Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-04-05
Farm, Garden and Household.
Farm News and Notes.

Farm News and Notes.
They have neither sheep nor grass in
Japan.
Find out what apples do best, and for
a large orchard plant no more than six
or eight sorts.
A Wisconsin farmer, who keeps a
large flock of sheep, raises - bushels
of wheat to the acre more than his
neighbors.
1t is discouraging to be informed that
while the wealth of the country in
creases, the value of many farms is on
the decline.
A Jerseyman who planted four va
rieties of potatoes last season, found
Early Rose a failure, and Peerless ga
grand success"
The Poultry World declares that a
thrifty fowl will drink fifteen or twenty
times a day if it has the chance, and
still oftener in q close coop or hot
weather.
At recent meeting of 600 farmers at
Galesburg, ILL.,, the not new but timely
recommendation was made that each
Club would do well and save money by
employing competent person to pur-
chase supplies.
T. L. Hart tells The NJ e. Farmer
that a horse may be speedily cured of
cribbing by following out trough two
inches deep in the upper edge of the
manager and keeping it filed with yellow
snuff.
Minnesota has already shipped of
last years wheat crop Is, 600, 900 bushels,
and has 100000 on hand for seed and
other uses, making a grand total of
1000, 000-which is not so bad for
Minnesota, considering her youth and
inexperience.
1t is proposed in Ohio to memorabilia
the Legislature for law to encourage
the ornamenting of road-sides with
trees, by offering small premium to
whoever shall so plant. The trees are
to be of some valuable variety, are to be
set 30 feet apart, and only along streets
as wide as 60 feet.
A farmers club was recently organized
in Springfield, the State Capital of
Illinois, on which occasion Gov. Palmer
delivered an interesting address. The
subject of railroad monopolies was then
discussed, and one speaker said that if
Government should exercise half as
much oppression as q railroad it would
produce revolution.
Those hens ought to be happy who
deserve such praise as this given by 9
writer in The Poultry World: "White
Leghorns are the most profitable and
most desirable of fowls; they ore gooc
for the table, of medium size, are hardy
and easily reared, feather soon, mature
early, and commence to lay when quite
young; and they give more and larger
eggs for their size and food they eat
than any other breed. Besides all this
they are very handsome. They or,
quick in their motions and easil,
startled-yet they may be completed,
domesticated.
Dissolving Bones.
No plant can be made to grow in
soil that has been exhausted of it's bone
making material, which is about two
thirds lime and one-third phosphoru
united with oxygen, forming phosphori
acid. AS bones contain this phosphat
in purer and more soluble state thai
mineral phosphates, it is of great i'm
portance to every farmer to know hoy
to reduce bones to soluble condition
without which they are useless as plant
food. The plan by which the EngGs
farmer who buys no commercial super
phosphate makes his own soluble bon
material is as follows:
Collect the bones and break them u
with q sledge-hammer, the finer til
better place them in barrel tigE
enough to prevent leakage, put in
little at time, and mixing them as 20
do so, with dried, finely pulverize
swamp muck or wood mould, filling a
the space between the bones-say on
part muck to four parts broken bones
cover the top with six or eight inc
layer of muck alone, after which pou
on all the urine of the premises frol
day to day, keeping the mass mois
In six weeks the bones will be reduce
to soft, pulpy mass that when mike
even in the compost heap become suf
GENTLY soluble for plant-food. Such O
application of bone material does NJ
change the carbonate of lime of I'll
bones like sulphuric acid into plaste
but it makes the phosphoric acid avail
able to growing crops. Some farme
buy bone-dust and sulphuric acid an
make their own superphosphate, bl
this is an expensive plan, as the su
phuric acid has not only to make IL
phosphoric acid soluble, but to turn @
the lime into plaster (sulphate of lime
and mineral phosphate or coprolit
contain still other stubborn mineral
exhaust the sulphuric acid. Hence Il
Importance of collecting bones al
every farmer making his own solub
bone material. Bones may also,
broken fine, be reduced by compostil
with hard wood ashes and lime.