The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-06-17

will be accomplished. If all this is
left to the great capitalists and the city
press, we need not hope that the in
terests of the farmers will not suffer. |
The questions involved are not always
easy ones to reach correct conclusions
upon, but we know of no reasons why
farmer may not study them, and learn
as much about them as other people.
Yet there are few people who seem to
think it very presuming in them to do so.
&C. j. b." also writes: " l have just
put four hundred pounds of Bowker's
fine bone and eight barrels of ashes
together. 1 have six barrels of hen
manure which propose to add. / am
preparing it for two acres of potatoes
without manure for this crop. Would
three barrels of ashes added as a drier
be any too much? l have read that
plaster is not good to use on account of
some chemical action in uniting with
other elements. How would air-slaked
lime work as a drier? / have two
hundred pounds acid phosphate, one
hundred pounds sulphate of ammonia,
one hundred pounds sulphate of potash
and two barrels of hen manure, with
which propose to experiment some,
but might add some part of them to my
bone compost if it would better adapt
it to the crop"
REMARKs.-The above portion of G.
j. BIS letter was overlooked, or it
would have been answered by mail. AS
it is, he will find the reply here too
late, for which we are sorry But it
may help another year. The mixture
of Bowker's bone, ashes and hen ma
nure is good one, and ought to give a
good crop on land in fair condition, if
it is well worked into the soil. Bowker's
bone, having been steamed, does not
need to be treated with wet ashes, as it
contains no grease, yet we believe that
so treated the other animal matter in
the bone is acted upon so as to expose
the bone much more fully to the SOL
vent action of the soil water. The
quantity of dry ashes named would not
be too much, though it might not be
needed to. make the mass dry enough
to handle. There is no danger in using
plaster for the same purpose, as no in
furious chemical action is likely to oc-
cur. 1t is sometimes the case that wet
ashes added to hen manure will set
some ammonia free, but not unless the
mass is allowed to heat. To prevent
this, it should be watched, and shov-
elled over if necessary. Air-slaked
lime has no fertilizing value of conse-
quence, when used in such small guam
titles. 1t would act as drier much
like ashes, and like ashes Cor any
other alkalD it might set some ammo
MIA free, if fermentation were allowed
to take place. AS the mixture named
above will make a complete fertilizer
which is very well proportioned, the
other chemicals mentioned had better
be otherwise used. A good fertilizer
would be made by adding to the two
hundred pounds of acid phosphate
twenty-five pounds of the sulphate of
potash and one barrel of the hen ma
nure, and mixing well. When good
| unleaChed ashes can he had at twenty
cents bushel it is a cheaper source of
potash than the potash salts. Hen
manure is rich in nitrogen, and when
there is enough of that no sulphate of
ammonia need be purchased. If there
were no hen manure at hand, twenty
five pounds of sulphate of ammonia
would be equal to barrel of it for mix
ing as above.