News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-01-25

mix it with the soil, and then use phos-
phate in the hill, then the horse hoe will
| do the rest Of the work.
| l believe i'll composing manure, but I
would do it with horsepower, with the
pillow and harrow.
Thoroughly work the land with the
pillow and harrow. Plow and harrow
twice at least, three times will better
mix the manure with the soil thoroughly
and it will pay. We have enough inert
matter in our fields already, and I don't
believe it will pay to haul much of it for
any distance to mix with manure.
Different kinds Of soil require different
methods Of treatment. Because a cer-
tain course of management gives good
results upon my land it doesn't follow
that equally favorable results will be OBJ
tanned with the same treatment upon NV
neighbours land.
For quite n number of years I have
used quantities of ground bone in laying
down grass land. 1t works well on
heavy clay land, but on sandy OF light
soil 1t will not give as good results.
Chemical attraction is that power
which forces the particles of bodies of
different kinds to combine and form a
new compound. This force is called af-
tinlty. From an experiment that I once
tried, am Of the opinion that sandy
loan, soil or muck has an affinity for
fertilizers of all descriptions. IfyOu wish
! to try the experiment, take q tight flour
| barrel, bore a hole in the bottom and put
i'll a plug. Then lay some sticks and q
layer of hay, now fill up the barrel with
dry earth or dry muck. Make hollow
III the top and pour in several pailfuis of
liquid manure from the barn yard. Let
it stand for a while, and then draw off
the water. If the barrel has been prop
erly arranged, the water drawn will he
found to be nearly pure, because the
loan has greater affinity for the fer
tilizing elements held in solution than
the water itself. People tell us that
land will leach, that the rains will wash
out the plant food contained in the soil.
Perhaps they Will after the land has
been filed with manure, for there is a
limit to its capacity for appropriating
plant food; but we may rest assured that
until then the hungry soil will stick like
a poor cousin to the fertiIizing elements
held by the water in solution.
I have used commercial fertilizers to
some extent and with good success, for
the crops grown with their aid have been
satisfactory, but [ think the prices
charged put them too high. It seems
to me that farmers should make these
fertilizers-Or rather prepare them
themselves. The best supeIphosphatos
sell for SO per ton. DR.. Nichols tells
us that they can be made for one half
this amount per ton. Bone charcoal can
be bought by the quantity of sugar re-
finers for $50 to $25 per ton, oil of
vitriol, OF srlphuric acid, for $50 per
ton. To make ton Of superphosphate
it viii take about 1900 pounds of bone
charcoal, three or four carboys Of sui
phuric acid, and forty gallons Of water.
According to DR. Nichols, this will
make a high grade superphosphate,
probably better than most Of the phos-
pilates to be had Of agents, for So per
ton.
The constituent elements that go to
make up special fertilizers have a COM
mercial value and are always to be
found in the market, as much Us sugar
or molasses. By clubbing together,
farmers can buy them at wholesale
prices. During our New England win
tors there is plenty Of time for making
these fertilizers, besides this offers an
additional inducement for farmers to
study agricultural chemistry. [ have
used enough Of commercial fertilizers to
know something of their value, and am
satisfied that if they could be procured
at one-haf or two-thirds their present
prices, farmers could afford to use them
freely. and greatly increase the profits
from their farms.