The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1879-11-27
z JUHcSs ron THE FARM.

zss5 -
Give the potato ashes, lime, superphoe-
phat. bone, Hour or plaster. sss
See to it that your sheep are properly.
cared for. lest you. have cold wether
On VOW h7
A new lind II sweet potato is cult,
waited in Kern County, Cal, picked
specimens of which weigh from fifteen
to eighteen and twenty-five pounds,
For the frst crop it is often supposed
| that soluble phosphate Il. e. super-phos-
phate or bone or mineral phosphate dis-
solved in sulphuric acid) is nearly
twice the value TO a crop that inso.uble
phosphate is. During the past three
years this question has been the subject
of very thorough investigation in
| Aberdeenshire, as we learn from the
London Gazette, and the results are by
no me ms in accordance with the above
supposition. On comparing the dis
solved without the undissolyed phos
pilates, the superiority of the former
has been found to be only slight and
not maintained at all the stations where
this series of experiments has been car
ried On. The importance of fine state
of division is strikingly illustrated by
the differences shown in the crops
grown by bone po,cder and bone. -four.
The first crop from the -four is heavier
by about fourth than that grown by
the pswder, though the first contained
the same quantity of pbosphates as and
rather less nitrogen than the later It
| would appear from theee experiments
| that the costly process of dissolving is
| for sumo soils, at least, altogether
unnecessary. 1t is very hard to get at
the true inwardness" of the action of
1 concentrated fertilizers.--Rural New
Yorker.
Lime as Manure.-In answer whether
lime can be used as manure, a writer
on the subject says: No. Lime cam
not be compared with barnyard man
ure. 1t fills the same place in regard to
manure as cnndiment does to food il
supplies, to some extent, needed sele'
ment in the soil, although it is very
rarely that soils are deficient in Eme,
but its greatest effect is to help the soil
| to digest the manure, 80 to speak, 1t is,
| in short, stimulant which requires
solid food to be taken with it to prevent
4 injurious reaction. The two cannot,
fherefore, be compared in the way sugs
gested in the inquiry. Lime is a very
useful and effective application to the
soil when judicious!y used, ami its eff
fects are more apparent upon manured
than upon worn soils because it must
have something to work upon to pro-
duce its effect. 1t is used in good sys.
tenn of farming, once in five years, at the
rate of 40 or so bushels per acre, at the
same time with the manure; and gen.
orally for wheat or rye seeded to grass
and clover. When used on summer
faIlow and without manure, it can only
act juriously by decomposing and
making Immediately available what
ever vegetable matter exists in the soil
and by liberating part of whatever pot
ash may remain in it undevoloped. In
this case it acts as stimulant alto
gether and really helps to impoYerish
the coil more quickly than would other.
wise be done. If the land is foul with
weeds and needs some vigorous treat
ment to improve it, and then it might
be advisable to summer-fallow it and
apply from 20 to 40 bushels of lime pei
acre, in proportion to its present con
dition of poverty or goodness. But un
less barnyard manure is applied very
soon after, the benefit will only be tenn
porary.
A farmer writes: Weeds eat up the
farmers substance. The truth of thi.
ought to be apparent to every one who
would figure up the. cost of eradicatins
them from the crops. And yet it is no
an Enemy who hath done this Thu
farmer himself is the one to blame
just now the fields are white viii
daisies and white-weed. The stubblel
are green with rag-weed. The road
sides.are clothed with golden rods, this
ties or creeping briers. The door-yard
and hooks and corners of the farm beal
their Burdens; and these nurseries o
: weeds are neglected with the creates
care. Timothy cut for seed is gatheret
with the daisies; clover is collected
with rag-weed OF thistle doEn, and tn
seeds are sent abroad for sale, thus pol
luted with foul weeds which are spreat
tar and wide. The thought Of this fac
recently came home to me in leadins
seed store as l examined q bag of Hun
garian grass seed. Of which one-fourth
at least, consisted Of seeds of weeds
The truth is, we rarely cow seeds o
plants desired for or ps without sowini
! with them many kinds of weeds. Ant
= if we should ask ourselves: '.sWhepc
,, !, came these weeds ?'"'.swe should, in truth
. !. reply, "Sown by ourown hands!" Th
= ground is more than sufficiently stocke,
to give us work enough to keep dow
weeds for the term of our natural lives
but that we should negligently SOY
|. . fresh seed or permit weeds to ripen thei
= seeds, is monstrous mistake. There
time now to avoid this the present, sea
, son, in great part. Numerous pestll
! erous weeds are constantly maturing
7 these could be gathered and burnedp an
we could easily remedy the other mis-
! take by ordering only clean seed, an
= refusing to accept any other. -If9thi
= were always done, the seedsmen woul
q be chary of purchasing foul seeds, an
/ would avoid supplying them to thei
+ customers. .7
8 Topic. for the Household. ~
. To WH1IEN IyoRY.-Boil in lin
water. -. =. ...., s5e..l
O. To CLEAN aZINC.-Rub on fresh 1aI
. with cloth and wipe dry.r os3 sai7-
Ell A MIxTURE of oil and ink is good J,
d clean kid boots with; the first softer
9 and the latter blackens them.
II To GIVE STOVES A GOOD PoLIsH.-
u Rub them with piece of Brussels ca
% pet after blackening them. II y
y OLD potatoes may be freshened upet
:. plunging them into cold water befol
. cooking them. =. -1ssas -
.e NEVER put a pudding that is 10 |
le steamed in anything else than d1
K mould. - .es
s, PAINT splashes upon window gla
n can be easily removed by a strong sol