128 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
The quantity applied to the acre varies materially, according to size. Of 
the dust, twenty bushels is deemed adequate for an acre; of the half inch 
thirty bushels, and of the inch thirty-five to forty bushels, are generally 
given. The dust is preferred' for grass lands and turnips A greater 
quantity does not seem to increase, though it is believed to prolong, the 
good effect. Instances are quoted of lands showing (he sensible benefits 
of bone manure for fifteen years aftpr it had been applied. 
The soils to which bone manures are bestadapted, “ are those of alight, 
warm nature; for on wet and cold grounds they have rarely been found 
to produce any sensible benefit.” “On heavy loams and days, the ac¬ 
counts of their operation have almost invariably been unfavorable; and it 
may be laid down as a necessary qualification in a soil fit for the applica¬ 
tion of bones, that it should be dry.” “ Upon very thin sandy lands ,” 
says the Doncaster Report, which is the best guide in this matter, “ the 
value of bone manure is not be to estimated; it is not only found to bene¬ 
fit the particular crop to which it is applied, but extends through the whole 
course of crops; and even in the succeeding courses, its effects are visible 
in the improved quality of the land, and the efficiency of a smaller quanti¬ 
ty than would at first have ensured a crop.” On dry limestones, the 
same favorable results have been obtained; and no failures are noticed. 
Upon the wolds, a description of light thin lands, which were formerly in 
a manner unproductive, bone dust has brought thousands of acres into a 
most productive state, augmenting the crop always four and five, and of¬ 
ten ten fold. On light loams, the Doncaster Committee give bones a 
preference to farm-yard dung. On peat soils, previously drained and laid 
dry, their advantages are reported to be so striking, that from fifteen to 
twenty bushels per acre, have been found to very far surpass the ordinary 
dressing of stable dung, and even of lime and pigeons’ dung. On gravels 
their effect is more equivocal; on those that are wet, the application has 
been found decidedly unfavorable. Bones operate best on dry light soils 
which are deficient in carbonate of lime. 
We have used crushed bones to some extent; and our experience goes 
to corroborate the preceding remarks, which are principally drawn from 
“ British Husbandry.” When used dry, and unfermented, their bene¬ 
fits have been more perceptible, with us, the second and third years, than 
in the first year; and when fermented, by adding ashes and water, and 
the process, we think, carried too far, the effect r.as been too stimu¬ 
lating, causing the corn and grain to lodge. Too large doses have probably 
been applied. 
We are more familiar with another species of animal manure,—the re¬ 
fuse of comb-manufactories, which comprises the shavings and clippings 
of the horns and hoofs of cattle, than with bones. These contain more 
gelatine and less lime—more animal, and less earthy matter, than bones, 
and they readily decompose, if buried in the soil, without previous fer¬ 
mentation. They are applied in about the same proportion as bone dust, 
and are considered more fertilizing. 
In the application of both bone dust and horn shavings, it is preferable 
to have these materials deposited near the surface than deep in the soil— 
to harrow, rather than to plough them in. 
Both of these materials are advantageously used in composts, that is, 
mixed with earth, manure, lime, ashes, &c. Some mix fifty bushels of 
bone with five loads of burnt clay; others forty bushels with five loads of 
farm-yard manure, and a quantity of earth; others again recommend a 
mixture of eight bushels of coarse bone dust and eight bushels of coal 
ashes, as a sufficient dressing for an acre of land. The ashes should be 
kept dry, and when mixed with the bones, the mass ferments, and evolves 
a considerable degree of heat, when they are fit for use. 
It has been stated, as the comparative result of some experiments, that 
bone dust acts in the cultivation of grain, as compared to the best stable 
manure, in the following proportions, namely: 
In respect to the quality of the corn, as. 7 to 5 
In respect to the quantity, as. 5 to 4 
In respect to the durability of its effects upon the soil, as. 3 to 2 
—Rep. of Inver. 
The Doncaster Agricultural Association are considered paramount 
thority in all matters relating to bone manure—having gone extensively 
into the use of it, and made it the subject of nice experiments and obser¬ 
vation. The following is a summary of the rules vi hich they have laid 
down for its application: 
“ That on dry sands, limestone, chalk, light loams, and peat, 
bones are a very highly valuable manure. 
“ That they may be applied to grass with great good effect. 
“ That on arable lands, they may be laid on fallow for turnips, 
or used for any of the subsequent crops. 
“ That the best method of using them, when broad cast, is pre¬ 
viously to mix them up in a compost with earth, dung or other ma¬ 
nures, and to let them begin to ferment. 
“ That if used alone, they may be either drilled with the seed, 
or sown broad cast. 
“ That bones which have undergone the process of fermenta¬ 
tion are decidedly superior (in their immediate effects) to those 
which have not done so. 
“ That the quantity should be about twenty bushels of dust, or 
forty bushels of large, increasing the quantity if the land be impo¬ 
verished: and also, according to our opinion, if the bones have 
been already manufactured. 
“ That upon clays and heavy loams, it does not yet appear that 
bones will answer.” 
OVERTRADING. 
It was an excellent rule of an ancient philosopher, when an enemy ac¬ 
cused him wrongfully, wholly to disregard the slander; but if justly, 
quielly to amend his fault. The charge of overtrading, applied to the 
people of the United States, collectively and individually, has certainly 
much truth to support it, and it will be wise in us to imitate the philoso¬ 
pher, not to murmur at the accusation, but diligently to endeavor to 
mend our ways. To live within our income, though a trite, is unques¬ 
tionably a safe and prudent maxim. If a farmer sells one thousand dollars 
worth of produce in a year from his farm, and buys sixteen hundred dol¬ 
lars worth of goods and nick-nacks, he is certainly going down hill, and 
he may expect, in the words of the Prompter, that everyone will give 
him a kick. But if he sells sixteen hundred dollars worth, and expends 
but one thousand dollars, in a year, he is in a thriving condition, and 
every one is disposed to lend him a helping hand —so true is it, that we 
are disposed to help others in proportion as they are inclined honestly to 
help themselves: for those only who can and do help themselves, are like¬ 
ly to requite the favors we render them. 
If we apply these rules to the national family, we shall see that we are 
in a bad way; for, while we sold, or exported, during the last year, but 
one hundred millions from the national farm, we bought, or imported, one 
hundred and sixty millions of foreign goods or products—thus running in 
debt sixty millions in a single year. It requires no great foresight to see, 
that this sort of over-trading will ultimately prove as disastrous to (he na¬ 
tion as it would to the individual. And common sense suggests the 
same remedy for the evil to the nation, that prudence would dictate to 
the individual, viz. buy less, and raise and sell more. The prudent 
farmer would forego foreign superfluities, live more upon the products of 
the farm, set his idle boys to work, and by prudent industry and good 
management, would not only soon be out of debt, but would be able to 
keep so—he would soon be independent, in the broad sense of the term. 
If individuals adopt this course, it will become the governing policy of the 
nation, for the national family is but an aggregation of these individuals. 
If those, therefore, who lament the embarrassment of the times, would 
earnestly go to work to improve them, by imitating the example of the 
prudent farmer—in buying less, and earning more by their productive la¬ 
bor, the times would soon mend, and individual and national prosperity and 
independence would be established. Every man who buys, upon credit, 
what he really does not want, or what he has not a moral certainty of 
being able to pay for at the time stipulated, is chargeable with overtrading. 
The fertilizing properties of wool have long been appreciated, though 
with us little regarded, from the circumstance that it is difficult to collect 
any considerable quantity. Yet woollen rags might be collected in almost 
as great quantities as those of linen and cotton, and are probably worth 
nearly as much to the farmer, as the latter are to the paper maker; and 
the sweepings of our woollen factories and tailor’s shops, would add great¬ 
ly to the amount. We have heretofore given a remarkable proof of the 
fertilizing effects of the sweepings of a woollen factory, in the case of Mr. 
Hubbard, of Middletown, Conn, who cut fifteen tons of hay, at a single 
clip, from three acres of land originally poor, but which had been made 
rich by the sweepings of his mill alone. We have also given evidence of 
their great usefulness in Watervliet. Chaptal enumerates several instan¬ 
ces of uncommon fertility produced by like sweepings, and even by the 
water in which the wool of a manufactory was washed, and states, that 
the Genoese collect with care all they can find of shreds and rags of wool¬ 
len fabrics, to place at the foot of their olive trees. In Great Britain they 
are used in hop grounds, and are also ploughed under for grain crops, and 
as top-dressings for clover. They possess a remarkable power of pre¬ 
venting the effects of drought. They sell in Europe from thirty-one to 
forty-four dollars per ton, and are applied at the rate of six to eight hun¬ 
dred pounds to the acre. In our cities large quantities might be collected 
by the indigent, and turned to good account; and it would be well for 
farmers adjacent to towns and factories to encourage this branch of econo¬ 
my. They are most serviceable upon light sands and gravels. 
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN GRAIN. 
The imports of foreign grain into the United States in 1835—1836, and 
three and a half months of the current year, were as follows:— 
In 1835. 18,200 bushels. 
1836,. 193,700 
To April 19, 1837,. 854,000 \ . 
Total in twenty-seven and a half months,.. 1,365,900 
Of this quantity, there came from England,. 532,000 bushels. 
From the German states,. 403,700 
Holland,. 159,000 
