in the laboratory, there are many questions 
which, though suggested by science, can only be establish¬ 
ed as facts by experiments in the field, performed with 
every attention to care and accuracy. I hold, also, that 
neither of these methods of experiment will in themselves 
suffice: they must go hand in hand if our results are to 
be of value; while separately, the chances are that they 
lead to mere speculations, of which science will supply 
one set, and practice the other.” 
In regard to the value of stable, or farm-yard 
manure, Dr. A.’s views are quite different from those 
of Dr. Gardner, to which we made some allusion 
in a late number. Dr. A. observes:— 
“ You will readily perceive the necessity for our di¬ 
recting attention to that manure in which the substances 
which nourish plants may be said to exist naturally: 
and that, of course, is farm-yard manure—the most im¬ 
portant of all; that on which the farmer must always 
be dependent; and, I think I may also say, that regard¬ 
ing the economical management of which we have the 
least definite information. I beg it to be understood as 
my decided opinion, that farm-yard manure must al¬ 
ways be the farmer’s main stay. I am aware, indeed, 
that some have thought otherwise; and we have all 
heard of an eccentric gentlemen, who expressed his 
opinion that the time would come when the farmer 
would carry his manure to the field in his waistcoat 
pocket. No one now-a-days entertains such fancies; 
but there are people who seem still to expect that some 
complete substitute will be found for farm-yard manure. 
I can assure you, however, that any such supposition is 
entirely extravagant, and is certainly uncountenanced 
by chemistry. I do not mean to say that chemistry 
cannot produce a substitute, but what I mean is, that 
farm-yard manure must always be much cheaper than 
any substitute which could be manufactured; and the 
reason is to be found in the fact that the constituents of 
such a manure must be extracted from plants by a series 
of complex chemical processes, which must necessarily 
add greatly to their expense. 
“ I consider, then, that farm-yard manure is the most 
important of all, as the natural, cheapest, and most 
abundant source of the more important constituents 
of our plants; and that for these and other reasons, we. 
can never expect to replace it by any artificial manure 
capable of performing all its functions, of serving the 
purposes of cultivation throughout a succession of years. 
Under these circumstances, the attention of the farmer 
should be specially directed to obtaining that manure 
in its best state and preserving it without deterioration.” 
In regard to the preservation of manure, Dr. A. 
remarks that much of the valuable portion of manure 
is lost by exposure to the air and rains. The cir¬ 
culation of air causes the ammonia to become vola¬ 
tile, and the rains wash out the soluble substances. 
So far as regards volatility, the mixing of gypsum, 
muck, litter, or earth, may obviate the difficulty; 
but the liability to injury by rains still continues. 
To protect the manures against both these sources 
of loss, keeping it under cover would be most ef¬ 
fectual. This shelter might be secured either by a 
cellar under the barn, or the erection of cheap sheds 
over the manure heaps. 
In regard to bones, Dr. A. thinks it a very er¬ 
roneous notion that their action as manure is wholly 
owing to their phosphoric acid. He says:— 
11 Bones in a fresh state contain a quantity of nitrogen 
capable of yielding from five to six per cent of ammonia, 
and there cannot be a doubt that in many instances they 
act as much by their nitrogenous matters as by their 
phosphoric acid.” 
The instances in which burnt bones have pro¬ 
duced striking effects, have been comparatively rare, 
and are confined to soils which w r ere deficient in phos¬ 
phoric acid merely. 
Bones for Manure. 
Eds. Cultivator—I wish, in as few words as pos¬ 
sible, to give you my experiment in dissolving bones, 
and their use as a manure. 
I was led to make the trial by reading Professor 
Norton’s communications. About the first of May, 
I bought an old molasses-hogshead, sawed it in two, 
and put in one half 100 lbs. of broken bones, and 50 
lbs. sulphuric acid, adding about two parts water to 
one part of acid. I intended the bones for my corn- 
hills, but after turning and stirring, and stirring and 
turning for about three weeks the bones were about 
as whole as ever, except what had worn off* in stir¬ 
ring. I then abandoned them, as planting was done, 
and other business required my attention. 
After hoeing, having a little more leisure, I made 
some examination, and came to the conclusion that 
the acid was poor, or else I had added too much 
water. I then added 18 lbs. acid, and in three or 
four days I had a fine tub of paste. I was then at 
a stand, as was our friend Hutchins, of Vermont, 
what to do with it, as the season was so far gone, 
but I made up my mind to put it on my potatoes, 
which I was then hoeing the second time; and for 
