92 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Animal matters convert peat or muck into manures 
with great rapidity. “ It has been proved by actual ex¬ 
periment, that a dead horse can convert 20 tons of peat 
into a valuable manure, richer and more lasting than sta¬ 
ble dung; ‘a barrel of alewives is equal to a wagon load 
of peat.’ ” Urine is a most prolific source of ammonia, 
and Dr. Dana says: “ that the urine of one cow for a 
winter, mixed up as it is daily collected, with peat, is 
sufficient to manure half an acre of land with 20 loads of 
manure of the best quality.” Can a stronger argument 
be offered to farmers, why they should fill their barn¬ 
yards and hog-pens with muck, to detain and become 
saturated with the ammonia of the urine ? 
Dr. Dana seems inclined to question the correctness of 
that part of Prof. Liebig’s work which affirms the exist¬ 
ence of volatile carbonate of ammonia in rain water. 
.That ammoniacal salts exist in both rain and snow water 
is not questioned, the existence of the free carbonate only 
is doubted. Dr. Dana's explanation of the presence of 
these salts is ingenious, and as the subject is one which, 
since the publication of Liebig’s volume, has excited 
much attention both in Europe and in this country, it 
will undoubtedly ere long receive a full elucidation. In 
treating of the advantages of irrigation, Dr. Dana dwells 
at length on the composition of water and its use in pro¬ 
moting vegetation. From .a series of careful experi¬ 
ments, he estimates the quantity of salts and geine which 
were carried past Lowell, in the river Merrimack in 1838, 
at 839,181 tons. In river water “the dissolved salts are 
sulphate and geate of lime, and the fine deposit occurring 
alter the water has settled, is composed of one-half of 
geine, and the remainder of salts of lime and sili¬ 
cates.” 
Dr. Dana’s concluding chapter is on the “ Physical 
properties of Soil,” in which he has embodied much use¬ 
ful information in regard to their character and treatment, 
but for which we must refer the reader to the work it¬ 
self, having already much exceeded the limits we usually 
allow to such subjects. The importance of the matters 
treated will be a sufficient apology. There can be no 
question agitated of more vital interest to the farmer than 
that of manures, and the best means of preparing and using 
them, will always command his attention. The volume 
treats plain subjects in a plain manner, and our notice we 
have endeavored to conform to the evident design of the 
author, that of writing so as to be understood. 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE NEW HAVEN HORT. AND 
AG. SOCIETIES. 
This is a neat pamphlet of some 80 pages, the exami¬ 
nation of which has afforded us no little gratification. It 
is filled with proof that the farmers of the flourishing 
county of New Haven are determined not to be outdone 
in their agricultural and horticultural improvements, by 
any section of our country. Open as the great market 
of New-York is to their productions, the farmer, and 
particularly the gardener, has every inducement to make 
the cultivation of roots and vegetables, a prominent part 
of his business, and we are glad to say this has been 
done with much success. The influence of these socie¬ 
ties has been extensively felt in originating and spread¬ 
ing a taste for rural embellishment; a love of fruit and 
flowers; a knowledge of improved stock and superior 
implements; and in this way communicated an impulse 
to the agriculture and horticulture of that county, which 
cannot fail to be permanent. The publication of these 
Transactions, will materially aid the same laudable pur¬ 
poses. 
“ THE WESTERN SHEPHERD.” 
This is the title of a pamphlet of 40 pages, received 
from G. Thorburn, Esq. from the pen of George Flower, 
of Albion, Edwards co. Ill. The object of the pamphlet is 
thus fully set forth in the title page. “ The object of this 
little work is to call public attention to the necessity of 
adding wool to the staple articles of produce in the states 
of Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. Containing instructions 
for the breeding and the proper management of sheep, 
and their pastures. Showing, also, the peculiar adapta¬ 
tion of the western prairies for such purposes; and giv¬ 
ing particular directions for preparing and packing wool 
for market.” On the topics here indicated, although ne¬ 
cessarily brief, we find many valuable hints indicating a 
familiar acquaintance with the matter, and which can 
hardly fail of being useful among the farmers of the 
west. The facts stated in the following remark should 
not be lost sight of by the sheep grower. “ In England, 
mutton is the article of first importance, and wool the 
secondary. In A marie a, wool is first, and mutton is se¬ 
cond. The flock which produces the best wool, is the 
flock that pays the western farmer the best. To choose 
aright that flock, to keep it well, and propagate it rapid¬ 
ly, is our decided interest.” We regret to learn that the 
wolves, (there are two kinds, the Black wolf and the 
Prairie wolf;) are the most serious drawbacks on the 
sheep grower of the west; but this is a difficulty which 
an increasing population, or if necessary, a legislative 
bounty, will gradually do away. 
MR. COLMAN’S FOURTH REPORT. 
Several inquiries having been made for Mr. Colman’s 
Fourth and final Report on the Agriculture of Massachu¬ 
setts, we have succeeded in obtaining a few copies which 
are for sale at this office, at $2.00 each. It is a large oc¬ 
tavo volume of over 500 pages, and should be in every 
%riaer’fi library. 
GREEN MANURES. 
Where plants in a state of growth are plowed in on 
land for the purpose of enriching the soil, they are pro¬ 
perly termed green manures, and this method of manur¬ 
ing has in many instances been successfully practiced. 
But one kind of green manure has been extensively used 
in this country, and that is clover; dnd the benefits of 
this are so great and certain, that it is believed the prac¬ 
tice might be advantageously extended to other plants. 
Plants contain, already elaborated, all the elements ne¬ 
cessary for the formation of others; not perhaps in pre¬ 
cisely the same proportions, but always more or less of 
the essential parts. Reason then would teach the farmer 
that growing plants might be readily converted to effec¬ 
tive manures, and experience in this case fully supports 
the theory. 
The constituent elements of plants are woody fibre, 
starch, sugar, and gum, and these are compounds of car¬ 
bon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The fixed and the volatile 
oils, wax and resin, are formed of carbon, with the ele¬ 
ments of water and an excess of hydrogen. Vegetable 
gluten and albumen contain nitrogen, and it is never 
wholly absent in plants. It follows that for the growth 
of plants, the presence of carbon and nitrogen, or sub¬ 
stances capable of yielding these elements, as well as 
water, iron, lime, and other inorganic matters, must be 
furnished. Green manures do this more readily than al¬ 
most any thing that can be provided, as the use of clover 
for wheat clearly proves. It appears from the writings 
of Xenophon, that the value of green manures was early 
understood, for he recommends that crops be sown for 
this purpose, and declares they “ enrich the soil as much 
as dung.” 
The value of sea weed as a manure is well known, and 
arises from the organic elements it contributes to the soil. 
Dr. Browne of Suffolk, in a letter quoted by Prof. John¬ 
ston, in his essay on the use of salt, gives a striking in¬ 
stance of this. “ In October, 1819, a violent gale of 
wind drove to this part of the coast, an unprecedented 
quantity of sea weeds; these were eagerly scrambled for, 
and from my greater vicinity to the beach, I collected 
twenty-seven cart loads, each as much as four horses 
could draw; and although other persons deposited their 
collections in their farm yards, to rot among their other 
manure, yet I spread mine, fresh and wet, upon little more 
than an acre of bean stubble, instantly plowed it in, and 
dibbled wheat upon it, on the 6th of October. I then 
salted the adjoining land with three bushels per acre, 
manured it with fifteen loads of farm yard manure per 
acre, and dibbled it with wheat on the 15th of Novem¬ 
ber. The result was, that the sea-weeded portion gave 
three times the produce of any equal part of the field.” 
The effects of sea-weed as a green manure, it appears 
from the reports of Prof. Jackson and Mr. Colman, have 
been in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, equally decided. 
Next to clover, buckwheat has been more used in this 
country as a green manure, than any thing else. It is 
evident that to produce the best effect as an enricher of 
the soil, the plant used as manure should have a rapid 
growth, as in that way more of its bulk is drawn from 
the atmosphere than the earth. The farmer finds that 
the best wheat follows a luxuriant growth of clover, that 
the best corn is grown where the thickest richest turf 
has been turned, and that the crop is generally in pro¬ 
portion to the vegetable matter present in the soil. It 
has appeared to us, however, that where large quantities 
of green manure were used, the presence of some alkali 
was necessary to correct any acidity which might ensue, 
and hence ashes when used in such a connection have 
proved of essential service. 
Mr. Knight was a strenuous advocate of the use of 
green manures, and some of his experiments to prove 
their value, were most ingenious and decisive. As the 
result of his investigations, in one of his communications 
to the Hort. Society, he says, that what he has stated is 
is sufficient to show “ that any given quantity of vegeta¬ 
ble matter, can generally be employed in its recent and 
organised state with much more advantage than when it 
has been decomposed, and no inconsiderable part of its 
component parts have been dissipated and lost during the 
progress of the putrefactive fermentation.” This remark 
is unquestionably correct, although it will depend much 
on the manner of decomposition, whether any considera¬ 
ble part of the elements of the plant are dissipated. Green 
plants decomposing in the open air, must lose a large 
portion of valuable matters, but if covered with earth, 
such loss cannot take place. Combinations take place, 
and the escaping gases are retained for the future plants. 
It is evident that green manuring can only be used pro¬ 
fitably in a warm climate, or during the warmest part 
of our seasons. In Italy, the lupine is most generally 
used for plowing in; but in colder latitudes buckwheat 
has proved the best plant for green manure. It gives a 
large amount of vegetation, grows rapidly, and comes to 
maturity, or the state in which it is most valuable for ma¬ 
nure, at a time when the heat is greatest, and the perfect 
decomposition insured. Plants used for green manure, 
should be plowed down when they have come into flower, 
as the experiments of Sir IP. Davy, prove that at that 
time they have least exhausted the soil, and contain the 
most soluble matter. 
In common with many farmers, we think the practice 
of turning under a large growth of clover for the pur¬ 
pose of manure, is injudicious. Our experience would 
prove that it is better to feed it off on the land. The 
large quantities of animal salts deposited on the soil with 
the manure dropped, which are, as is well known, the 
most efficient agents in vegetation, will more than com¬ 
pensate for what may be carried off in the flesh of the 
animals fed. Sheep are the stock we should prefer, and 
sheep, clover, and wheat, are associated in the minds of 
most grain growers at the present time. 
SUGAR FROM CORN-OIL FROM LARD, &c. 
We are indebted to our friend, H. L. Ellsworth, of 
Washington, for a pamphlet containing the address of 
Mr. Webb, of Delaware, before the Nat. Ag. Society, on 
the important subject of making sugar from corn; and 
also the methods described by Mr. Morfit of Philadel¬ 
phia, and Mr. Smith of New-York, of making Stearine 
from tallow, oil, lard, &e. 
The subject of making sugar from corn is truly a na¬ 
tional one, and we are gratified to find the public taking 
so much interest in the matter. As described by Mr! 
Webb, in his address, there would appear to be nothing 
difficult or tedious in the manufacture; and it seems to 
be very satisfactorily ascertained that any quantity of su- 
gar,equal to that of the cane, may be made at a not greater 
expense than that. Mr. Webb states that the ears may be 
removed from the plants intended for sugar, but he thinks 
the better way will be to so increase the quantity grown 
on an acre, as to prevent the formation of ears, a result 
which every farmer is aware will ensue from too close 
planting. But in any event, the formation and perfec¬ 
tion of the ear must be prevented, or very little sugar 
will form in the stalk. There appears little doubt that 
the principle laid down by Mr. Webb, will be found the 
true one; viz: “ that every pound of starch found in the 
seed of a plant, has required for its production, at least 
one pound of sugar in the form of sap.” 
The richness of the juice of maize in sugar, is truly 
surprising, and it is strange that public attention has not 
before been directed to it, in preference to the beet. Mr. 
Webb says—“the raw juice of maize, when cultivated 
for sugar, marks 10° on the saccharometer, while the ave¬ 
rage of cane juice, (as I am informed,) is not higher than 
8 U , and beet juice not over 3°. From 9f quarts (dry 
measure,) of the former, I have obtained 4 lb. 6 oz. of 
syrup concentrated to the point of crystalization. The 
proportion of crystalizable sugar appears to be larger 
than is obtained from cane juice in Louisiana.” 
The process of grinding is very simple. Three up¬ 
right cylinders from 20 to 40 inches long, are secured in 
a strong frame; the centre one is moved by a sweep, 
and cogs on this, working in cogs on the others, move 
the other rollers. In grinding, the stalks pass through 
on the right side of the middle roller, and coming m con¬ 
tact with what is called the dumb returner, are directed 
back so that they again pass the rollers on the other side 
of the middle one. A cut is given of the front view of 
such a sugar mill. Corn juice like that of the cane, must 
not stand after it is prepared, as the incipient fermentation 
soon commences. One hour is the extent it can stand, 
and even this is attended with danger, although less in 
the case of corn than in that, of cane. The process of 
manufacture, is as simple as that of grinding. 
The juice after coming from the mill stood for a short 
time to deposit some of its coarse impurities; it was then 
passed through a flannel strainer, in order to get rid of 
such matters as could be separated in this way. Lime 
water, called milk of lime, was then added in the pro¬ 
portion of one or tw r o table spoonfulls to a gallon. The 
juice was then placed over a fire, brought nearly to a 
boiling point, when it was carefully skimmed before 
ebullition commenced. It was then boiled down, rapid¬ 
ly removing the scum as it rose. It was sometimes ne¬ 
cessary, when not sufficiently clear, to pass it a second 
time through the strainer. To determine when it w r as 
sufficiently done, some of the syrup was taken between 
the thumb and finger, and if, when moderately cool, a 
thread half an inch long could be drawn, it was at once 
poured into broad shallow vessels to crysfalize. 
The experiment of making corn sugar will doubtless 
be tried by many the coming season, and the address of 
Mr. Webb will furnish the necessary information for a 
successful issue to the enterprise. 
The preparation of stearine, although of much impor¬ 
tance to the country, is depending on so many chemical 
combinations and manipulations, that it is not probable 
it will become an object to families, and that part of the 
pamphlet we shall pass over, remarking that those who 
feel an interest in the matter, w r ill be glad to find the se¬ 
veral processes as well described as is done in the ac¬ 
count before us. 
LARGE YIELD OF CORN. 
In a late number of the Louisville Journal, we find an 
account of a corn crop raised by Mr. Young, of Jessa¬ 
mine co., a crop exceeding we believe any on record in 
the country. The editor says: “ Mr. Young exhibited to 
us a certificate of several respectable gentlemen, certify¬ 
ing that in a lot of five acres, he had produced am hun¬ 
dred and ninety-five bushels of corn to the acre. The corn 
w r as measured, and there is no doubt of the correctness 
of the estimate. This was on a piece of bottom land, and 
the committee were of opinion that Mr. Young's crop on 
the upland was better than that which was measured.” 
Mr. Young pens his stock on the land intended for corn, 
and manures it in no other way. This land is broken up 
in the fall, in the spring struck out in squares three feet 
each way, from eight to twelve corns dropped in each, 
which at the hoeing is reduced to four stalks to each hill. 
As soon as the corn is up, a large harrow is run over the 
whole ground, regardless of harrowing the corn up, 
which seldom happens. Nothing but the plow is used 
in the cultivation; after the harrow, no hoe or cultivator 
is brought to the field. 
