The Newtown bee., 1880-03-10
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
About Green Maturing.

enriched by blowing under plants that grow upon 1t, we must consider from what sources these plants obtained their substance. A portion of it is taken from the soil that lies comparatively near the surface, and which would enter into plants which have {. market value. The soil is not improved by the removal and subsequent restoration of this ma- terial. Another portion of the plants raised for the purpose ot blowing under is derived from soil that lies lower than the, roots of potatoes, the small grains and many other cultivated plants never reach. It is evident that the surface soil is improved by incorporating with it the materials that lie at considerable distance below it. Another considerable portion of the substance of all plants is derived from the air. The atmosphere is common property, and anything of value in it that can be appropriated to plants and then buried in the soil is a substantial gain. That the soil has been greatly improved by substances taken from the air by the leaves of plants, which fall or are buried beneath the ground, all investigators admit. In fact, natures method of improving the soil consists in taking substances from the air by means of the foliage of plants.
 At no time can plants be incorporated with the soil to so good an advantage as when they are still growing. Most plants possess the greatest value for fer tilizing purposes just before they blos- som. They then contain a large amount of nitrogen, much of which escapes when the blossoms open. This nitrogen is not only valuable as manure, but it causes the plants to decay very rapidly. Plants full. of sap decompose much quicker than those that have become dry and har1. If they are covered with dew when they are buried by the blow, their decomposition is still further has tened. Dew contains considerable free oxygen, which is a powerful agent in causing decomposition.
 Plants which grow most rapidly and which produce the largest amount of stalks and foliage in the shortest time at the least expense for seed and labor are the most valuable for the purposes of green manuring. In Great Britain, where green manuring is practiced more generally than in this country, vetches, for the purpose of blowing under. In the Southern States the vegetable pop ularly known as the "cow pea'' is gen orally sown tor this purpose. In the Northern States red clover is the crop that is held in the highest esteem for the purpose of improving the soil. It cer- tainly possesses all the desired quail ties. Its roots penetrate the ground 10 8 great depth and bring to the surface substances that would not be reached by the roots of ordinary plants. Its leaves take a large amount of gases from the air. Its foliage is so dense that it com pletely shades the ground while it is growing. Its stalks, leaves, blossoms and roots decay very rapidly when they are buried in the soil. There are, how clover as 8 crop for green maturing. Its seed is expensive. 1t is not adapted to all kinds of land. It rarely attains suffi- cient size to blow under the same sea- son it is sown, while it is very liable to be killed the following winter None of these objections apply to buckwheat. The seed of this plant is very cheap, and but 8 small amount IS required to pro- duce a sufficient number of stalks to completely cover the ground. Its growth is so quick that two crops may be raised the same season. It sets rapidly, and if plowed under just before it is ready to blossom there will be no seed to spring up when the land is planted to another crop. Some experiments recently made in the East go to show that corn is an excellent crop to raise for green manur- ing. It is sown broadcast as early as the season will permit, covered by means of cultivator, worked with light harrow after it is few inches high, and turned under while the stalks are still soft and plant. A crop of corn may be raised and plowed under sufficiently early in the season to allow the raising of a crop of buckwheat or fall rye, which may in turn be buried before winter.
 Plants that grow quite high are not desirable ones to raise for the purpose of blowing under, as it is quite difficult to cover them. If vegetation is covered very deep it will rot slowly and be of comparatively little value to the next crop planted on the land. A crop raised for tie purpose of being plowed under benefits the soil in other ways than by enriching it. It keeps it shaded during the hottest portion of the year, and shade acts to increase fertility. It also keeps weeds in check, and so insures not only rich soil but one compara- lively free from noxious vegetation. Soil, if rightly managed, may be made the means of adding to its own fertility. Left to the operations of nature. soils do improve, but their producti7eness may pensiye means that have been pointed out in this article. le.-Chicago Times.
 Farm Notes.
 To find the number of tons of hay in long or square stacks, the following is given as a rule: Multiply the length in yards by the width in yards, and that by half the altitude in yards. and divide the product by fifteen. To find the num- Der of tons in circular stacks: Multiply the square of the circumference in yards by four times the altitude in yards, and divide by 100. The quotient will be the number ot cubic yards in the stack. Then divide by fifteen to get the num- Der of tons.
 An exchange says: The rl4 ubarb plant requires so little labor in it's cultivation, and is at once so healthful and delicions, that every garden should contain a sup ply for home use. With the exception of fforking up in the spring, and working in manure once every season, rhubarb plants require little attention until they have remained in the same spot five or six years. At the end of this time they should be divided and put in new soil
 A farmer experimented with the milk of a COW and found that it required if teen pounds of milk in winter and twenty-two and a half in summer to make a pound of butter. Feed, in sum- mer, pasture only; in winter eight ears of corn, soaked, and two quarts of bran, fed dry twice day. The same COW gave nearly twenty five per cent. more milk when mixed three times a day.
 E. M. Washburne, in speaking of the