162 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
acid than that already in combination, a given portion 
will readily combine with the new alkali offered. 55 
Let us try the case upon the principle here laid down 
by my friend Partridge. Plaster of Paris, quick lime, 
and putrid urine, must all be brought into contact; the 
quick lime will decompose the alkali of the ammonia; the 
carbonic acid, thus found in combination with the am¬ 
monia, will enter into the lime, and pure volatile ammo¬ 
nia will be liberated. I presume it is a fact which Mr. 
P. will not call in question, that pure volatile ammonia 
will combine but slowly with plaster of Paris; if so, af¬ 
ter pure volatile ammonia has been liberated by the use 
of quick lime, before chemical action can possibly take 
place with the sulphuric acid of the plaster, the ammonia 
would be driven off and lost. Under this impression, I 
must beg leave to decline the use of quick lime in the 
manufacture of sulphate of ammonia. 
Hear Mr. Partridge again:—“ Mr. G. W. speaks of ob¬ 
taining sulphate of ammonia, by mixing urine with 
plaster of Paris or sul. of lime.” “ In this our opinions 
differ in toto.” Being myself but a tyro in agricultural 
chemistry, it is perhaps the very height of presumption 
in me, to question any of the positions of your learned 
correspondent, who I should judge to be an adept in 
the science. 
I must therefore turn him over to one equally learned, 
I mean Prof. Liebig; he remarks, “carbonate of ammo¬ 
nia, and sul. of lime, (Gypsum,) cannot be brought to¬ 
gether at common temperatures, without mutual decom¬ 
position. The ammonia enters into combination with 
the sul. acid, and the carbonic acid with the lime, form¬ 
ing compounds which are not volatile, and consequently 
destitute of all smell.” 
The “ compound” above alluded to, is the sulphate of 
ammonia and carb. of lime. He remarks further, “ If 
a field be strewed with gypsum, and then with putrid 
urine, or the drainings of dunghills, all the carb. of am¬ 
monia will be converted into the sulphate, which will 
remain in the soil.” “ If we strew the floors of our sta¬ 
bles, from time to time, with common gypsum, they will 
lose all their offensive smell, and none of the ammonia 
which forms can be lost.” From the above quotations 
it will be seen that Prof. Liebig, “ differs in toto,” from 
my friend Mr. Partridge. 
Hear Mr. P. again:—“Other salts, beneficial to vege¬ 
tation, will be liberated by using quick lime in making 
the vegetative powder.” “Urine contains sul. potash, 
sul. soda, phosphate of soda, &c. amounting in the ag¬ 
gregate to fifteen per cent; and nearly all these valuable 
products will be made available by caustic lime.” 
I am at some loss, Messrs. Editors, to comprehend the 
meaning of your learned correspondent, in the above 
quotation. Does he mean to say that the salts there enu¬ 
merated, when “liberated,” or set free, “ will be made 
available” by combining with the sulphuric acid of the 
plaster? Or does he mean to say that until they are 
“ liberated” by the use of “ quick lime,” they are neither 
“ valuable” or “ available?” I have been accustomed to 
regard them as having no volatility, and being already 
in a condition serviceable for crops. If I am right in 
this opinion, it would seem rather hazardous to “ libe¬ 
rate” them, by the use of “ quick lime,” which would en¬ 
danger their escape and consequent loss. Mr. P. has 
fallen into error, as to the value of these salts; he has 
put them down at “fifteen per cent.” “ The celebrated 
Swedish chemist Berzelius,” in his analysis, has put the 
aggregate at less than seven per cent; deduct from them 
for urea, a small portion over three per cent, and the sul¬ 
phates, phosphates, &e. will be less than four per cent. 
The urea is that portion which becomes volatile in pu¬ 
trefaction and is in danger of being lost, and constitutes 
nearly one-half of all the fertilizing salts found in human 
urine. 
I have not written the foregoing, Messrs. Editors, in 
the spirit of controversy. I am an inquirer after truth, 
and believing as I do, that the agricultural community 
have a great interest involved upon the subject manures, 
I feel disposed, however unsuccessful, to oppose what¬ 
ever I believe to be wrong, and at the same time I wish 
to elicit a free and full discussion of the subject of ma¬ 
nures in general. Yours truly. 
George Woodfin. 
PAULAR MERINO SHEEP. 
Messrs. Editors —I have been much interested of 
late in the remarks upon sheep and sheep husbandry, 
which have appeared in your truly excellent paper, es¬ 
pecially in two communications from S. W. Jewett, of 
Weybridge, Yt. I am confident Mr. J. has not said too 
much in reference to this variety of sheep—am certain 
also, that in the Cultivator for the present month, we 
have a very perfect likeness of a Paular buck. 
This buck is one which Mr. Jewett purchased of my 
brother-in-law, Alfred Hull, of Wallingford, Yt., some 
three years since. He purchased of Mr. Hull, one Pau¬ 
lar ewe, also, at the same time; whose first lamb after 
Mr. J. bought her, is, I presume, the buck whose like¬ 
ness you gave us in the March No. of the Cultivator. 
My brother-in-law’s flock (now about 500,) originated 
from the pure Paulars of the Hon. Wm. Jarvis; and they 
have probably been kept as pure, as any flock in Vt. 
Mr. Hull keeps pure Paular bucks, constantly for sale; 
has sold hundreds within the last 12 years, from $8 to $10 
per head; which speaks volumes in their favor. 
I have, formerly, kept a few hundred sheep—have 
tried several varieties of fine wooled sheep, among which 
was the pure Saxony; and I verily believe, the pure Pau¬ 
lars to be the best adapted to our northern climate, and 
on the whole, the most profitable to the wool grower, 
of any fine wooled sheep with which I have ever been 
acquainted. They are no “humbug.” 
In proof of what has been said of their excellence, 
permit me to state, that I have a small flock (90,) which 
I have raised from stock selected from the flock of my 
brother Hull, have kept them unmixed, have raised this 
year, one lamb to each ewe, two years old and upwards, 
have rarely lost a lamb in four years. My breeding 
ewes, and yearling bucks and ewes, (I have no wethers,) 
have given me, on an average, at each clip, for the last 
two years, 5j lbs. of washed wool. I have sheared in 
one instance, nine lbs. five oz., from a buck 13 months 
old. My stock buck, now three years old, gave this sea¬ 
son, twelve lbs. and eleven oz. wool. (The figure of 
Mr. Jewett’s buck, in last Cultivator, is almost his per¬ 
fect likeness, in full fleece.) Several of my “ full 
mouthed” ewes, with each a lamb by her side, have gi¬ 
ven per head, from 64 to 6f lbs. I have sold all the 
bucks I could raise, at $10 per head, to my neighbors at 
one year old; except a few yearlings now on hand, 
which will all be taken before Dec. next. Have sold 
several this season, already. R. A. Avery. 
Galway, Saratoga, Co. N. Y. Aug. 17, 1842. 
COMMENTS ON THE AUGUST CULTIVATOR. 
The first thing which arrested my attention in this 
number, was the various Sweepstakes proposed therein; 
and I am sorry to say, that I cannot consider them as at 
all favorable to our cause. They will certainly produce 
more competition than your premiums alone. But to me 
they appear to proceed from the same gambling spirit— 
so hostile to farming—which produces horse racing; al¬ 
though I am willing to believe that the proposers ascribe 
them to very different motives.* The project, I sincerely 
hope, may not seriously injure any of the parties con¬ 
cerned in them; but it has brought to my recollection 
the following epigram on a distinguished and luckless 
member of the turf: 
“ Tom ran so long and ran so fast, 
His bottom could not always last; 
His cash grew short,—and then—to pay, 
He distanced all, and ran away.” 
That I may not appear presumptuous in expressing this 
opinion, permit me briefly to assign a few of the reasons 
which have produced it. In the first place, it is perfect¬ 
ly demonstrable, that all but the winners engaged in these 
sweepstakes, must lose the whole amount of their sub¬ 
scriptions, without the smallest compensation. And in 
the next place, they will give a disproportionate encour¬ 
agement to the raising of stock, at the same time that 
they withdraw from the improvement and culture of the 
soil—which is much the most important branch of hus¬ 
bandry—a portion of that attention which every land 
owner must give it to insure success. Again, it is equal¬ 
ly demonstrable, that in all these sweepstakes, the risk 
of loss incurred by each individual who adventures in 
such a lottery, is increased exactly in proportion as the 
number of subscribers may increase; whereas, if they 
would content themselves to compete only for the pre¬ 
miums offered by the Societies of which they are mem¬ 
bers, they could lose nothing but the cost of bringing 
their stock to the place of exhibition. Now let us sup¬ 
pose that the amount of their subscriptions to the sweep- 
stakes had been laid out in the purchase of some of the 
most fertilizing manures now in use, and in grass seeds, 
instead of subjecting it to a certain loss by all but the 
winners of the purse; is it not perfectly manifest that 
such an investment would not only benefit all who made 
it, in a manner both certain and direct; but would, indi¬ 
rectly, be highly advantageous to others, by the good ex¬ 
ample which it would offer for their imitation? 
In the plowing sweepstake, I perceive the proposer 
makes quickness of execution, the second condition. Now 
although I have always noticed that it is one of the re¬ 
quirements in all plowing matches, I must take the li¬ 
berty to say, that in my humble opinion, far too much 
importance is constantly attached to it. Every farmer 
knows that the speed usually exerted on such occasions, 
cannot possibly be continued but for a very short time. 
They also know that many a team which would prove 
quicker than others for a few minutes, or even an hour’s 
work, could not do near as much in a day, as some other 
teams which would prove slower during a short exer¬ 
tion. Why then, should speed in plowing matches be al¬ 
ways considered so important as generally to be ranked 
first among the requisites to good plowing? I should not 
be for excluding it altogether, but surely it is usually es¬ 
timated much beyond its value, unless indeed it were to 
be tested by at least half, if not a whole day’s work, in¬ 
stead of that of a few minutes. It is in plowing as in 
racing, where we often see quarter nags, (as they are 
called,) which can beat, for a distance of four or five 
hundred yards, other horses that could doubly and trebly 
distance them in a four mile heat. Plowing matches 
should be made solely to encourage good plowmen and 
well broke teams. But to determine the comparative 
merit of plows themselves, all should be tried by the 
same team, and by the same plowman, who should have no 
interest whatever in any particular plow exhibited for 
trial. Then the best plow would always gain the pre¬ 
mium, whereas I have sometimes seen it gained by 
* While we give place to the strictures of our correspondent, 
we must enter our dissent from his conclusions, especially in 
this particular instance. Certain it is, that the gentlemen who 
proposed the sweepstakes, were actuated by no “gambling spi¬ 
rit,” nor by any desire of gain, the only object being to make up 
a purse for premiums on such animals as are excluded from 
competition for the Society’s regular premiums. 
an inferior one, entirely owing to the greater skill and 
dexterity of the man who managed it. 
The shipment of 400 tons of bones from Philadelphia, 
which you mention in this number, seems to have been 
caused by the same species of reckless, uncalculating fol¬ 
ly, recorded of the man who killed his hen that laid the 
golden eggs. Surely, if English farmers could afford to 
send 3,000 miles for them, and buy at 12 and 13 dollars a 
ton, Pennsylvania farmers could much better afford to 
give that price for them, at their own doors. I know 
not how many bushels of bone dust the 400 tons would 
make; but I presume it is by no means an extravagant 
calculation to say, that if they had been applied to the 
lands of Pennsylvania, instead of being sent to fertilize 
the soils of England, at a pitiful profit to the sellers of 
only 4 or 5 thousand dollars, they would have produced 
to the Pennsylvania farmers double or quadruple that 
sum, by the additional improvement imparted to their 
lands. — 
Under the head “An Agricultural School,” you have 
given us an extract from an English work, which pro¬ 
mises to be very useful. If it would have the effect of 
establishing such schools in the United States, I should 
hail it as a real blessing; for I believe that nothing else, 
in connection with experimental farms, is now wanting 
to make American Agriculture soon equal to that of any 
country in the world. Yet strange to say, the agricultu¬ 
ral spirit which now seems to pervade our whole Union, 
has not yet manifested any desire to establish them, not¬ 
withstanding the numerous and most zealous efforts which 
have been made by their friends, to give it that direc¬ 
tion. It is true that Mr. Peddar, the able co-editor of 
the “ Farmer’s Cabinet,” has lately proposed to open an 
Agricultural School connected with an experimental 
farm, on the banks of the Delaware, 12 miles above Phi¬ 
ladelphia. This, however, is the solitary instance of 
the kind, so far as I know, in any part of the United 
States; and it remains to be seen whether he will meet 
with sufficient encouragement to keep it up. Most hearti¬ 
ly do I wish he may succeed to the full extent of his 
wishes; for so highly do I think of the importance of 
such schools to the best interest of our country, that I 
would willingly attempt to open one myself, after en¬ 
gaging competent assistants, if Congress would lend me, 
for a long term of years, rent free, a hundred or two 
acres of the public lands, in the city of Washington, now 
and ever since the establishment of the District of Co¬ 
lumbia, lying entirely useless, except as a grazing com¬ 
mon for every body who chooses to turn their stock on 
it. But being no party man—no beggar of favors either 
from great or little men, I would just as soon request 
them to recommend me as President of the United States, 
as I would ask them for such a loan. 
Your preachment on “the necessity of economy,” al¬ 
though excellent and undeniable both in argument and 
facts, will prove, I fear, of little more use to our agri¬ 
cultural brethren in general, than would be an attempt to 
persuade a confirmed sot to abstain from intoxicating li¬ 
quors. Indeed, all classes of our community appear to 
be so thoroughly infected with habits of extravagance, 
that nothing will cure them but utter inability to obtain 
the means of indulgence; and that inability increases 
with such alarming rapidity, that he whose downward 
course is not arrested by it, must be deemed to be past 
all hope of reclamation. 
“ Encouragement to Farmers.” This is the title of a 
short article which gives Gen. Dearborn of Massachu¬ 
setts, as authority for declaring that “97 out of every 
100, who obtained their livelihood by selling, failed or 
died insolvent.” To say nothing of the incredibility of 
such a statement, I would merely ask what sort of farmers 
must they be, who would feel encouraged by any such 
wholesale ruin among their own fellow citizens? 
Under the head “Dictionary of Terms, &c.” there 
are some remarks upon “Hybrids,” and “Indian Corn,” 
on which I beg leave to offer a few observations. It is 
said that “ Hybrids among animals, do not have the pow¬ 
er of re-production.” I believe this is true in general. 
But there is a perfectly well authenticated case stated in 
Ruffin’s Farmer’s Register, of a mule that produce'd a 
colt; I myself have conversed with two gentlemen of un¬ 
impeachable veracity, who testified to the fact as having 
happened within their own knowledge. 
In speaking of Indian Corn, the author says, “ northern 
yellow com is considered the most nutritive,” and can 
be preserved longer in a perfect state than any other.” 
But I would respectfully ask why and by whom is it so con¬ 
sidered? Has any comparative analysis ever been made 
between the yellow and the white; or any other ration¬ 
al mode for ascertaining which is most nutritive, ever 
been resorted to? If not, ought we to take for granted, 
a matter so important to all the consumers of corn? It is 
true, that there are more northern varieties of yellow 
corn which are very hard and heavy, than of the south¬ 
ern white varieties thus characterized. But there are 
two or three of them as hard, flinty, and heavy, as any 
of the northern yellow kinds which I have ever seen, and 
consequently should be deemed fully as nutritious, and 
quite as capable of being long preserved in a perfect con¬ 
dition, until satisfactory proof can be given of the con¬ 
trary. — 
It is a good adage at the bottom of one of your col¬ 
umns, which tells us, that “ to accomplish much, a man 
must live as if he were immortal.” But I quere whether 
he would not accomplish more, who lived under the con- 
