The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-07-15
Salt or no Salt.

SlNOo LIS III SilblnB Oob1AC 0o
follows:
have been engaged in farming for
more than twenty years, and during the
first half of the time followed the in
structions received in youth, without
so much as daring to question their
expediency but about ten or twelve
years ago the idea occurred to me that
the advantages to be derived from salt
ing might be imaginery, or might at
least be counterbalanced by the expense
and loss of time incurred, and abruptly
discontinued the practice, and have not
since resumed it, and have no reason to
suppose that 1 shall.
About year after leaving off was
visited by an old gentleman who had
for many years been farmer, who was
very fond of cattle, and enjoyed the
reputation of being q good judge of
stock. After inspecting my herd, con-
sisting of about sixty, he expressed great
satisfaction, and said that / had 1.-the
best looking cattle that he had seen that
spring." In answer to the query, "Do
you know the reason of their good con-
dition ?" he replied, "Yes, you salt
regularly" confess that it gave me
no little pleasure TO be able to assure
him that they had not tasted the article
for more than twelve months. AS this
old gentleman is one of the firm be-
levers in salt, having both received the
theory from his ancestors and been
pretty industrious also in handing it
down, have not since heard any allu-
sions from him in regard to the condi-
ton of my stock, but l often receive
remarks equally complimentary from
neighbors."
Mr.. Thomas J. Hand, noted breeder
of Jerseys in Westchester county, New
York, says in the Monthly Bulletin:
81 have given my cattle no salt for
years while on grass-but the pastures
have been dressed with a mixture con-
tanning some sulphate of soda-and none
in winter except what they got in the
hay, which had been moderately salted
when put in the barn. Toward the end
of the past winter, however, they seemed
to relish better and to eat cleaner their
scalded feed of chaffed corn fodder, bran
and meal when little salt was added as
a condiment."
So much for salt for animals. Some
months ago we published statement
taken from Western exchange, giving
an account of heavy dressing of salt
applied to moving field through the
blunder of a hired man, but which,
instead of killing all the vegetation on
the field, actually appeared to be a bene-
fit to it for several years. Mr.. Thomas
Proctor, of Wrentham, Mass, recently
related to us bit of his experience in
the use of large quantities of salt upon
an asparagus bed. He has bed some
ten by fifteen feet square, upon which,
for the past fourteen years, he has
spread at the rate of two and half
tons of salt per acre every year. Ten
years ago an apple tree sprang up
from seed carried on to the asparagus
bed in the manure, and, as an expert
ment to test the effect of salt it was
allowed to grow, Mr.. Proctor presuming
that such heavy applications of salt
would soon save him from any trouble
with the tree. But ten years have pass
ed, and now this is the most thrifty and
healthy looking tree on the place,
This experiment does not, as some
might suppose, prove anything in favor
Of the use of salt in an orchard, for there
is, probably, not another spot on the
farm that has been otherwise so we'll
manured as this during these fourteen
years, but it would seem to show that
thirty-five tons of salt to the acre is not
enough to kill trees in an apple
orchard.
Mr.. Proctor has also spread salt freely
under large Seaver sweet apple tree
that formerly bore fruit which was eaten
through and through by the apple
maggot, but since the application of salt
has borne sound, handsome fruit. Nei-
ther does this prove anything absolutely
in favor of the salt, for other Seaver
sweet apple trees have borne sound fruit
for few years past.
Mr.. J. B. Moore, of Concord, one of
the most successful growers of asparagus
for the Boston market, lately said to us
that he could see no effect from salt
applied TO asparagus, except to make it
few days later in coming to market.
The old story of its marine origin seems
to be quite generally doubted at the
present day by market gardeners.
EgT A California farmer last year SOW
Qd 0pa pound of inprOvad oaad wheat