I43 THE FARMERS DEPARTMENT. GROUND OYSTER SHELL AND BONE MAN URE.

The great value of ground oyster shells a- a manure for light sandy soils, will be apparent to the mind of every sgriculturist on a mo- ment’s reﬂection. Containing a large portion of saline, animal and marine vegetable matter, itimmediately enriches the soil, and keeps it cool and moist, while by its gradual decom- position, a permanent and rich manure is sup- plied. For stitl‘, clayey, and sour land, burnt shell is undonbtedly much the best; and thus in this, as in allotlicr cases of the application of mannre,a proper discrimination is necessary to the appropriation of‘ that which is best adapt- ed to the different kinds of soil. Hence the great utilityofa knowledge ofagricultural che- mistry. A very partial acquaintance with this branch of chemistry, however. will enable any farmer to distinguish between soils which require lime and those which require ground shell. Ground oyster shells we believe will be the cheapest and best manure that can be applied to lands adapted to its use. Garde- ners near the city will find especial beneﬁt from its application, as it will not only prove im- mediately effectual, but enrich their soil for many year. There are some vegetables that absolutely require this species of manure to bring them to the state of perfection of which they are capable, and indeed which is natu. ral to them. Of this class are all marine ve- getables, such as asparagus. scakale, 8:0. It is believed that ifasparazus beds were once well dressed with grennd oyster shells, they would yield much more abundantly and much finer as- paragus than they do with stable manure. For proof ofthis let any one examine the natural growth of asparagus on the shell lnnks on the shores of the inlets along the southern sea- coast. And that such manure is essenti'l to the perfection ofseakale, is proved by the fact, that this excellent vegetable is found in its natural state nowhere but on the sea-coasts, where it can have the advantage of marine manure.

Ground bones as manure. The value of this kind of manure has been sufﬁciently tested in England, where it is used most extensively. That country pays several millions of dollars annually for bones brought from the continent for manure. The mills for grinding bones in England generally consist of two sets of grin- ders, one above the other; the one for break. ing the boncsinto small pieces, and the other to grinding them into powder. This is also a very permanent manure, asthe bones are com. ofalarge portion oflime ; and on account ‘thh animal matter they are suitable for all this of vegetables containing any considera- ble portion ofgluten, such as wheat and other grain, beans, peas, and a variety of othe rs.

ﬂm. Farmer.

0n the Wages of using Cow-wash in the growth of vegetables.

By Mr. Wilson, Creswell Hall, Staﬂ'ordshire.

Some of the readers of the Register may not altogether , ' of the beneﬁts to be de- rivedfvdn ‘ ,dfcow-wash in the growth . enarket Gardeners in the violaityofhw, use it in great quantities,

~tlle prizes, I

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

which the procure from cow feeders in the city, at the rate of four pence per barrel, ( a common herring barrel) and I can from obser- vation vouch for its eﬂicacy. Cauliﬂower, cab- bage, brocoli, celery, and asparagus thrive amazingly with it, and Ihave applied it my- selfto gooseberries, currants, raspberries, 8m. with excellent effect. They apply it after this manner; alittle earth is drawn round the stem of the plant or tree in the form ofa basin into which the liquid is poured. If it be dry hot weather,this is done in the evening, but ifthe weather be moist it may be done at any time. When this has been performed two or three times, the plants are earthed up, and receive no more of it. They apply it to their asparagus beds at an time from the beginning of March to the beginning of April. Their celery is planted on ridges five feet wide, in rows across the ridge, at twelve inches from row to row. Before planting they flood the ridge with the wash, having previously dug the bed with a little manure. Nothing answers better than this wash tor turnips. [ have seen most excellent crops when no other manure was used. The ground for this purpose was well soaked with itdnring winter. To try the ex- periment I dug a plotofground without giving it any manure; one lialfof this 1 watered with the sh previous to sowing, and the other half ‘ sown without: the difference was ver , t; the part watered bore turnips of a ﬁne clear skin and color, and at least a third larger then the unwatered land. Any of your readers who wish to excel in growing ve- getables, may stir tip a small quantity ofcow- dung with the wash, and ifapplied when the p'autsarein a growing state,lhcsitatc iiotto say it willanswer theirhighest expectations: this] speak from experience, as cauliﬂowcrs.cab- bages, and gooseberries, which have obtained ' e watered with my own hands i am satisﬁet , if farmers in this country were to have a barrel sunk in one corner of their cow-houses, and the wash drained into it, and with a water-potor other-means, apply it to their land in moist weather, they would find their labor would not be lost.

Ga rdener’s .Matr.

OF CURING PORK AND BACON.

The carcase is cut into pieces, and packed in casks or kits, made for the purpose, con- taining from one to two hundred weight. Salt is dissolved in water till the mixture be strong enough to swim an egg; it is then boiled. and when eold, poured upon the pork: when the the end of the cask is fixed in. the article is ready for being sent to market. Henderson, a late writer, has given particular directions for curing bacon, founded upon a long Course of experience, which therefore deserves to be more generally known.

The curing of bacon is thus described by Hen- derson, after much experience. After the car- case has hung all night; lay it upon a strong table, or bench, upon its back, cutoff the head close to the ears, and cut the hinder feet so far below the hough as will not disfignre the hams, and leave plenty of room to hang them by; then take a cleaving knife, and if necessary a hand mallet, and divide the carcase tip the middle of the back bone, laying it in two equal halves: then cut the ham from the side by the second Joint of the back bone, which will appear on dividing the carcase, then dress the ham by paring a little off the ﬂank or skinny part, so as to shape it with a half round point, clearing oﬂ'any top fat that may appear, the curer will next take oﬂ'the sharp edge along the back bone with his knife and

Ste. 19.

mallet, and slice oﬂ the ﬁrst rib next the shoul. der, where he will perceive a bloody vein, which he must take out, for ifit is left in, that part is apt to spoil. ’I‘he corners must b. squared off where the ham was cut out.

In killinga number of swine what sides you may have dressed the ﬁrst day, lay upon some flags or boards, piling them across each other, and giving each pitch a powdering ofsaltpetre, then covering it with salt: proceed in the same manner with the hams, by themselves, and do not omit giving them a little saltpetre, as it opens the pores ofthe ﬂesh to receive the salt, and besides gives the ham a pleasant ﬂavor, and makesit more juicy. Let them lie in this state about a week, then turn those on top un. dermost, giving them a fresh salting ; after lying two or three weeks longer they may be hung up to dry in some chimney, or smoke honse;or, if the curer chooses. he may turn them over again without giving them any salt, in which state they may lie for a month or U170 without catching any harm, until he has a chnvenience for drying them. Henderson practiced for many years thecustom of carting his ﬂitches and hams through the country to farm houses, and used to hang them in their chimneys, and other parts ofthe house to dry, some seasons to the amount of ﬁve hundred carcases; this plan he soon found attended with a number of inconveniences and therefore he invented a smoking house.

Henderson‘s smoking house is about twelve feet square. and the walls about seven feet high; one of these huts requires six joists across, one close to each wall, the other four laid asunder, at propcr distances. To receive five rows of ﬂitches, they must be laid on the top of the wall, a piece of wood strong enough to bear the weight of one ﬂitcb ot bacon, must be ﬁxed across the belly end ofthe ﬂitch, by two strings, as the neck end must hang downwards; the piece of wood must be longer than the ﬂitch is wide, sothat each end may rest upon a beam; they may be put so near each other as not to touch, the width of it will hold twenty-four ﬂitehes in a row, and there will be ﬁve rows, which will contain one hundred and twenty ﬂitches; as many hams may be hung at the same time above the ﬂitcbes, eon- trived in the best manner we can. The lower end of the ﬂitehes will be within two and a halfor three feet ofthe ﬂoor, which must be covered ﬁve or six inches thick with saw dust,and must be kindled at two different sides: it will burn, but not cause any ﬂame to injure the bacon. The door must be kept close, and the but must have asmall hole in the roof, so that part of the smoke may ascend. That lot of bacon and hams will be ready to pack up in a hogshead to send oﬂ‘in eight or ten dayl ora little longer if required. with very little loss of weight. After the bacon is salted, it mav lie in the salthonse as described until an order is received, then immediately hang it up to dry. Henderson found this smoke house to be a great saving, not only in the expense and trouble of employing men to cart and hang it up through the country, but it did not low near so much weight by this process.

Loudon’s Ency.

LICE IN CATTLE.

A storng decoction of tobacco washed are? a beast infested with vermin will generally drive them away ; it sometimes makes the beast very sick a short time.

But a better way is to mix plenty of stroll! Scotch snuff in train oil, and rub the back sud neck of the creature with it, which will effect- ually kill or drive away all vermin from aqﬂi' draped.