The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-06-18
Farm, Garden and Household.
Gas Lime.

Ceao.g,,mn,.h0 Ll.iTtI
r. Dickey writes to the Farmers
Club from Beaver Falls, Pa, asking
the value of lime that is used for puri-
flying gas, as manure. He says !:
"Our soil is clay, and has no natural
lime. What is it best adapted to, and
what quantity of lime will be required
for one acre of land Our gas works
sell the lime at 20 cents per barrel !;
common lime can be obtained at 13
cents per bushel. Which is cheapest
and most valuable as manure ?"
The Chairman read in reply an ex-
tract from an article on compost heaps,
relating to gas lime, written by Archi-
bald Smith, as follows
"Gas-lime consists of caustic lime in
combination with sulphuretted hydro
gen, sulphurous acids with usually four
or five per cent. of ammonia which has
been absorbed by the lime during the
process of purifying the gas. The best
way of applying this manure is in the
form of compost, about five cart-loads
of earth or road scrapings to one cart
load of the lime, to remain twelve
months in heap, by which time the
lime will be chemically changed by the
sulphur it contains into the sulphate of
lime (gypsum), After being well mix
ed spread twenty or twenty-five cart
loads of the compost to the acre, and
plough it into the land before sowing.
When applied as a top dressing for
grass it will be necessary to make the
compost much weaker-from eight to
ten cart-loads of earth to one cart-load
of the lime. Many farmers are averse
to this manure as a top dressing to re-
main on the surface for frequently
much injury has resulted in the appli-
cation, through ignorance of its power,
when coming into immediate contact
with the plants, which is sure to prove
hurtful. If, however, it were made into
compost in the above manner and ju-
diciously applied it will produce good
effects"
The members differed in their opin-
ions on this subject. Mr.. Crane be-
lieved that gas-lime was good only for
killing insects on vines and trees and
destroying pest grasses as fertilizer
he considered it worthless. Stone lime
is the best for this purpose. Another
farmer thought it had been used with
excellent success, was better than crude
lime ; if put on too heavy it would kill
everything, but used at the rate of 45
and 80 bushels to the acre would i'm
prove grass one-third.
How Farmers Make Their Pork.
Here is farmer who had to kill his
hogs early in December Just as they
were putting on fat to profit, because
his half .manured cornield did not yield
crop enough to feed them any longer,
and he had no old corn to begin with.
Few farmers know that old corn either
ground or boiled will go one-third fur
ther in fattening hogs than new corn.
Corn kept over to feed hogs early is
worth more than money at 20 per cent.
interest. Here is a market gardener
who killed an April pig on the Sd of
January which weighed 1858 pounds.
This pig had all the milk of one COW,
plenty Of hasty pudding made from old
corn meal, and corn boiled in the ear
with pumpkins and small potatoes. He
said new corn would not pay for grind
ing ; he never fed sour feed except for
a change and to give the pig an appe.
lite. once bought q pig from a wo-
man which weighed only $50 pounds
and she said he had eaten eighty bushel
baskets full of new corn before the 1st
OF January. On questioning, she said,
1t was an early spring pig; it had run
out, but was fed all summer and in the
fall was shut up in a pen to fat the
pen had no floor and the only shelter
was rails laid across one corner of the
pen, covered with rank weeks. She ad-
mltted the pig had very muddy and
wet berth, and that the labor of hunt
ing out the shelled corn in the mud had
sharpened his appetite and prevented
the tattening process.
Potatoes Among Raspberries.
Mr.. R. A. Hunt of Euclid, Ohio, tells
us how he managed last season to make
double use of his land, and at the same
time derive benefit from an unlocked
for source. In the spring he set out q
small field of raspberry bushes, and the
land being in good condition, the sets
six feet apart, he concluded to crop the
piece with corn and potatoes. So corn
was planted with the rows of raspberry
bushes, hill between the sets, and
then drilled row of potatoes through
the centre between the rows. The rasp-
berries did well, the corn grew to O
good yield, and the potatoes not only
produced good crop, but were entirely
unmole8ted By bugs, while those only a
few rods away in the open ground were
completely riddled. What caused this
singular action on the part of the bugs
MIR. Hunt does not pretend to say posi-
lively, but is of the opinion that either
the raspberry bush is not agreeable to
them, the potatoes were not discovered
(Which is unprobable), or else the shade
did not meet with their ideas of pro.
priety. The matter is one worthy OF
further investigation, and now is the
time to begin the work of experiment,
ing.-OhiO Farmer.
mr. Vu.aI n.