\ ~~ ~ \ SS \ AN \\ \\\ A MAAK AK VC « AN \ \ WN WN \ \ AAR . IK ACY » wNS WS WY AY MAK \ \ \ A \ « \ \X ANS WS . CK « << CK « WH \ \ ~ | \ \ OM \ ~ \ \ \ —h t aH) ite af fila? a EL TRUCK-FARMING JNITD AE Iss 38 So 0 TH. A Guide to the Raising of Vegetables for Northern Markets. ae Dre. A. OEMLER, PRESIDENT OF THE CHATHAM CO., GEORGIA, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION. NEW AND REVISED EDITION. ILLUSTRATED. EN - 1, & »> * —_e Pee t RY ®) & E O Ny (> 2, ae Si “2 = Re : cU IGHT = *S. AUG 311888 © \ A \ 2 y, % Vita ae 4 ~ seTOWNs ~~, ms YG - a ae ——— —. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 751 BROADWAY. 1888. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by the 0. JUDD CO., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Press of J. J. Little & Co., Astor Place, New York. CONTENTS. PAGE J EIREI EDV OOS cs ot ee Ek RT a > Saag cea Ta eae 5 CHAPTER I. 1 BN OKO ee eR a CO Nh RS ON TR ey SON Sa EE cn va CHAPTER II, NOuganG luseLLeparagiOW can. woe atn cao kerio ele cwive « oe ak helc uae ockine 10 CHAPTHR III. - Nanures stheir Kindsrand \Wisesenins.fisaeieie sss = science ad oe eee 15 CHAPTER IV. The Rotation of Crops................ poes ecedhosounoeogonNT scbace 54 CHAPTER VY. ROS Ost cece ten teeta acct ote oom eee nan sate ghana ec) ent ent 59 CHAPTER VI. Secdlands Seed SOWING ee ecirenias os he Senior gin) ME ee ee aU, 62 CHAPTER VII. Hot-Beds, Cold Frames and Weather.................-.0- ec Ea ae 71 CHAPTER VIII. PRCA S PLANED wee stares la\ctaia eistevaiaiaia tas’ lela cieevoe es cu ein a leew eee soe 82 CHAPTER IX, AVVO TcuIN Gl: WW A LETINOte erie, ooo thereto tara Ba ia: hdl spiced ea wanccs ah bre ets 87 CHAPTER X PAC moma: Markhelse:s saucers cr wr Ss /ac5 bros bare seatale wre slchoteis eyes Sea one el) CHAPTER XI. Insects and their Remedies. : we eeee Ree ee a eae eh ga acces SB sureerda OO e CHAPTER XII. ASPATAQUS... 02... ccc e cece e eee cece eee tee cece cece eee one seeenees 119 Cuaprer XIII Bre ANSP USDOL OMA crsetits soar Ce ma esc siw eal orols eo Walewie essed ebee ccs 130 CHAPTER XIV TROVE Re caece ee, ETI NR EUS US era A el BA eae ee 134 CHAPTER XV CRIEIDRES « Sesdinh da eco ee UO UE TIE eee ae eae er en ee re 137 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. CUT O WET iia ace cates hele ates ease as hese re RIS ee lots Ra eo 163 CHAPTER XVII. CORT GHEE all 0 125 Comet al erie rca ey ie entre ARIUS A NOOR IN ai 169 CHAPTER XVIII. 1Djexo> lelkeyats Ove (Crowne) OWES cca ce5oca0ba5cas coco scUSGocaKcSoss on US 175 CHAPTER XIX. Kalle, Borecole OrsSPLOlU bs eject ct lee efe reel elele eee eee 178 CHAPTER XX. , T2160 (ELS aera ec ee erates Sr Ura = pW NSE IR A as a's 180 CHAPTER XXI. ONTOS 25 eae eee a a EN Sa IRC Oy 181 CHAPTER XXII, 5 OEY Teme Ren ot RCRA rages I berm og etre RR a BD BIL o aetereneicrs ere 191 CHAPTER XXIII OCR CO esse teehee a Oe iO ie ete raters Paces so acuaee 195 CHAPTER XXIV. RTS es ees ee lt, nig pe ce are tates ae rennet § Glas evareicleve Creme CON CHAPTER XXY, SHOWN a og ossono oo dnb0cdodsscc cused ScccouK0Db0C GeSHOndObOGGIODS Se 208 CHAPTER XXVI, Nqwashe. 4... Wy ale ssycarsicleidi nies S einoetentoloee nOd000G000000 weet net: 209 CHAPTER XXVII. Ze el Fe] C0710 8 ER Re ao ER i AIH me Ree SRR a ve a Se 213 CHAPTER XXVIII LaFave Tits FORRES ee rec BR IMME Oneness Seen MMR e rr Songs Ut OP ah Ne 220 CHAPTER XXIX. Waternmelonees eerie ce. Pee ae aioe aa SI AGE it emranr amy MN in 229 CHAPTER XXX, Strawbersry.........cceceee sees sececees Polos cisininie/el atau cites cl sistet sia. cacy ere 236 APPENDIX. AnalvsesanduyaluesiOn Hertilizense smite cele ster inlcleie) taletelneleielelerare eter 252 Heomo nay TMP He Trtuli Zatti Omer ete oti pote relalateotetate aieletslele at olatarere ro l-1clen-i-leyetats 257 Normal aor Compostsmen mace cccrcieteie seis crate tterttr nee 259 SUWis etal Tale sere 5 oe aces he ahs sso w where ree ake et Sonora alee taveretecenetaratoreeners 262 PREFACE. Tuts work is written in the hope that it may be useful to my fellow farmers who are engaged in growing vege- tables for the Northern markets. ‘The instructions giv- en, and facts presented, are mainly such as are not to be found in the few works extant on Southern gardening, and are those resulting from a long experience. When I commenced to produce vegetables for shipment, about twenty-six years ago, there were few or none following the pursuit as an exclusive business on a large scale. The consignments at that time consisted mainly of the mere surplus crops of the local market gardeners. The business has gradually developed to astonishing propor- tions, principally in the vicinity of the larger seaport cities of the South. One of the results has been that land within three miles of Savannah, for instance, has risen in value one hundred and fifty per cent. within the last twelve years. While the crops of the whole area tributary to Savannah, were by no means satisfactory during the past season, the aggregate quantity of pro- duce was large. The following statement shows the pro- duce forwarded to the Northern markets direct from the port of Savannah by the steamships alone. EXPORTS (BY STEAMERS) OF VEGETABLES (AND ORANGES FROM FLORIDA), FOR THE SEASON ENDING AUGUST 31st, 1882. PORT. VEGETABLES. ORANGES. TOTAL OF Crates. | Barrels. Boxes. | Barrels. PCR ING We Onkol See ces 105,789 | 27,572 | 69,379 2,019 205,209 ISP ONO RE: Se We dls Akon omer 50,787 | 12,696 2,723 907 67,1138 hiladelpitias. sce seen ccs 24,472 7,956 | 13,083 445 45,906 IBOSLOMPe ane Ce eoctne ee 4,132 630 9,837 174 14,773 185,180 | 48,854 | 94,972 | 4,045 | 333,001 The season’s shipment of melons to New York aggre- gated 175,000. (9) 6 PREFACE. Of course, failures will occur in this, as in every other pursuit; but where favorable conditions of soil, situation, etc., exist, sober, economical, industrious, and intelligent farmers who attend closely to their business, can make this a most profitable branch of agriculture. As an in- stance of successful truck-farming, 1 may cite a case within my knowledge. Among the prosperous gardeners near Savannah, are three brothers, plain farmers from Effingham County, Georgia. ‘They were without any special advantages as educated horticulturists, but under favorable contingencies, and possessing in themselves the above named desirable characteristics, they commenced to farm on their own account seven years ago. ‘They had a borrowed capital of one thousand dollars wherewith to operate their first small crop, and make a payment on ac- count of their purchase of land. They were not only able to pay for the land in full, from the proceeds of their crops, but have acquired in the aggregate two hundred and seventy-five acres, making at various intervals cash pay- ments ranging from one thousand five hundred dollars to nine thousand one hundred dollars. Besides this, they have expended various amounts in buildings, and other improvements, and have cash on hand and a bank account. One of the brothers has also invested in railroad stock, and the elder of them has lately purchased a house and lot in town, for four thousand five hundred dollars, while there is not a mortgage, or lien, of any kind, on any of the property of the brothers. AGO, TRUCK-EARMING AT THE SOUTH. CHAPTER I. LABOR. Owing to the perishable nature of the products, the areas at the South devoted to truck-farming must remain confined to certain limits. These will be near the larger cities and along the routes of railroads, by which products can be safely and expeditiously dispatched to market. Although truck-farming can employ but a comparatively small proportion of the labor of the South, it must be followed according to the same principles and system that govern general agriculture. The negro must be accepted as the only practical solution of the labor question, and, notwithstanding his instability, he is the best for many reasons. It would be impolitic, even were it possible, to trust to more intelligent and energetic laborers from abread, and mix the two races as field laborers. No dependence could be placed upon retaining the foreign help, as his greater energy and a praiseworthy desire for self-elevation would soon prompt the emigrant, or white laborer, to change his status and better his condition. Accepting the negro as the God-given instrument for the development of the agricultural resources of the South, while profiting by his general wastefulness and improvidence for his own good and our own, it should be the constant aim of every employer, who has the wel- fare of southern agriculture at heart, to elevate the labor- er. The employer can, by strict justice, fairness and (7) 8 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. even kindness, render him satisfied with his lot, to the end, that, instead of being an irritating element of the body politic, he may become a contented and useful mem- ber thereof. Exceptional instances of self-clevation and independence should be correctly appreciated and encour- aged as a spur to others. The death of slavery was, so to speak, the birth of truck-farming on an extensive scale in the South-Atlantic and Gult States; indeed it would otherwise have been im- possible. I was probably the largest slaye-owner, engaged in vegetable culture, in this section; but of forty-five grown negroes, twenty-six only were available as field laborers, the others being mechanics, house-servants, etc. ; and at no time could I have controlled more than that number of hands, and few, or none, could have been hired. At the present time there are in the vicinity of Savannah many truck-farmers who employ one hundred to two hundred laborers during the picking season. Ex-Governor Hammond’s prediction: that the negro, in case of emancipation would ‘‘seek the towns, and rap- idly accumulate in groups upon their outskirts,” has cer- tainly been verified. It is the better class of this popula- tion, those who are willing to do some work, which sup- plies the truck-farmer with sufficient labor during the pressing season of gathering his crops. The table below gives the usual average rate of wages, without board, paid by truck-farmers in the vicinity of Savannah. Sy aS 23 ISs Siar % % een RNA oS ~_ SS) g a = Ss= | S88 |e =| SESs sey | SEE 3 mas | SSS (S§es/ S88S / S58 | S58 2 eee | S28 loSST] oSSE | SSS |] S95 S ss =S° [sags] SSS3$ | 285] §8 Ss = DL Monk |S 2) sPONS aS: S > Rac | SSS (Sy SL Qh SS | GES & | S*S |ASS'ES |Sss | 8) 88 ys 4 15 aes a) R IMP WANG s600 4500000" 60 c. |123-15 ce} £0 ce. | $1.00) $0.75 | lz e.| Le HOrWOMeNEs one. sc 5Orena eat ee cOC a ees sec aera e airs Os || 1G Three baskets fill four crates. When boys and girls are hired the pay is at half rate per day. LABOR. 9 A few of the most efficient and trustworthy hands, who are particularly useful during the marketing season, and receive an increased pay, are selected to care for stock. Some farmers pay selected hands five cents per basket and one cent per crate additional for packing cucumbers and tomatoes; while others use the gang of day laborers for the purpose, depending upon their per- sonal supervision to prevent injudicious gathering. For cutting hay with scythes, men are allowed one-third the cured hay, to be bought (at option of the hand or not, as may be agreed upon), by the employer at four dollars per rack-load of about eight hundred pounds. The hours of labor are from sunrise to sunset, with variable allowances for meals during the different seasons of the year. During the shipping season there is no fixed time for breaking off work; but extra pay is generally allowed in case of much sect work. If the hands are made to bestir themselves properly during their work, it is not unreasonable they should ex- pect that the employer will not delay, or hesitate, in delivering compensation. Apart from considerations of justice, it is considered his policy to pay promptly after breaking off work on Saturday and before the stores are closed. Hands of the better order, and these are to be encouraged, may be depended upon to present themselves on Monday morning, whether in funds or not; but by far the greater majority will require time on Monday to get rid of their money, if they have had no opportunity of so doing Saturday evening and night, and will be ab- sent at roll-call. According to the report of the Agricultural Depart- ment of 1879, the latest authority at command, the average rate of wages paid, without board, in the interior of Georgia, was ten dollars and seventy-three cents per month. 10 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. CHAPTER IL. SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. The requisites the truck-farmer must have in view in selecting a location, are cheap, safe, and expeditious transportation of produce to market, convenience for procuring manure, a soil adapted to the crops he wishes to grow, and sanitary surroundings. Other conditions being the same, water carriage is preferable to that by wagon. If in the selection of the iand, one is confined to a single soil, he should select one consisting of a mix- ture of organic and inorganic matter; a light, deep, sandy loam, with plenty of humus, or vegetable matter. Ex- perience has shown that, without this, crops will not yield as well in proportion to the quantity of manure applied. Locations in the immediate vicinity of the larger coast cities, offering the best facilities in the way of transportation and manure, are in the possession of market gardeners, and such lands are generally highly fertile. The truck-farmer requiring a larger area is com- pelled to locate several miles beyond the corporate limits, on the line of a railroad, or on the banks of a navigable stream. The farm will often be one, the fertility of which has been shipped off to Europe, or the North, in the shape of cotton, by some planter, whose measure of suc- cess was gauged by the rapidity with which he could ex- haust his soil. The renovation of the land will be the first desideratum. ‘To that end, and the consequent pro- duction of remunerative crops, the plowing under of green manures, the application of fertilizers, proper preparation, careful tillage, and deep plowing, will be necessary. With every additional inch of depth in plowing in the first eighteen inches of the surface, the farmer gains six million two hundred and seventy- SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. 11 two thousand six hundred and forty cubic inches per ucre of available soil, with its mineral ingredients, and constantly increasing capacity of gathering, retaining, and supplying plant food. The conditions of quality of soil and climate being the same, the productiveness of soils must be in proportion to its mass. Sir J. B. Lawes found five thousand seven hundred pounds of nitrogen per acre in the first nine inches of his soil. The Russian black lands, which are held to be the richest in the world, have, according to Prof. Schmidt, within three feet of the surface, from forty thousand to forty-four thousand pounds of nitrogen. Several analyses of Boussingault showed from twenty-five thousand to thirty-two thousand pounds per acre beneath the surface, and a soil analyzed by Prof. Voelcker, in 1868, showed eight thousand four hundred and twenty-five pounds per acre. ‘The practice of deep plowing will depend upon circumstances; a good, though shallow mould, or other soil, resting upon a sticky, clay subsoil, would not be benefited by being at once broken up deeply, bringing large, hard lumps of unfertile clay to the surface, and deteriorating the physical quality of the top-soil. DRAINAGE. Drainage, more especially underdrainage, renders a clay subsoil, when meved by the plow, more suscepti- ble to pulverization, and in such case a thorough drainage would have to precede deep plowing. Under- drainage prevents the drowning out of crops after heavy rainfalls. It increases the fertility and pulverization of the soil by admitting air. It keeps the ground moister inadry season. Jt prevents the washing away of the soil and its fertilizing materials. It permits the farmer to work his land sooner after heavy rain, and earlier in the spring, and it prevents the land from becoming sour 12 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. in wet seasons. The total absence of water would be de- structive to vegetation, for it is itself necessary to plant life; but undrained land is not merely wet, it becomes water-logged, and through absence of air, the plants are drowned out. When, however, water passes through, and away from the land, air takes its place, and also passes through the drains, and finds its way into the overlying soil, increasing its fertility and pulverizing it. ‘The rea- son why drained land gains heat, and the temperature of water-logged land decreases, is the lack of heat-conducting power in water, or the fact that air can not be transmitted downwards through water. When land is saturated with water, the heat is expended in evaporating the moisture, instead of warming the land, and during this evapora- tion the temperature is reduced. Undrained land be- comes sour in wet weather, and the formation of sub- stances injurious to vegetation is encouraged. The ab- sorbing power of soil is so great that ammonia and other fertilizing agents of water and air are arrested in their passage through it, thus enriching the soil; while the water on undrained land washes over the surface, carry- ing off into the water courses the fertility that might be saved. In undrained land, the passage of moisture, en- couraged by evaporation from the surface, is upwards, whereas in drained land, the current is downwards to the level of the drains, supplying the roots with aérated moisture in condition to be taken up by them. An excess of water in the soil produces such a saturated state of the atmosphere, as to prevent a healthy perspira- tory action of the leaves of plants growing upon it, and erowth is retarded. PREPARING THE SOIL. Efficient drainage being provided, the land should be broken up and pulverized as deeply as possible. A mass SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. 13 of sticky clay will absorb a slight amount of moisture, but when it is reduced to a powdered condition, its ab- sorbing power will be very much increased. One hundred _grains of fine clay left for twelve hours in contact with a solution of caustic potash, the latter not filtered through it, absorbed one thousand and fifty grains of potash. Soils have the power of separating ammonia, and other bases from their solutions, and of separating alkaline bases from the acids with which they were combined. Soils possessing the greatest amount of capillary poros- ity, most friable and mellow, or, in other words, such as are in the best agricultural condition, will condense the greatest amount of fertilizing material; and the more they are pulverized, the better will they resist the leach- ing action of water. Soil in an improper physical con- dition may hold fertilizing materials in sufficient quanti- ties for a full crop. It will, however, yield only a small percentage to the vegetation upon it, until it is made friable, and so becomes conducive to growth. Carbonic acid is one of the chief agents in this process; and in order that this acid may be formed, the carbonaceous matter in the soil must be brought in direct contact with the atmosphere. As long as the soil is in a compact con- dition, or is saturated with water, carbonic acid is not formed. During the recent severe drouths it has been observed that crops growing on deeply-plowed land have suffered the least, for the reason that the greater the mass of fine soil, the greater must have been the amount _of moisture absorbed. Heat is evolved during the de- composition of vegetable matter; and the darker the soil is from decomposing vegetable matter, the warmer will it become. The warmth of light-colored sands is attribut- able to their conductive power. Half the crop depends sometimes upon the previous preparation of the land. Owing to the absence of a covering of snow and of suc- cessive freezings and thawings, fall plowing, so useful at 14 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. the North, is destructive of. fertility at the South and is not advisable. CULTIVATION. The land having been properly prepared by plow-# ing, and sufficiently manured, and the crop planted with regard to the capacity of the soil, the most im- portant matter to the farmer is, thorough cultura, or keeping the earth fine and mellow among the plants. Stirring the soil can scarcely be repeated too often during the earlier periods of growth, or until there is danger of injury to the roots or to the tops of growing plants by the cultivator. 'The ground may be too wet, but never too dry, for stirring; because the more frequently it 1s broken up, fined and aérated, the more moisture will the soil absorb from the atmosphere. ‘This is an operation that should be performed after every rain, sufficient to cause incrustation or baking, which would prevent a free admission of air into the soil. The most obvious benefit of stirring the soil is, the destruction of weeds; for no crop can become remunerative, if crowded by weeds which deprive it of air, light, moistare, and even a part of the fertility of the soil. A war of extermination should be waged against weeds, although at times they become a necessary evil to the farmer who only cultivates the soil between the rows. Breaking the lumps gives free scope to the finer roots to secure all the available nutriment within the extent of their ramifications, as these finer roots are not capable of penetrating large clods, and thus may be debarred from reaching a large part of the food contained in the soil. Thorough and frequent culture of the soil admits air to the rootlets of the growing plant; it increases the capillary attraction of the soil, by which its humidity is rendered more uni- form; by presenting a larger number of points of radia- MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 15 tion, the deposit of dew, so beneficial in dry weather, is augmented; the temperature of the soil is increased by the freer admission of warm rain and air, and by the chemical processes thereby facilitated; and finally the fertility of the soil is augmented through the ammonia, nitric acid, ete., which are introduced with the air. The plow, horse-hoe, and cultivator are to be used, whenever available; but the hand-hoe must always be relied on for the finer and more careful work, when, particularly in the later stages of the crop, only superficial stirring is advisable. When plants are grown in a crowded state, darkness and want of air elongate the stems and leaves, at the expense of the roots and of a general healthy con- — dition. The operations of thinning and hand-weeding are performed in connection with hoeing, to admit a free circulation of air around the remaining plants, and the sun is permitted to have an immediate influence upon each, developing the desired form, bulk, and other qualities. CHAPTER IIT. MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. Almost any soil may be so altered in its character by judicious and plentiful manuring, as to be made fertile enough to produce good and remunerative crops. Manure is the most indispensable factor for success in market- gardening, and must be applied in much larger quantities than in any other branch of agriculture. The gardener should never be restricted by a short supply to an inad- equate application of manure, as the superior quality and quantity of his crops will generally justify an apparently lavish use. Knowledge of his soil, the peculiar requisites 16 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. of his crops, a judicious rotation, and his general ex- perience will teach him, where and when he may econ- omize with profit. He must not, however, gorge his land with manure, without rest or rotation, but seek to make it just rich enough to produce the most profitable crops. Should too much manure be applied, which, however, is rarely the case in vegetable culture, there will be loss of the most costly manurial ingredient— nitrogen. Location, or want of facilities and means, frequently confines the gardener to forced limits. ‘Those who are neither conveniently located for the purchase of stable manure, nor own sufficient stock to secure from their droppings a sufficiency of barn-yard manure. must have recourse to manurial agents to be named hereafter. Astonishing results are frequently seen in gardens near large cities, from the readiness such localities offer for procuring the best manures. Agriculture being the foundation of the prosperity of every people, and successful agriculture being impossible in the present condition of the earth’s surface without fertilizers, it has properly been said, that ‘‘ manure, even more than money, forms an integral part of a nation’s wealth.” When civilized nations properly appreciate the value of all manurial substances (as they will when their territory becomes as densely populated as China), none of these, as at present, will be allowed to go to waste, and the productiveness of the earth, and with it the wealth of nations, will be enormously increased. Prog- ress in this direction is being made. Scientific men have pointed out the sanitary and economical necessity of deal- ing properly with excrementitious manurial substances. If, during the past century, the night-soil of many of our cities had been incorporated in the surface soil of the surrounding country, instead of being buried under the houses of their citizens, what would be the fertility MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. ay of the soil, and what the probable benefit to the sanitary condition of the cities? Manures are either organic or inorganic, according as they may owe their composition to the animate or in- animate world, or are derived from vegetable and animal matters of all kinds, or from minerals. Hvery kind of matter which, when added to the soil, promotes the growth of a plant, whether by being itself directly taken up by its roots, or by chemically altering any heretofore existing constituent of the soil, so that it may be made available, or by physically altering its tex- ture, may be considered a manure or fertilizer. Every plant consists principally of the gaseous elements, ni- trogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, and of carbon in vary- ing proportions, and smaller quantities of alkalies, earths, silica, sulphur, and phosphorus. Chemical analysis has enabled us to learn the exact proportions of the constit- uents of plants, as well as the composition of soils. If chemical forces were the only forces of nature concerned in the growth of plants, then by supplying the soil with exactly the constituents in definite quantities, which chemical analysis has shown it to lack for the full matu- rity of any given agricultural crop, rules and formulas could be devised, so as to insure regularly the maximum yields of all crops. But the changes, not yet fully un- derstood, constantly going on within the soil and upon its surface in contact with the atmosphere; the mutual chemical reactions of the various soils and fertilizing ma- terials, and the vital actions of plants, with their influence upon the soil in which they grow, perhaps even upon the surrounding air, still more inexplicable and wonder-~ ful, together with the contingencies of weather, render it impossible to formulate any such rules. Exclusive of the crushing effects of glaciers and other agencies, under the gradual influence of water and the atmosphere, the surface of the rocks have become sufficiently pulverized 18 - TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. and comminuted to support lichens and other of the lowest forms of vegetation, which, by their decay in- creased the film of soil. ‘These were followed. by plants of a higher organization, successive generations pre- paring for those which followed them. ‘Thus organic constituents accumuiated, until, in time, every arable soil contained in varying proportions every element of plant food. The variations are such, however, that a soil in its natural or original condition may be more or less deficient in one or other constituent, and therefore be better adapted for one crop than another. I*inding from experience or analysis, which of the principal con- stituents is, absent in a soil, we may supply it by the ap- plication of a special fertilizer for the production of a particular crop. Humus, or vegetable matter undergoing decay, ain gives the dark color to fertile soils, disintegrates miner- al substances, supplies large quantities of carbonic acid, ammonia, and nitrates, and is indispensable to fertility; and yet the direct absorption of humic matters into plants is by no means so well established, as not to be a mooted question between the best chemical authorities and vegetable physiologists. Ammonia and nitric acid have been shown to be pres- ent in the air; but it is generally held that the soil must absorb these, or they must be conveyed to it in rain water, before they can be generally appropriated by plants. Yet Peters and Sachs proved, experimentally, that a bean plant grew and flourished by direct absorption of am- monia through its foliage alone; but they failed with every plant but the bean, which, like our cow pea, is a leguminous plant. Chemical analysis shows that the le- guminose are richer in nitrogenous matter than any other family of plants, and yet we know that our cow pea will grow on the poorest soil, deriving its nourishment in part from the atmosphere. Ozone, or active oxygen, is MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 19 emitted by plants, and the more abundant the foliage, the greater the quantity. By the action of this ozone, the nitrogen of the air may be converted into nitric acid. Perhaps the cow pea, the clover, etc., are more active in this respect than any other plants. These preliminary observations bring me to the first and most simple and cheapest manner of conveying fer- tility to the soil. GREEN MANURING. As soon as life is extinct, all organic substances begin to decay, and the richer these substances are in albuminoids, or such as contain nitrogen, the better are they adapted for fertilizing, and the more rapid will be the process of de- eay. Under like circumstances, albuminoids of animal origin will decompose more rapidly than those of vege- table origin. All green succulent plants containing saccharine and mucilaginous matters and woody fibre, fer- ment readily, hence the advantage of plowing in green crops, whether of natural growth, or sown for the pur- pose. No plantis better adapted to be used at the South for restoring fertility by green manuring than our cow pea. The analyses here given show it to be rich in albuminoids; it makes in our climate a heavier growth than clover in any part of the world, and grows on soil much too poor for a fair crop of the latter, answering thus both the demands of quality and quantity. When plants are in flower, they contain the largest quantity of soluble matter; it is, therefore, when plowed under at this season, under ordinary circumstances, that they will afford the greatest amount of soluble nutritive matter. In heavy, impervious soils, especially, they should not be turned under too deeply, or else the absence of air will retard decomposition. No applications of commercial fertilizers will continuously prove beneficial without the presence, in the soil, of decaying vegetable matter, or hu- 20 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. mus, and green manuring is the most efficacious and cheapest manner of supplying the land with large quan- tities of this necessary ingredient. It should be practised by gardeners, irrespective of the supply of stable manure they may be able to command. But for those located at a distance from cities, and there- fore not able to secure a sufficiency of barn-yard manure, green manuring becomes an absolute necessity. It has been estimated that after the removal of a crop of clover and other plants, there remained in the soil, as shown in the following tables, a large amount of roots: TABLE SHOWING THE QUANTITY OF ROOTS LEFT IN THE GROUND AFTER HARVESTING THE CROPS—ALSO THE AMOUNT OF NITROGEN AND ASH. Sees | gs gooey en So rs S 5S Bes ee | Sa peggs Tego 83 “35 T2885 as 3 ~~ = ‘ sx a <3) Ss 3 S 3 S KS & IVIOSAN et on ndbsooan eoadooubouab Sees 9,678.1 136.4 1,201.6 IRGC) ClOWOkoscoosohe oncosconKs0dCss 8,921.6 191.6 1,919.9 IRBVie a rashes ieigitic cinta siete eiclege cic tevelacucpey menor 5,264.6 65.3 1,747.8 Swedish=clovetacceascceeer Ag As ye 5,004.3 102.3 974.6 Oats ee cc eyed cite oseralar stereos creyane tere 3,331.9 26.6 1,444.7 ILHONT®. go gaces6o800 bnoddmaccohaooDS 3,920.9 62.2 550 WH CAG coke a cho wien e cnie ie Siee eee eee 3,476 23.5 1,089.8 THM OCs so6dcu: Shbococopsousos 3,222.5 55.6 670.7 Serradellay cee core coe tre ny ers years 3,120.1 64.8 _ 545.6 Barleyreeniitcn voce tein eee 1,991.4 22.8 391.1. ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF THE ROOTS IN THE FOREGOING TABLE. : & = 8 = = g < ss | 2s ee ee Inucenne yas cero 197.7 24.2 36.7 26.4 18.7 38.5 Reds cloverecse ci 262.9 48.4 58.3 20.0 26.1 74.8 RWG Like ge oars tien aves 73.2 14.3 31.2 43.3 Wiss 24.4 Swedish clover....| 136.1 17.6 25.9 5.7 13.2 24.2 Oatsrce sates ase 85.5 iE) 24.8 18 8.8 29 ILO sg6a ca seacue 80.5 rihae 16.5 3.5 a 13.8 Wiheatis tasks fos: ce 16.7 10.1 28.4 11 7.4 11.8 English peas....... Tiled 11 2 7 9.4 14.3 Serradella.......... 79.8 13.4 8.8 4.8 9 18.4 Barley es te. ase. 42.2 5.5 9.5 3.5 5.5 11.2 MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 21 It will be seen by these two tables that the leguminous plants are especially rich in the three most important items: nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. These roots bring up from the subsoil plant food, and in decaying, tend to deepen the soil along their course. A crop of cow peas would probably have nearly as great a weight of roots as clover, and in the neighborhood of twenty tons of tops. The latter alone would contain one hundred and sixteen pounds of nitrogen, principally obtained from the atmosphere; or as much as is contained in twelve and nine-tenths tons of barn-yard manure, and directly applied to the soil. Seven pecks to two bushels of peas would cost from two dollars to three dollars, and the barn-yard manure, if at all attainable, nineteen dollars and thirty-five cents, applied to the land at one dollar and fifty cents per ton. ANALYSIS OF GREEN COW PEA VINES. This and the following two analyses were made by Prof. A. R. Le Doux, chemist to the State Board of Agriculture, of North Carolina. WWBtER ss ccclete s 3in's 72.87 per cent. ING SS access 2:00. v4 f° Albuminoids.... 1.85 ‘“ containing ammonia, 0.35; nitrogen, 0.28 Cellulose ss... 15:20 “6 IEEE ae oeeeictens aR Org 186 Carbohydrates... 7.86 ‘ IMS 36 Sis hase SEO ROS BOL EOE ROOD CECE O Se aCiCReira 2.00 per cent. EOS Tee see eae as ec scs faust paretes Am A ne feta aba a hoa anata al anette 14.80 G RYOYSIEY, a is ote BO OAS CES IE CRED UAC CeO EAI era Cre 23.29 GS AGM Les ao oonmceoco dee Supe Ua eneare tm el sustcrteg Taisior atc vole au ¢ 6.74 8 DUDE async a tes sense fey at IR MESS SE uaa aa, ae ota ar oo) 22.57 OG PNGRONOING BVO eo Scaccdsancopoosbaobddoccb oo oduBeuduEE ).2is) MU Sim UG BVOCs 6 obs Sogo dodosdeoacaes be dodo ponou suee dude 2.35 - SUT Gae aie aS RRA, Gio Tes UST NIE) oy SERS LS CE ae 1.08 oe (CHT EOE ee ee OT Seen a me ener a ER Re 0.19 oe OxadezOhoinO meee = scree sei sco cteceieree e MWe ase eo eeees eavalicte eis ote atrace ‘ EDO MUCHA CIO cele ie eh che Seco ciclave O Uhole ew cinioteiere ve este iw sa es 19.70 ee 22 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. By reducing the analyses to weights and measures it is found that ONE TON OF FRESH COW PEA VINES CONTAIN \WIGHIO Pe Ae AGnG Saleem eG out 1456.20 Ibs. IACI Ns dacoshoaadocoopeomeS 5.92 “ SG ia ae ea easiness cts One 9.32 ** Ifa cae Seles erates cts ciate obelele stare 20 IDLER sates ARO a Ae OES ee AU oS Phosphoric acide oa... 0-1-1 ules ae SulpWuUric acidenct eerie 0.94 < SiliGattrec ae cesta cise eee aes O42 Chiorimestecee scene se ere 0.08 ‘ @arbonle acide. meet ee (hielo rans: IN wv MOTO eSSeaucdoacous 37.00 ‘‘ containing ammonia, 7.12 lbs. Cellulose r nes cee cise ei 305.40 *¢ < AG gt eerie curey cone rets chame etter 4.20 * Carbohydrates: sclecil-- = 156.20 <“ 2000.00 Ibs. Boussingault found that snow, which had lam for thirty-six hours on the soi! of a garden, contained ten times as much ammonia as the snow of the same fall from acontiguous stone terrace immediately after falling, the mulch of snow having interrupted the ammoniacal emanations from the soil. The ammonia of the soil is constantly undergoing change, and fluctuating in quantity. This most important article of plant food, and most ex- pensive, when applied artificially, is most abundantly ab- sorbed by the soil in summer from the atmosphere, and being conveyed to it by rains and dews, and continually being taken up by vegetation, it is volatilized, evaporated with water, washed away and lost. Later and more exact chemical experiments have shown that the soil contains less ready-formed ammonia than was formerly held to be the case. Ammonia in dry soil. Very light sandy soil from birch forest........ 0.00077 per cent. Rich lime soil from beech forest.............. 0.00087 ‘* ‘ Sandy loam, forest soil. .:...22s.ccse.. seuss 000012. . ** MOKeEStESOllh Coss asc $0 ke ioe ee ee aera eS 0.00080 ‘“ & Meadow soil, red sandy loam................. 0.00027 “ PA ViCT ALC wc o's sio'e a ustie orem Clete teers ta deye tebe 0.00056 ‘ It should be remembered that ammonia is only half as heavy as air. 3 MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES: 29 Rich alluvial soils with decaying vegetable matter con- tain ten times as much, and fertilized field soils still more. Ammonia is only found in the surface soil, and generally at a depth of six feet there is no trace of it. Sir J. B. Lawes found that in one year the drain water took nitrogen from a field bare of vegetation at the rate of forty pounds per acre; from a field of wheat, which after the harvest contained no weeds, twenty-five pounds, and from a field upon which grass seed had been sown with the wheat, and continued to grow on the stub- ble field, only five pounds. POUNDS OF NITROGEN WASHED AWAY PER ACRE. Krom, soilswithoutveretabom....02. oy cnagee sock: 40 pounds. From soil with wheat, 15 pounds retained by crop... 25 ¢ From soil and grasses, 15 pounds retained by wheat. 2) pounds retained by grasses.-2.-.......:... ie He found that the drain water was much richer in am- monia than the rain water which fell upon the field. He also found another fact of importance to our subject of green-manuring, that the drain wa‘er carried away more ammonia in the fall than in any other part of the year. It is therefore exactly at this season that the soil of the truck-farmer should be covered by a dense growth of vines. It has been shown that even a perfectly inert body, like a board, lying upon the surface will improve the fertility of the soil, by preventing evaporation. Now the mulch of pea vines acts like the covering of snow. It shades the soil from the rays of the sun, by which the volatile elements of fertility are exhausted with the vaporized water; it keeps the soil moist, mellow, and of even temperature; and as a secondary matter prevents the growth of troublesome weeds. The friable, unbaked condition of the surface, as has been before stated, is an element of fertility, by facilitating the absorption of fer- tilizing gases from the atmosphere. Under this dense covering, so retentive of moisture, the carbonic acid dis- integrates particles of the soil and prepares it for plant 24 - TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. food; while in the darkness and under the shelter from winds, nitrates are formed and absorbed. It will be seen that the increase of fertility is greater than could be ex- pected from all the manurial agents in the pea vines. Clay soils, being more retentive of moisture and pos- sessed of greater power of absorption, are less benefited by the mulch than those of a sandy character. Like the questions of deep and shallow piowing and deep and surface manuring, that of plowing under the green vines, or allowing them to dry and partly rot upon the surface, will depend upon circumstances. ‘They will contain and convey to the soil in the green state a greater quantity of fertilizing material and will decompose more rapidly. If intended to benefit a crop to be put in soon after they have reached a proper stage of growth, they must, of course, be plowed under green. Four weeks should elapse between turning under the vines and sow- ing or planting the crop, in order to allow a sufficient time for the most active decomposition to have passed, lest the heat evolved by the great mass of decaying green vegetable matter might be detrimental. For a spring crop, however, the vines should be left to die, and mulch the soil throughout the winter, unless indeed a second green crop, as of rye, is contemplated; because a bare fallow would be wasteful of the fertility supphed by the pea vines. It is an error that the bare soil deteriorates dur- ing summer only, for it is a common experience that a field of light soil, left bare after a late crop of sweet potatoes, shows a want of fertility the ensuing spring. Two crops of pea vines may be grown in a season; but after an interval of three or four weeks. ‘To turn under a heavy growth properly, it must first be pressed down by a field roller or by dragging over it a heavy harrow with the teeth turned up; and it requires a good two-horse plow with a large sharp revolving coulter attached. To draw the vines into the furrows, a heavy chain with suf- MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. Ro ficient slack should be attached to the whiffletree and plow-beam. Capt. J.W. McAlpine has devised an iron hook “horn,” which is attached to the plow-beam, as in figure — ZZ Fig. 1.—rRON HOOK OR “HORN” ATTACHED TO PLOW. 1. It works just in advance of the plow point; and on the surface its curvature corresponds to that of the mould- board, and draws the vines into the furrow. The same person has also invented a roller, which has a set of five projecting knives, with which to cut the vines when the growth is very luxuriant. By driving twice over the field at right angles the vines are cut in ten-inch lengths, and can be turned under effectively. The roller is fixed 4 | e a) SS SS SS ——— = \ 5 i LD Fie, 2,—ROLLER FOR CUTTING COW PEA VINES, box is attached above the axle. The roller, figure 2, is fourteen inches in diameter, the knives five inches wide and ten inches apart. As neither of these inventions is patented, any one can use them. STABLE MANURE. Stable manure is a complete fertilizer, and is of all the most to be relied upon by the market-gardener, as it 2 26 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. contains all the elements of fertility in available con- dition. No other is so well adapted to alter the physical condition of heavy soils, nor, when well rotted, better _ suits those of a sandy nature; nor is any other more apt to render the constituents of the soil available as plant food. Gardeners in the vicinity of cities may procure a sufficient supply and require no other manure, unless for a special purpose they desire to supplement it with a commercial fertilizer more rich in nitrogenous matter, such as Peruvian guano, fish scrap, etc. Those who are not so fortunately situated must utilize their smaller stock, by letting it form the basis of compost heaps to bring about and sustain the fermentation so necessary to break down the crude vegetable materials of which such heaps partly consist. Manures, to be promptly effica- cious, should be in a state of at least partial decompo- sition, so that the elements of which they consist may be in a fit state to form new combinations, or act at once as plant food. To bring about this condition without waste of material and expense of time and labor, is one of the problems of the horticulturist. Once placed within reach of the absorptive power of the soil, there is no fur- ther loss by evaporation. If the manure pile could be merely kept sufficiently moist by rains, to prevent a too rapid fermentation, it might be advisable not to keep it under cover; but the rains in our climate are too often heavy enough to leach out valuable soluble parts of the largest heaps. The difference in the composition of coy- ered and uncovered barn-yard manure is here shown. Barn-yard manure. Covered. | Uncovered. Nitrogen equal to ammonia, per cent.... 2.30 1.7 Organic matter soluble in water.......... 6.42 1.82 Phosphoriceacid \%2-)merwc eee eee 0.30 0.26 Aikdlies see ee ee 2.00 | 0.80 Exposed to the weather, piled, turned and handled, without proper judgment and close attention, there is MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. . Par danger of loss, besides the expense of time and labor. The general agriculturist, particularly on heavy soils, whose crops are of slower growth, may apply manure green or fresh from the stables, when its effects are often so permanent as to be perceptible for many years; but the market-gardener’s a:m is to produce early crops of veg- etables, and his manures must be in a readily available condition. He wants no permanent manures. Perma- nence and insolubility are, in this case, synonymous. Luxuriant growth is an indication of the solubility of his fertilizers. He wants his manure pile to undergo such an amount of slow fermentation, as to break down the coarse fibrous vegetable matter it contains, so as to admit its being readily cut with a spade, and thus also to reduce its bulk. 7 COMPOSITION OF FRESH AND DECOMPOSED STABLE MANURE. 5 | &.! INGREDIENTS OF ASH. Sess iS sce a gjss se 58 gif le [3 les SSS 33 88 =] 5/3] 8 l[Ss/Sx] Se [o§ LN SSh Sees 3 Soles! 2s (8S s Es * ale (2 |e [ee Stable Manure........... 710 246 44.14.55.21.55.71.42.1/1.219.511.5 do. moderately rotted. .|750 192 58.0 5.0 6.31.97.0 1.82.61.616.81.9 do. thoroughly rotted.. |790 145 65.05.58 5.0 1.3'8.81.8:3.0,1.3:17.011.6 If piled so loosely as to admit air freely and be suffi- ciently moist, it will undergo fermentation so rapidly as to heat or firefang, and large quantities of the valuable, volatile carbonate of ammonia will evaporate, and the manure be rendered comparatively valueless. To avoid this too rapid fermentation, the pile may be broken down and turned whenever it begins to heat, until the process ceases to be too active. The escape of ammonia may be checked by mixing land plaster (sulphate of lime) with each load, so as to fix the ammonia as a sul- phate (which is not volatile). The gardener near the 28 -TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTE. city, whose large pile daily receives considerable acces- sions, may resort to packing it so tightly as to limit the access of air, and consequently the rapidity of fermenta- tion, until near planting time, or, if possible and bet- ter still, he may keep it too moist for rapid decay by adding night-soil from the city, which will at the same time improve its quality. Gardeners near cities who accumulate a large steck of stable manure, do not generally place it under shelter, notwithstanding the accruing loss, but deposit it in suitable quantities for each field in a single pile, upon the headland convenient for use, and compact it by mere- ly driving across the pile at each delivery. Never more than four hundred wagon loads are deposited in a pile. If, when finished, the heaps were covered completely with soil to the thickness of two or three inches, the escaping ammonia would be absorbed and fermentation retarded. It must be borne in mind, that even in winter we must limit the process of fermentation, and not encourage it, as is sometimes necessary in the Northern States; and we must also avoid leaching. The fermentation of stable manure may be retarded by the admixture of substances not liable to rapid fer- mentation. The gardener in the country may resort to composting it with muck, woods-earth, or even good garden soil, dry and pulverized salt-mud, or the same material in the shape of a soft mush in order to avoid getting it in the form of large lumps into his manure, and may also use green marsh-grass (Spartina stricta), if he be located on “the salts.” Vegetable refuse of every kind, with leaves from the woods, slops from the kitchen and wash-house, with the dung of those domestic animals which does not readily heat, as that of neat cattle and swine, in short, everything available that will supply plant food may be added to the heap. The dung of all kinds of poultry, the urine and night-soil of the farm, MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 29 scraps of leather and woolen cloth and waste feathers will heat; but they also should go into the compcst-heap. In the application of manure, the kind of crop, previ- ous fertility of the soil and the quality of the manure will govern the quantity. The amount and manurial value of the excrement void- ed by an animal depends upon the quality of its feed. The manurial value of hulled cotton-seed meal is more than twelve times that of wheat-straw, three times that of clover-hay, twice that of wheat-bran, ten times that of mangel wurzel, and thirty times that of common turnips. Of all vegetable substances used as cattle feed, hulled cotton-seed meal is the richest in nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, the most essential requisites in the growth of plants, and these will appear again most abun- dantly in the dung. The money value of the manure from different articles of food according to calculations of Sir J. B. Lawes, based upon the value of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash in leading commercial fertil- izers, are: VALUE OF A TON OF MANURE FROM DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD. Per ton Cottonssee dimes oe nea hs Re ORS oo eee us $27.86 MSEC LECAKC is cere oc cine o/s cirevecevels SENG ral CIC CIE Rae Te rE 19.72 1 BERIT NS = ik SOS ne re Sik Ra A Na ec a ae McC gE et 15.73 Wikre at-Oralinae cists sees IO SIOIER Ce SERS TOE Cre ERE Lone IE 14.59 (CUO STOTT 2-8 Re mi a GN i I er 9.64 Indian meal-e. se... 6: SS NOM Gere eaCeN oleae Tsetse ics BRC eas 6.63 OBES Grasse eres cine ae eS UOR Sa gt ca eae th AEH ea 2.90 ANEMIA O Siete stone c) => Binoror sie clog res Moke Steere Sere aisterricie aba ciateherale etary « 0.80 Block estimated that a horse fed on one hundred pounds of hay will void one hundred and seventy-two pounds of fresh dung; one hundred pounds of oats gave two hun- dred and four pounds; and one hundred pounds of grass gave forty-three pounds of dung. A horse furnishes, if well fed, about twelve thousand pounds of solid dung and three thousand pounds of urine annually. The ma- nure from the street-car stables in New York was found 30 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. by Johnson to contain 0.53 per cent. of nitrogen. Reckoning two-thirds of the solid and fluid droppings saved, we have ten thousand pounds, or five tons of manure to each horse, containing fifty-three pounds of nitrogen. In his method of applying his manure the sensivle gardener will be governed by the nature of his soil and manure, and by the kind of crop he wishes to grow. Half an inch of rain, although amount-ng to fourteen thousand gallons, or fifty-six tons to the acre, would not penetrate deeply into a heavy soil, hence in such a soil long, partly unfermented dung would not, if buried deeply, find sufficient moisture and air to support fermen- tation and dissolve.out the manure for the benefit of the crop. A sandy soil favors decomposition, being more permeable to air and moisture, and as roots penetrate more deeply in a light soil, unfermented dung might be placed five or six inches deep in sucha soil. Upona dry, hot, light soil, manure of that description would be too heating if near the surface. At the rate of eight tons of manure to the acre, half an inch of rain would furnish nearly a gallon to every pound, and in the case of well-rotted or soluble manure, placed near the surface of either heavy or sandy land, would convey the ingredients of plant food in a dissolved state to the roots of plants. On either heavy or sandy soil, therefore, well-rotted ma- nure should be intimately mixed with the soil to the depth of three or four inches, when applied broadcast, and the nearer the surface, the finer should the soil be pulverized to increase its absorptive power. Unless un- fermented long manure is buried in a light soil, it had better be not incorporated, but applied upon the soil as a mulch. Such manure commingled with a heavy soil would benefit it physically by rendering it more open for admission of air, and the heat evolved would accelerate growth. The observations above apply to land well- MANURES, THEIR KINDS AND USES. 31 drained, especially under-drained. If badly drained and presenting a slope in any direction, the washing surface- water would carry off a large part of the soluble manure from the surtace. Manure for close crops, whenever a large supply per- mits, should be applied broadcast, by preference; but generally economy and the desire for a vigorous start will demand its application in the drill. Only in the case of plants standing far apart, as melons, is manuring in the hill practicable, unless only a part of the manure is so applied. The great majority of the roots would soon extend beyond its limits, and the plant would suffer in the later stages of growth. BARN-YARD MANURE. This consists of the mixed droppings of such animals as are allowed to run in an open lot, the surface of which is strewn with more or less of absorbents. It may be re- garded as a combination of the solid and fluid excrements of the different animals, and is of variable quality, owing to waste by leaching rains. If horses and mules alone are enclosed, its value would be that of an inferior stable manure. Notwithstanding its variable value, it is often used as a standard. COW MANURE. Although the fresh, solid excrement of the horse is richer in ammonia than that of neat cattle, the latter, on tne other hand, is not subject to loss by heating. It contains more urea (supplying nitrogen) in the urine, and there is a greater quantity both of solid and liquid excre- ment voided; hence the manure of a cow must be con- sidered more valuable than that of a horse, particularly when the former has had nutritious food. 32 TRUCK-FARMING AT THE SOUTH. A cow, fed upon twenty-four pounds of hay and twelve and a half pounds of Irish potatoes, voided daily about one bushel of solid excrement, containing two and a half pounds of salts of ammonia, potash, soda and lime. The annual product of a cow is thirty-one thousand and twenty-five pounds of dung, of which four thousand eight hundred pounds is organic matter, containing: 189 lbs. ammonia, 71 lbs. phosphate cf lime, 37 lbs. sulphate of lime, 77 \bs. carbonate of lime, 24 lbs. common salt, 15 lbs. sulphate potash. The yard manure of a full-grown ox is considered equal to that of a horse and a half, or ten to fifteen sheep. One cord fresh cow dung weighs...............---s08 ge Ibs. One cubic foot of old, well-rotted ox manure weighs. . Sieh 2 66 5 (75 66 Sana h at 48 6¢ es ce -well-rotted stable manure Lge ero ere (79 ef (75 be fresh 66 6¢ pee 30 66 3 The amount of urine voided annually by a cow is from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand gallons. In every hundred pounds: Of eattlesuninesaret.4. sor . ASPARAGUS. 119 tion of them the poor privilege of starving to death, in- stead of being eaten up. Considering, therefore, the certainty of the evil consequences of the destruction of the blue bird, and the uncertainty of the possible good, I believe that, notwithstanding the apparent balance against the species, even the most radical economist, the most indifferent to the beauty and pleasure of the nat- ural world, would have no present justification for throt- tling the song of the blue bird in his garden, with the hope of increasing thereby his annual store of hay and cabbage.” The following table gives the percentages of the three classes of insects destroyed, and the average for the season: c 38 PERCENTAGES FOR = § *s EACH MONTH. s He ; S2 Sp es | Sas | St S| Se Beneficial. ....... 46 28 21 50 38 14 10 28 AMMTIOUS! 4.2.2... 41 60 23 55 26 67 02 29 Neutrals... Ss. 13 aL 56 10 34 19 87 33 CHAPTER XII. ASPARAGUS.—(Asparagus officinalis.) Asperge, French; Spargel, German; Aspergie, Dutch; Long Scarlet Shert Top,” and ‘‘The Scarlet Tur- nip,” which are sown, as the season will admit, at any time from Christmas to the last ot February.