Worcester daily spy., 1860-01-31
City ano County gntcllrgente.
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS,
AT the State Lunatc Hospital Worcester for the week
ending jan 29, ls60.
Thermometer. Wfnd. Ram.
Worcester Farmers, Club.

Worcester Farmers' CluDs
AT the meeting OF the farmers, at the rooms
of Mr.. Keith last night, the subject of ma
nures and their application was further dis.
cussed.
tIrsLincoln thought for fruit trees nothing
was superior to super phosphate of lime, unless
it was the iron dust and shavings which gath
cred about the blacksmiths shops. He had
great faith also in gas water which contained a
good proportion of ammonia. AS excellent
as 1t might be, it was also dangerous One of
his experiments with gas water mi xed in piles
of loan in 1852, and used three years later on
plowed land resulted in one pile of grand ma
nure, while that in the other pile killed vega
ton. The cause of these results was not ex-
planned unless one pile might have contained a
little more tar or sulphurated hydrogen. While
his best crop of corn had been manured with
coal gas compost so had his poorest crop been
likewise manured. For moving it was excel
lent.
Mr. Coe explained that gas water was used
in England as top dressing after reducing
with 80 per cent of water. The farmers there
sprinkled from water carts on the grass and
| grain lots. He thought here good deal found
its way to the brooks. Regarding the best
way of applying manures he instanced the
great improvement effected on a farm in
Brooklyn, Connecticut, by surface spreading.
1t had been the immmemorial practice to ma
nure only in the hill which had resulted with
very unsatisfactory grass crops.
Capt Perry thought he lost on his corn crop
the past year by not manuring in the hill, as
he should have done could he have foreseen the
cold season. Farmers really needed a witch
of Endor" to lift up the vail of the future. He
preferred green manure to that composted, and
would plow in June and plant Immediately.
Mr. Bigelow favored surface application of
manures, and would never turn it more than
five inches uRder the soil. The cost of shov.
cling over the compost heaps was large item
of expense, and did it pay His trials of Ii.
quid manure had not resulted very favorably.
He asked what experiments had been made in
coal ashes, saw dust, sc.
Mr.. Sears had tried coal ashes, mixing thor
oughy with the soil. The patch had yielded
one hundred and twenty-fv bushels of po-
tatoes to the acre, on ordinary soil. They
were much inferior to wood ashes. He COM
posted his manure, and in planting corn COW
cred it up with handful of ashes, to give it
start and keep the worms away. His yield
was sixty five bushels to the acre, while
neighbor, who used green manure at the same
time, got crop of only about fifteen bushels
to the acre.
Mr.. Hadwen characterized leached ashes as
the best of manures for any crop, though he
had noticed its most beneficial effects on wheat
and turnips. His last corn crop would have
been an entire failure but for compost con-
sisting Of about seventy five bushels of meadow
mud, seven bushels of hen manure, fifty lbs
of guano, a bushel of air-slacked lime, and a
barrel OF ashes; of this compost pint was
put in each hill, and the corn planted on it.
Leached ashes were good for winter wheat
but the ground should be pulverized as fine as
for a carrot bed before the wheat was sown
On pasture lot, which had yielded principal
ly sweet ferns fW years, he had made a sue.
cessful application of $50 bushels of ashes to
the acre, after blowing the land, and there had
been fine feed there ever since.
Mr.. Barretts theory was, that manure went
up, not down, otherwise the springs would have
suffered But he acknowledged that no per-
ceptible change had been effected in the at
mospheIe.
Mr.. Chamberlain said a good word for the
slaughter house manure which he thought best
applied green it was good for any crop All
top dressing, he contended should be followed
by an application of plaster.
Mr.. Hartshorn had found good results from
the application of two hundred bushels of
leached ashes to the acre. 1t was good for or
chards and grass lands, and was best applied
broadcast. He paid seven cents a bushe for
them. The result of ashes on his corn field
one year was poor show of corn, but an enor-
nous yield of pumpkins.
Mr.. Goss thought it a good plan to bush in
the manure spread as top dressing for grass
lands, and that just after haying was the prop
er time to top-dress.
The merit of peat ashes was discussed, and
Mr.. Wood gave as his opinion that the reason
the peat ashes from the furnaces were no bet
ter, was owing to their being SO thoroughly
burned, and that if taken from the stove or
fire place they would probably prove as good
as wood ashes. The discussion on manures
was also participated in by others.
The question for discussion next Monday
evening, is Neat Cattle. There was larger
attendance than at at any previous meeting,
last NIGHT.