The weekly Arizona miner., 1873-05-31
salt...1ts Virtue in Agriculture.


 Common salt, although one of the most an cieu, minerals Us .d in agriculture, is almos, ignored by our American farmers. Even in tlc past lev years a iew men have attempt. ei lJ >u,w that it was not beneficial to our fam .tork. We have, however. sufficient charity to believe that some of the writer, for the agricultural papers who denounced the use Ol salt, were honest ID expressing their opinions, but at the same time ignorant of the great value uf this substance lf history teacles Us anything ln regard to agriculture, itistbat in every country and among all na- tipns wherever hu,JIndry has reached a Very lirh position there salt hA, been extensively u~,I and highly appreciated. Dickinson, in hs husJandry ol the anclcnts, says that tbe Romans prepared straw fOr cattle food by sleeping it for considerable time in brine, and then drying 1t and rolling II up in bun dies. In some parts oi Africa, large herds of cattle travel great distances at stated sea- sons tO feed on tue marine plants which grow on the sea coast and are saturated with salt. We also know that the buffalo and deer ire- quent ponds of brackish water as well a, salt springs This natural desire for salt Is no morbid acquired taste, as few would be. wise writers have frequently asserted, but 1t is in obedience to a natural law or in other words the instinct of these animals leads them to partake of saline substances in order to ward off diseases Domes,icated animals need salt, even more than those m the wild state, inasmuch as tue food given them usually contains less saline properties than the wild grasses.
 Salt gives relish 10 grasses, hay and other kinds of raw food, and It acts universally as a stimulus to digestion. It gives tone to the stomach when impaired by an excess of food or labor. Experienced herdsmen have always found that it acts as a vermifuge, destroying intestinal parasites, and it is well known to be powerful agent in tanning and overcoming the natural timidity of animals. It is also well known that salt is an excellent abater of internal as well as outward inflammation; it improves the quality of the excrement of ani- mals for the purpose of manure. But in its internal uses, whether as a continent or med icine, it should be administered Tn small doses IT animals are constantly allowed access to salt they will not consume too much for their good, but when it is given them at intervals of once or twice week, small handful is sufficient for a horse or a COW. In fattening calves that are weaned and fed upon gruel or other semi-liquid food. ssit in small quanti- ties should always be given, not only to pre- vent sickness, but to enable the animal to relish the somewhat unnatural food. Salt also, in moderate quantities promotes the health of hogs. 4 tablespoonful once in 24 hours mixed with the food of each bog will not only aid in tbe thorough digestion of the food, bnt insure perfect health We have not the least doubt of the efficiency of salt in pre-. venting many the diseases which have made such havoc among swine in portions of the country during the past few years. When the use of salt was first introduced into the piggeries of Ireland, 1t was claimed that hogs fattened on about one-half the food that was required without it, simply in consequence of improved or more thorough indigestion. Were it necessary, we might quote from hun dreds Of our greatest agricultural authorities to show the benefit which may be derived from the free use of salt among our domestic an- mals. One of the best known means, both as preventative and cure of foot-rot among sheep, is the scattering of salt over the infect ed land.
 SALT FOR DESTROYING INSECTS.
 It has long been known that salt operates fatally upon nearly all cold-blooded animals that live upon land or in fresh water. Sir John Sinclair many years ago said, that in Scotland, where the oat crop was frequently destroyed by grubs, it had long been the paCllCe 10 ullA sat- H!tn seed !n the psopoE- tion of 1 to g, but sometimes 10 Is. If we scatter salt upon land infested with vermin it destroys them, and their bodies become the food of plants. Great care should be taken in applying salt upon growing crops, as too much is sure to be injurious One to five bushels per acre may be spread broadcast up- on meadows early in spring or upon land at the time of sowing grain.
 SALT FOR TUSGoID rURPosEs.
 Soaking seed wheat in urine or brine to prevent smut or blight has been practiced for thousands of years, as we learn from the writ ings of Cato, Virgil, Pliny and Colunella. Still, we frequently hear farmers speak of this practice as something new. Salt is em- p!oyed wherever scientific agriculture is prac. ticed, not only for destroying yernin, but as preventative of fungoid diseases in cereal crops. Every means has been employed by our scientific men to positively determine it's value in agriculture, and the results all tend to show that it is one of the most important mineral substances known. The use of salt upon sheep pastures has been observed ID France and Germany from very early period. Its efficacy against "murrian and route" was known in Engand in the sixteenth century. and for fertilzing it was extensively used in the seventeeth century. The long and almost obstinate indifference of our farmers in the use of salt IS almost beyond comprehension. but the time must come when it will be ex. tenslyely employed as a manure