The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-01-02
FARMERS DEPARTMENT..


FARMERS DEPARTMENT.
ssThs farmers crop their living from their crops,
And each man shares the blessing Of their shares"
From tbs Germantown Telegraph
MANURE.
A Word TO Negligent Farmers.
sgs I'M fsSStEE Es&ia-$ 3
Farmers, or those who are emulous Of that APP
pcllation, often complain that they are restrict
ed in their farming operations, by want Of ma
nure. On visiting and examining the premises
Of such, we are not surprised that their efforts
lire indeed arestrictcd," and that farming, with
them, is an irksome and profitless, if not an ex-
pensive and ruinous pursuit. This condition Of
things, in every respect SO undesirable, is not,
however, it should be rccollected, the result of
virtual necessity, but of carclessness and inn
providence on the part Of the proprietor, in ap-
propriating ind economising the materials with
which he is so munifcently supplied. While
he regrets the want Of manure, he passes by,
UNDECIDED, the rich resources of Nature, and tills
fields of hopeless sterility with the means Of rem
dering them as productive as the banks of the
Nile, wasting uselessly before his very eyes'-
Why is this9 Is not the answer clearly and at
once suggested to every discriminating mind'
There are on every farm materials enough for
oil legitimate requirements, SO far as the manu-
facture Of manure is concerned. 1fany one ques-
tons the correctness of this remark, let him ex-
anime his resources at once. Let him take into
consideration the nature and character of his soil
A. III Il
the description of alimentary matter most prop
er to be applied. One farmer occupies farm,
the soil of which is light and excessibly friabe;
it is too porous and unconsolidated in its texture
to insure favorable action Of the putrescent ma
nures applied for its amelioration, requiring an
addition Of some ingredient which will alter, cf-
fectually and permanently, its physical confor-
nation, and obviate the too great tendency to
"burn up" or "waste," without equable and &C.
sual fermentation, the organic substances appli
proper alterant. By OVERLAPPING the yards in
which the cattle are confined with stratum of
this earth, and mixing it thoroughly with the So
lid and liquid excrcmcnts of the animals, and
then subsequently renewing it to some conven-
lent and proper locality where it can be still far
ther enriched by the addition and action Of other
ingredients, fit for compost, it will be made
most desirable and efficient fertilser, and it's
ton will be permanent on any soil in which there
is too great quantity of sand. On close and
viscid clay, the application of sand is equally be-
nefcial as that Of clay on sand.
The too great unctuosity of this description of
soil, which produces a tendency. in damp wealth
or, to adhere in plastic masses, and when dry, to
bake in solid strata, or compact masses, imper-
meable to the roots of vegetables, is serious
impeachment in the way gifts cultivation Lands
Of this texture are generally, from tie melting
Of the SHOWS in spring, and the frequent, pro-
tYacted and copious rains of that season, too soft
70 admit OF their being worked with any degree
of nerfection. s,:d this condition of things is
tinued, generally, till It too late to SOW or plant
with even tolerablc prospect of success. But
By adding sand, an absorbent pow.r is supcrin-
duced, by which this defect is, in a great meas
ure. obYiated. The constitutional amclioration
thus produced, is permanent, and the land may
be cropped in any grain for years, or indeed for
an indefinite period without any unpleasant con-
sequences from either of the two extremes of
drought or excessive wet.
am aware that the application ofconstitution-
al al:erants, or of those substances which, by
their presence and action, effect radical change
in the complexion and physical character ofsoils,
cannot properly be discussed under the head of
manuring; yet it is point of vast practical i'm
portance to the farmer, and should by no means
be overlooked or lost sight of in any system Of
agrestic improvement involving labor, or the be-
stowment of manure. Many of the finest gard
ems in the United States, have been formed by
amalgamating the primitive earths: and have
now in my minds eye several which are based
on lands that thirty years ago were regarded as
utterly worthless, and were actually purchased
by their present proprietors, in some instances
for sum not exceeding one-eighth of the am
cunt realised from the sale Of the marketable
produce of single year. .--
As, in the vicinity of clay and sand formations,
there Is generally, though not necessarily or in
yariably 50, in all cases, the material necessary
for their improvement, the cost of the underta-
king is never so great as those not familiar with
this fact, are apt to suppose. 1would advise ev-
cry one who doubts the efficiency Of this prac-
tice, to reduce it at once TO the proper test.
The Proper Mode OF Feeding Cattle.
An English writer observes that two great
points in feeding cattle, is regularity and par
ticular care of the weaker individuals. On this