The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-08-07
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD
Bone as a Fertilizer.


treated with acids, to reduce them to a
soluble condition, or to break them down
| into fine powder. When thus treated
the residue is known as superphosphate
OF lime. But we now speak of them in
! their natural condition, and refer to
methods of preparing them for use.
Every farmer in the country can save
considerable quantity of bones of home
production, and by little trouble and
attention can collect large quantity
from the dwellers of villages in his vicin-
ity. We once gave notice to the boys in
village of 5000 inhabitants, that we
would pay twelve and one half cents u
bushel for all the bones brought to GER
tain vacant lot; as the result more than
sixty bushels were found and brought in
wheelbarrows and baskets. Two boys
who worked together, struck find"
in an out of the way place, and from that
and other places accumulated twenty
four bushes, and were very rich with
their three dollars received for them. In
this way one can often secure at least as
much bone as will return to his land
large portion, if not the whole. of the
annual waste of pEosphates. To over
come tbe difficulty OF making use OF them
in p raw ond uubroEen state. the bones
may be burned in q slow fire, preferably
in nedp of brushwood. chips or similar
refuse. By slow burning all risk of
waste from over-heatiug is avoided.
When burned the bones are easily crush
ed to fine powder, and then contain all
the substances found in raw bones, ex-
cepting the nitrogen. This loss how
ever, cannot be helped and it is better
to submit to it than to neglect TO use the
bones.
By grinding raw bones in powerful
mills they may be reduced to fine
powder, and in this condition are known
us ground bone, bone dust, bone meal
and bone flour, according to the coarse
ness or fineness to which they are reduced.
Thus prepared they are articles of gen
eral merchandise, and are kept for sale
wherever bones are to be procured, or
the prepared bone is in demand. The
raw, unbroken bone is worth in the
market about one cent q pound, when
ground it is sold at prices varying from
one and one-half to two cents a pound by
the ton. When the bone is "raw," that
is, in its natural and fresh condition, it
contains all it's nitrogen but when
steamed to extract glue, the nitrogen in
great part is removed, and the bone is
less valuable. On account of the diff
Guilty of preparing bone without the re-
quisite machinery, and the cheapness of
the prepared article in the market, it is
always preferable to procure the ground
bone made by reliable manufacturers !;
otherwise the bones can be collected and
prepared by burning, as above mention
ed. Bones are valuable to put into the
soil under grapevines and fruit trees.
Clusters of roots will grow around and
feed upon them for many years, or until
they are entirely used up. They can be
broken with heavy hammers, or even be
-, ,hD1n l. 60 ha1f 1,n1
scattered about in the soil where they
will be reached by the roots.-Americaia
AgricatltatriSt.
Black or fesh-colored pigs are freest
from skin disease in hot climates. The
choice is practically between the Essex
and Berkshires for males with which to
improve the native stock of hardy grub
bers of the ro6t-or-die variety. Those
who have tried the former have been
delighted at first, but after few years
began to recall with logging the lea.l
hams and slim but solid and flavorous
bacon of the old race-horse breed. The
trouble with the Essex pigs for the South
is that they are the eat-and-sleep to
sleep and wake-to-eat kind, and theil
grades are, of course, like them; The
side fat is superb, and so is the leaf lard
and so far the breed is all that could be
desired; but the ham and shoulders are
too fat for prof ;, and the ham is not
marbled with fat like the Berkshires
These (the Berks) are much more wider
awake, less easily controlled, but good
foragers. Their grades are wonderful
Improvement upon the original stock
may be made very fat, and yet the pro.
portion between the fat and lean hams
shoulders and side pork or bacon, i:
such as to develop and preserve the ex,
celencies of the meat. The hams are
large and rich and juicy, with ditfuset
tat. Berkshires are not quite so easily
fattened when penned and Systematically
fed as the Essex grade, but they viii
take much better care of themselves il
the woods, and when penned or fastened
for fattening, may be finished off will
half the feed the original "land pixies
would require.
With many northern and western
, breeders, the Essex is a more profitable
e leads dth6 6& to take fs Rfea9se his ma
, that all he eats goes to flesh and fat #
Respiration, which, if rapid. reduces fa
greatly, is with him never accelerated b,
the sole burden of life is to digest it
This breed is pre-eminent among tn,
black breeds and eXcelled by none as fa
producers.-Ame,ican AgriculturiSt.
Butter Making.
If l have made discovery, or i
everybody knew it before me, l will tel
it all the same. AS soon as the cream
shows signs of -" coming" pour into tn,
churn two or three quarts of water-a.
near ice-cold as it is possible to get-ant
the butter will gather great dea
quicker and come hard and firm.
| trinH tha cold /sna ta,.ln II,
start, and found it made the cream too
cold and kant the hutta,. from conaiaor