Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1860-04-20
PooLEsvILLE, April l1th, 1860.
Tothe Editor of the Sentinel.


SIR: In your paper, Of the 9th inst,
is an article which, whether intended for
this purpose or not, is calculated to do
me much injury; in which you say, We
regret to learn that. in Medley's district,
most of the grain seeded with some pat
entcd fertiliser promises only sad fail
ure, the threatened loss estimated at
thousands of dollars"
AS am the only person whose patent
fertiliser has been used. to any extent,
in this district, YOU must, of course, al
lude to me; and, inasmuch as the SUBJ
ject of fertilisers is one of great interest
to the farmers in general, and, as pre-
sumo that you do not desire to do any
thing to iniure me, in my character or
business, without giving a fair chance to
the public to hear what can be said on
the other side, would respectfully ask
of you the publication of the following
article:
The fertiliser, to which you have re-
ferred, is no secret nostrum, the ingredi-
ents Of which are unknown to those who
make use of It; but, as they themselves
mix and make the compost, they are COM
potent, as men of skill and Judgment,
to decide (no less than the Agricultural
Bureau Of the Patent office itself should
have been) whether these Ingredients
would be likely to prove injurious, instead
of beneficial, to the land Do you, Mr.
Sentinel, pay much of compliment to
the judgment Of that high tribunal, which
calls for replies to SO many agricultural
questions from every quarter of the coun-
try, when you state, that they give Ii
cense. as a useful patent. to that
which is found in reality to work so g sad
q failure p And let me ask you, sir,
do you really think that Lime, that Plas-
ter, that SCOT, (see Tyson's Report. page
81, } that Coal and few other similar
ingredients, which enter into the compo-
sition Of my compost, will, indeed, have
the effect Of working SO sad failure
10 Modlcy's district? | am convinced,
sir, that, you being judge, the more gen
eral and free the use Of such articles may
become in the country at large, the better
will be likely to follow. Your article,
by producing the impression that the use
Of these ingredients and others of sim
liar kind, have tended to destroy, instead
of inyigoratng, the crop, are calculated
TO do me aud my business SO much wrong
as to produce in my mind impressions of
the most profound regret aud sorrow, and
which, if they were. indeed, born out
by the facts, | much fear would weigh
upon my spirits more heavily than the
whole amount of interest involved would
justify. But, sir, it will doubtless give
you, and also your informant, if his heart
is where it should be, pleasure to learn
that the stubborn facts do not seem to
: bear out the bold assertions. 1t is an
easy thing to make general assertions,
but care should always be taken that they
be borne out by particular facts. We
appeal to the facts. You say that You
learn that the crop promises a " sad fail
ure." But, would ask, has any body
given to your informant prescience-a
knowledge Of the diyining of the future,
or even a Gipsy's skill, that he should
be not only able to prophecy "a failure"
but also threatened loss, estimated at
thousands 7" think that your informant,
like the " too ready" witness, shoots
little beyond the mark.
But, what are the facts Because the
compost, at low cost and in small guam
titles, does not equal the guano, in large
quantities and at high cost. should it be
called "a failure ?" Ifeighty-seven cents
In compost, docs not equal six dollars in
guano, growing side by side, should this
be called "a failure r. II only proposes
10 enable those whose means do not reach
to so much expense, still to supply good
fertiliser. Should more be required of
1t than it processes? Neither is it claim
ed that the compost will give near as
much straw in height as the guano, and
yet is not that the standard by which
most judge of it2 The compost is ex-
pected to feed the grain. not the straw.
Again, has it been applied in almost any
case as early, or in as large quantity, or
after having as much ripeness in its pre-
Po'"'iVhs VI hohS Va cuCu tuHicuftUtS, rs
tue author Of the compost has prescribed?
In fairness, should not all these things lie
taken into consideration Aud again
The loss, you say, Gas doubtless your in
formant would gall me by asserting, } is
counted at thousands J" In answer. |
state that out Of the twenty odd persons
who have used the compost. many Of
them are now preparing additional guam
titles, and few Of them would be without
the article for its cost; and Of all who
have used it, we presume that not one
but will make the cost Of the compost
many times over. 10 the fields in which
they used it, beyond those in which they
use no fertilizer Among those who
have used it, few would be now willing
to be without it, aud if you doubt the
fact. viii produce you the evidence un-
der their own hand. or from other salts
factory sources. then array those who
have used it. and are contemplating
using it, against your mischievous in
formunt, who would injure me, and
appeal, further, to the result of the APP
preaching harvest against the vague
promises which he, prophet Of evil
1 fear would he too readv Ia soe fnlfnad