Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-02-18
Vmrf0uS mafters.

teresting to the tiller of the SOIL Sketches
of their sayings appear weekly in the col
umns of the New York Tribune. As might
we'll be supposed there are among it's mem
bers conceited and shallow-pated fellows
who utter deal of nonsense, while there
are many very sensible and skillful men to
compensate for their visionary nonsense.
There is, besides. suf1iciency of conceit
in the association. The corporate body
demeans itself very much as if all know
ledge is monopized by it, yet itatones for
this vice by most freely sending out It's
lessons to the world. IF it does claim all
the knowledge it speaks it abroad without
charge. Occasionally we find very inter
esting paragraphs in the report of its trans
actions. and We now copy the following
from the Tribune's report:
MANUREs FOR CoRN.-James 81. Ball,
North Nassau, n. Y: In planting corn
last spring J. was anxious to get some COM
mercial fertilizer to take the place of hog
manure in the hill. Not finding any ground
bone or ground fish in the Albany market,
I tried barrel of double refined poudrette
in competition with hog manure, hen ma
nure and plaster, and ashes and plaster,
the plaster being about one-ffth the bulk
of the two other mixtures. Commenced
planting on west side of piece May 20,
using about gill of ashes and plaster to a
hill till the supply was exhausted; then left
four rows, planting the corn dry; then
used hen manure and ashes, about IL gill to
hill, till that was used up; then planted
four rows dry; then used poudsette, also
about gill to hill; then four rows dry;
then used hog manure that had been mixed
| with four times its bulk of muck; of this
we put perhaps a quart in each hill. In
each case the manure was covered with
earth, and the corn planted on the cover
ing. 1t all came up very nice, but from
| the start that on the hog manure took the
start, and could be distinguished by it's
ranker growth and darker color as far as
the piece could be seen. June %. [ looked
over the piece and could see but little diff
ference between thaG where the ashes were
| used and that planted dry b., the side Of
| it. Where the hen manure was used it
Was one-third larger than that planted dry
10y its side; poudrette about tvlce as large;
the hog manure four times large as that
planted dry by its side; and remarkably
fine, dark colored, and stocky. l cut up
100 hills of each kind; husked separate,
and weighed in the ear. The weight of
the 100 hills where the ashes and plaster
were used, [ am unable TO give, but it diff
fered but little from the hen manure. The
ears from 100 hills, hen manure, weighed
Sd pounds; poudrette, weighed rs pounds;
hog manure, weighed so pounds; without
manure, weighed 80 pounds. The soil was
gravelly loan, and had perhaps eight
loads of yard manure TO the acre, spread
and ploughed in, before planting.
W. S. Carpenter: [ cannot advise pou-
drettc for corn. It makes great growth OF
stalks to be sure, bnt it fails when the time
of caring comes. It is good to give start
to the young blade, but there must be
other manure used broadcast in connection
with it.
L. W. Sylvester: In the experiment
cited have no doubt the benefit was in
creased by the combination of muck and
hog manure previous to application. Many
farmers suppose it Is the fact Of applying
muck and rank manure that benefits. Not
SO. 1t IS the composing that benefits
both, ard makes one ton of the rank ma
nure no better than three OF the compost.
III. L. Reade: l eau endorse all that is
said about hog manure for corn, properly
composted. l have used it myself with
great advantage, making shOVelful sur
tce for eight or ten hills.
MEN Who MAKE FARMING PAY.-hlr. j.
3. Lyman read the following paper: About
twenty years ago John Dawes, a Quaker
farmer. whose ancestors migrated with
William Penn, came across the delaware
from Bucks county, Pa, and locked at
Jersey lands. He bought al old farm OF
$50 acres in Monmouth county, about II
miles west OF the battlefield. i portion
OF the British force encamped on tie land
the night before that memorable action
Mr.. Dawes gave $50 an acre. The land
had been run in an eXhaustlug round OF
corn, rye, old pasture till 1t would not
yield over five bushels OF Shoiied corn to
the acre, often not more than three. He
began with lime, and lime las been his
favorite dressing for over 20 years. He
has applied in all II 200 bushels, or. at the
rate of nearly ], 900 bushels year. His
crops have been wheat, potatoes, grass,
sorghum and apples. He plants trees that
will bear, whether the variety be the best
or not; then he makes cider and converts
his cider into vinegar. He has this win
ter $500 worth of old vinegar III store.-
Some years he has made $500 income from
poultry. He holds his farm now at $3.50
an acre, and his land is not in the market
In 1862 he sold a farm to his brother,
for which he had given Ss34 an acre a few
years ago. His brother gave him $50 an
acre, very little III cash, but mostly IN
| 81 900 notes secured by mortgage on the
| land sold, the notes drawing Z per cent.
interest. In six years the last OF these
notes Was taken up. This was done on
common farm crops, as wheat and pota-
toes. The land, meanwhile, has doubled
in market value.
! A few years ago German farmer gave
his notes for $4,000 as the purchase
/
money of a fiat, marshy farm Of 80 acres
near Trenton. He drained the wet parts,
got them into tame grasses, kept as many
COWS as the place would carry, often % or
30 head, erected all the buildings neces-
aary for the dairy business, and in three
years from the purchase lifted the last
mortgage note 5000 an acre would not
buy the property.
These three cases are recited not as
marks of uncommon thrift, but as proofs
that with the brave, the industrious and
the hardy, he who rises with the sun and
eats no bread Of idleuess, rich and prof
liable farm is not an impossibility, and
even a difficult achievement. I notice,
too, that the necessity for working off the
vendors mortgage is wholesome stimu-
llus. Running in debt for the farm on
which one lives is an exception to common
maxims about debt. In times like these,
values decline and merchants tremble, If