The More Lime the More Manure.

The old saying that "lime makes a rich father and poor son" conveys, we think, a serious error, though the idea it is based upon be a correct one. This is that lime, while it makes the soil more productive in crops at first, will finally leave it barren if its use be continued; that it will force the ground, so to speak, to its utmost power of production, and finally leave it powerless-exhausted of the elements of plant food. This might be, in a great measure, the case, if we assume that everything made upon the farm is carried off from it, as is only possible under very bad management.

But let it be remembered that in any proper use of lime, the first effect is a great increase of grass crops, filling the ground with masses of roots, estimated sometimes to be equal to the whole crop above ground. This alone makes a heavy manuring, and is so much added to the lime dressings, and yielding, on decay, all the elements which plants need to feed upon.

Specialties in Farming.

We find a suggestion in one of the agricul tural journals that is worth noting, as to the advantage of every cultivator having a specialty always, to which he may devote his attention chiefly, arguing that a crop thus acquires an importance which commands for it whatever intelligence and attention the cultivator can command. He may, indeed, have all the variety desirable for his home consumption, the use of his stock, &c., and these will give interest to his operations. But the one great object of his attention and concern is the particular crop he may select as a specialty. To this, for the time being, he devotes himself, and is enabled to realize from it the best results.

In farming generally and planting, this is not uncommon. Wheat, or tobacco, or cotton, is made the specialty, and with good results, except that it may happen that the general interests of the farm are overlooked in the concentration of attention and means upon the main crop. This need not be, however. There is no inconsistency between a due attention to general interests and a special attention to the one or two main crops which are chiefly looked to for the year's profits.

But then with grass comes grain, furnishing large quantities of straw, and corn-stalks and blades, giving material for great quantities of manure, and with these comes stock to consume them on the farm. More horses, more cattle, more sheep, more hogs-the manure manufacturers of the farmer-turning all these to the best account, are, year after year, leaving great quantities of the best manure be-sachusetts Plowman says: "There is no econhind when they go to market; the best because containing not one element, as lime, but all that is needed.

Then, if the farmer be wise enough to feed away his grain instead of selling, the manure is the richest and most valuable, and the soil may be kept at the maximum of fertility, if well managed. This accounts for the answer of an extensive and observant Chester county farmer to the question whether, after the application of lime for so long a period of years, there had been any symptoms of decline in the production of the land or diminution of the benefit derived from it. His answer was decidedly in the negative, for, he said, "those who have limed the most have been pretty sure to manure the most." Those who have the spirit to improve freely in one direction are not apt to stop at that, but use well all the means at their disposal; they are the best and most careful farmers and their land is constantly advancing in productiveness.

But the suggestion is especially applicable to what is called truck-farming, when there is disposition to divide the attention among many small crops. Speaking of this, the Mas

omy in this mode of management. It costs too much to market the small truck on a farm in little driblets. With some specialty, be it onions, squashes, grapes or what not, the marketing comes at about the same time. It is soon over with, and it costs in the aggregate a good deal less than it does to run off to market with a little of everything."

As an instance of success, the Massachusetts Plowman says: "We once knew a thrifty and enterprising farmer who cultivated, generally, about fourteen acres of onions. He got, on an average, about five hundred bushels to the acre. He gave his time and his thoughts to this crop, made it a special study, and understood it thoroughly. He studied the market, and he studied the crop in every phase, looking around to see how the crop was coming out, not only in his own neighborhood, but at a distance, so as to be able to judge of the best time to sell. The result was that he made money on onions. It was his specialty, and hederstood the crop and the market."

together so as to heat one another; but change their condition, by separating them, and the fire on each hill will go out from the loss of radiated heat. Those seeking to form the nitrate of lime, must study the conditions of temperature, moisture and porosity, which control nitrification.

What are the conditions under which such vast quantities of cubic nitre (nitrate of soda) are formed partly in Chili, but mostly in Peru? There is no apparent organic source, either animal or vegetable, that can furnish so large an amount of nitric acid. If not derived from substances once endowed with life, it must have a mineral origin, or come from the at

gen in guano to the atmosphere; and there need be little doubt that all nitric acid has a similar origin. Europe and America are supplied mainly with saltpetre and cubic nitre from the warm climates of India, Egypt, Algeria, Spain and South America. The inference is plain that our nitre beds should have a bottom heat, such as we give to pine apples, cocoa-nuts and other tropical fruits. They require for perfect development a higher temperature than our climate affords; and the most efficient production of nitric acid appears to demand a similar condition.

Nitrate of Lime as a Fertilizer. In the recent struggle for Southern independence, the fact is generally known that large quantities of saltpetre were made from the nitrate of lime found in numerous caves which exist in Northern Alabama, Middle and East Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.--mosphere. Boussingault traces all the nitroThe formation of so much nitric acid in the limestone caves referred to, presents facts of great importance to all in any way interested in the fruitfulness of farms or plantations. Probably no scientific man regards an atom of nascent nitrogen liberated from hydrogen, as the two elements exist in ammonia, as better for any agricultural purpose than an atom of nitrogen, liberated from oxygen, as they exist in nitric acid. Nitrogen in a nascent state being alike available as plant food from ammonia and nitric acid, it follows that, if we can form nitric acid from its very abundant elements as it appears to be produced in caves, (one of which is on the writer's farm,) then we can make at will, with lime and loose soil, the most valuable ingredient in Peruvian guano. Unfortunately, all the conditions necessary to the most successful nitrification, whether in caves or compost heaps, are not so well understood as those relating to combustion. Opinions among scientists differ in regard to the fact whether nitrification is limited to the nitrogen derived from animal or vegetable substances in caves, stables, or nitre beds artificially prepared, or often extends indefinitely beyond, taking nitrogen from the atmosphere. Knapp, in his Chemical Technology, favors the former idea; while Boussingault, Sprengle and others believe that the chemical union of nitrogen and oxygen, in the form of nitric acid, once set in motion in the presence of a strong base like lime, potash or soda, in a ¡porous body, (probably to condense the gases,) may continue until the favoring conditions fail. It is well known that an excess of water in wood or coal will extinguish combustion. The same is true of nitrification.

With regard to moisture, it should be considerably below saturation. Too much water reduces temperature, and otherwise prevents chemical action or nitrification. It very rarely rains in the districts of Peru where the nitrate of soda is formed in such vast quantities. A porous soil or earth, some moisture, a pretty high degree of solar heat, and a strong alkaline base to take up each particle of acid as soon as formed, appear sufficient to effect the chemical union of nitrogen and oxygen. Whether nitrification is started by some decaying animal or vegetable substance in the ground, by decompounded ammonia, or by electricity, is a matter of little consequence. What we want is to make at will large quantities of nitrate of lime, by using the same forces and conditions that nature uses in making so much cubic nitre and saltpetre.

During the late war I bought a farm on the Tennessee river, which had a cave, from the debris of which a good deal of saltpetre was manufactured. The nitrate of lime dug up with earth, on the bottom of the cave, appeared to grow from year to year, without any help Firebrands will burn rapidly if put close from man or animal, very much as I have seen

gypsum grow in Western New York. A few The Department of Agriculture-Facts in re

words, showing how gypsum grows in some places, will aid in illustrating the chemical formation of the nitrate of lime.

Some earths contain not a little of sulphuret of iron. Under favorable conditions this sulphur is oxidized into sulphurous or sulphuric acid. More acid is formed than the iron will combine with; and in Genesee Co., New York, there is a large spring of water strongly impregnated with free sulphuric acid. It is obvious that any water charged with this acid in passing over lime rocks, or their debris in soils, will form the sulphate of lime, which is gypsum. Now, so long as the earth supplies sulphur, and air and water yield oxygen, sulphuric acid will be formed, and from this and lime, gypsum will grow on from year to year indefinitely.

Make the conditions right, and oxygen is as ready to unite chemically with nitrogen, to form nitric acid, as with either sulphur or phosphorus to produce sulphuric or phosphoric acid.

gard to the Glover Museum. We have intended to give some account of the Museum connected with the Department of Agriculture at Washington, for the design and arrangement of which the Department is indebted exclusively, as we believe, to Mr. Townend Glover. We find the matter prepared to our hand in the following article from the St. Louis Journal of Agriculture. It is written evidently by one who knows whereof he writes, and we give it place in justice to Mr. Glover and the Department. We know Mr. Glover well, and it is no praise to say of him what is patent to all who have had the opportunity of making his acquaintance, that he has genius, enthusiasm and great ability for work. He will have much larger space for his operations in the new rooms assigned to him in the Department building now going up, and with the material already accumulated and his devoted industry, we look for an expansion of the Museum that will make it creditable to the country.-Ed. Am. Farmer. A correspondent of the St. Louis (Mo.) Farmers' Advertiser (now Journal of Agriculture), writing from Burlington, Iowa, makes some statements in the issue for October 1st, in regard to the Department of Agriculture, which are too absurd to require notice; but others are so palpably false and unjust, and so evidently intended to mislead the public con

it is but right they should be corrected.

The facility with which nitric acid is formed in limestone caves in this country and Europe proves clearly that lime, as a predisposing base, is fully equal to either soda or potash; and as lime is a cheap article, especially in marl districts, I venture to suggest to such as have marl or lime to try to form the nitrate of lime for manure. By referring to page 169 of the December number of the "American Far-cerning facts in which all are interested, that mer" it will be seen that Dr. Voelcker found a fraction less than 2 per cent. of nitrogen in box manure, i. e. the excrement of cattle well fed in boxes. Nitrogen is estimated 7 3-10 pence per lb., in gold, equal to more than 20 cents in our currency. These facts indicate the great value of assimilable nitrogen. So far as the crude nitrate of lime or of potash has been tried by farmers in Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia, the reports are favorD. LEE.

able.

Gap Creek, Knox county, Tenn.

The Augusta (Ga) Chronicle begs the cotten planters of the State to give at least one fourth of their best lands this year to wheat, assuring them that the latter will prove the more profitable crop.

The Country Gentleman says: "The materials and labor required to build and keep fences in repair are among the heavy items of farm expense. The cost of the land upon which they stand is another item."

First, as to the expense of the Department: It is very certain that no more can run out of a fountain than runs in, and heretofore the chief causes of complaint have arisen from the fact that the appropriations of Congress have been too small to allow the Department to meet the demands of the public. Instead, of "spending millions," as "B. T." asserts, the records show that the expenditures have been considerably less than one million of dollars since the organization of the Department. That it has been cramped for room and means to do what should have been done, is not the fault of the officers, but of Congress, that has not recognized and provided for the people in a more satisfactory manner.

In regard to the museum under the charge of Professor Glover, a great misunderstanding exists in many minds, and the assertions of "B. T." are so far from truth that a full statement of the whole matter seems called for,

even at the risk of tediousness and repetition to those already acquainted with the facts. Some twelve or fourteen years ago, Mr Glover, who was then in the employ of the Agricultural Bureau of the Department of the Interior, sold to that Department his entire collection of model fruits, amounting to over 2,000 specimens, for $10,000. These specimens, instead of being "such as image peddlers carry about on their heads and idle girls manufacture at boarding schools," are fac similes of fruits grown in different localities, showing the effect of soil, climate and culture upon them, and with the help of the accompanying catalogue of descriptions, enabling the farmer or orchardist to select at once such varieties as are best adapted to his wants and location. Hundreds who have by this means been saved years of vexation and fruitless experiments can attest the utility and value of this system; and when perfected as the intention is, it will be infinitely more valuable than now, embracing, as it will, specimens from all the States and of all new and improved varieties as fast as they are introduced. The $10,000, then appropriated by Congress for the purchase of the models, was never received by Mr. Glover, but was drawn and used by the officers of the Department during his absence in South America on official business. For nearly six years thereafter Mr. Glover was employed at the Maryland Agricultural Col-facility and all the correctness of an expert in lege, and had no connection with and received no salary whatever from Government. During this time he commenced the engravings for his projected work on American Entomology. After the organization of the Department of Agriculture in 1862, he was employed as Entomologist and Naturalist for the Department.

this alone, Mr. Glover has received. And what has the Department obtained?

The information connected with the birds alone, and learned almost at a glance, would require extensive research through libraries and forests, for here you have not only the classification and labels bearing the names and references to authors, but the character of the bird, its habits, and whether injurious of beneficial to the farmer or merchant, and the contents of its stomach proving its tastes and habits. The insect world, colored to the life in the plates covering the walls of the museum, embodies a wonderful amount of patient toil and close study. These have all been done out of office hours, and number over one hundred and fifty plates, containing from twenty to sixty or seventy insects each, showing all their transformations, giving their names, food, and reference to authors by whom they were described. Thus any person bringing or sending an insect to the Department may at once identify it and learn its whole history, whether it is the farmers' friend or enemy, and if the latter, the best means known for its destruction. The many letters of inquiry constantly received and answered in this line have fully tested the use and beauty of the plan, as any one with a moderate knowledge of the English language can trace out the entire insect history with nearly the

Conceiving the idea of creating a National agricultural and economical museum, he again placed his models on exhibition, and spent over a thousand dollars of his private means in procuring specimens of natural history and furnishing the rooms to illustrate his idea. Adding to these his valuable collection of American insects, and a colored copy of his insect plates, he offered the whole to Government for $15,000. After several years of waiting, during which the Department had the free use of his beautiful and useful collection, another appropriation of the original sum, $10,000, was made. This amount, and

entomology. Thus the Department has the information to impart whether the Professor be absent or present, and an idea of the pecuniary value of the plates may be had when it is understood that not one of all the thousand of insects represented could be given in the perfection they are short of from three to five dollars each, and some would cost even more, making the plates themselves average one hundred dollars apiece. Of course the purchase by the Government does not include the original copper plates and the copyright of the work; these are Mr. Glover's private property, being purchased with his own money and engraved in his own time, partly when at the Agricultural College, and the remainder after office hours, and could not be afforded in connection with the museum for anything like the price given. The Department, however, will have a complete colored copy of the work when finished, and has meanwhile the use of the plates as fast as engraved.