Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1869-11-18
Rates Of Adyertisings
AgrifaItnral 8eading.
A GOOD FERTILIZER.

The Journal OF Chemistry gives the fol-
lowing method of making good fertili-
ger:
Take one barrel of pure, finely ground
bone, and mix with it barrel Of good
wood ashes during the mixing add grad
ually about three pailfuls of water. The
heap may be made upon the floor of an
out-building, or upon the barn floor; and,
by the use of hoe, the bone and ashes
must be thoroughly blended together
The water added is just sufficient to liber-
ate the caustic alkalies, potash and soda;
and these re- act upon the gelatne of the
bone, dissolving the little atoms, forming
| kind of soap, and fitting it for plant al
iment 1t must be used in small quanti-
ties, or in about the same way as the So
called superphosphates. A barrel of this
mixture is worth two Of any of the COM
mercial fertilizers, and the cost will be
but about half as much. 1t remains to be
added. if the bone-meal and ashes are
| very dry, four pailfuls of water may be
required but care must be exercised not
to have it inconveniently moist It will
be ready for use in week after it is made.
Pure raao, finely gound bone and the best
of ashes should be employed. If ashes
cannot be procured, potatoes may be en-
ployed as substitute, by dissolving twelve
pounds in ten gallons of hot water, and
thoroughly saturating the bone -four with
the solution. A barrel of dry peat or
good loan. free from stones, may be mix
ed with the bone after adding the potash.
Care must be used not to have it too
dry 1t should not form sticky mass
In using, little earth should be scatter
ed over it before dropping the seed. The
seed should not fall directly upon it. The
effects of this fertilizer will not be noticed
early in the season but, as it advances,
the crops will become vigorous, and yield
fine return.
We advise our readers who have farms
and gardens to cultivate, to prepare as
large quantity of this fertilizer as they
possibly can. 1t embraces in its compost
ton quite every element required in the
growth and maturation of roots and tho
cereal grains and it has the advantages
of being comparatively cheap and easily
prepared. No fertilizer we have yet de-
vlsed (and We have prepared and expert
mented with large NUMBER affords more
certain and satisfactory results than this
one; and those who prepared and used it
last season are extravagant of their prai-
ses of it. 1t supplies most desirable
dressing for fruit trees and vines. We
use no other fertilizer for our grapes and,
it any of our friends have had better re-
suits in their cultivation than we have, it
will afford us pleasure to publish their
successes. -Journal of Chem.
This mixture is, undoubtedly. an ex-
cellent fertilizer +; but the difficulty in tho
case, is in obtaining the ground bone, as
pure article of ground bone is not east
ly found, and when found, profit of 100
to 200 per cent. is asked by the grinder.
Precisely the same fertilizer may be made
of unground bone, by any farmer, as
| follows:
Take an empty molasses hogshead, and
| fill it with bones and unleacbed ashes
first layer of ashes and then layer OF
bones then fill in with ashes till all the
holes among the bones are filed then put
in more bones and ashes till the cask is
full, then add sufficient water to sat1rate
the ashes; and two or three times week
add sufficient water to keep the ashes in
moist state at the top Of she cask, and in
two or three months the bones will become
as soft as jelly, when the cask may be
emptied. and the bones mixed with the
ashes thoroughly.
This fertilizer will be too powerful to
use as it comes from the cask 1t should
be composted with three or four times its
bulk of any rich, light soil, and kept I'M
der cover till used, but not allowed to get
dry A heap made upon the ground, in
a convenient place, will suffice, if we'll
covered with coarse barnyard litter, six or
eight inches thick, to keep the compos:
moist and to prevent the escape of its
fertilizing properties. -Rurat american.