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110 NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZERS. fertilisation of the soil to rentier it more productive is the all important object of the farmer. Various ways anti means are used to accomplish this end, and each with greater or less gain. The first means used is in cultivation. A soil finely mixed and made mellow is fertilized to the extent of what is contained in the soil; that is, all the elements of native fertility are made available to the support of plant life when the soil is put in the finest state of pul verization. The beneficial effects of this artificial condition of soils is not fully appreciated by the common cul tivator. We arc too often led by the custom or habit of doing just such an amount of labor in preparing our land for crops, without regard to the condition to be gained. We plow and harrow by rule and call it fitted, without regard to whether it be fine or otherwise; but we should always be governed by the condition,whether it requires more or less labor. A coarse, lumpy soil cannot feed a crop to the extent of its capacity, for only the fine rootlets of the plant feed from the soil, which can no more take hold of the hard clods of earth than of a granite rock. The portion of the soil which is made fine and soluble is only made available to the crop; hence, to make all the elements available in the soil it must be finely pulverized. This may be called the first means of fertilizing the soil. The next is in the application of such matter to the land as will supply the crop with food which is not already contained therein. Experience has taught us that animal excrement and all decay ed animal and vegetable matter fer tilize the soil, or, in other words, there is fixed in nature a succession of life, death and decay, the living plant being fed by the decay of the preceding one, and to supply the soil with the needed elements of plant food we have only to return that taken from it to keep up a per petual round of production. Henoe, •*he most natural manures to apply to die soil are decayed animal and veg etable matter, for they contain just what has been taken from the soil and are just what will restore it.— J3ut this we cannot often do, for in, husbandly a large portion of the soil product is carried away. Hay, grain and vegetables are grow only to be converted into meats, butter cheese, flour, etc., a large portion of which is carried away where it may perhaps enrich distant or foreign lands, or, what is more common, is thrown to waste where it does not again find its way to enrich the earth. This system of carrying off without return will ultimately exhaust lands of their fertility. Evidence of this is seen in the deterioration of lands in all parts of our country where kept uuder cultivation, with no other re source thau the barnyard for keeping good this drain upon the soil. With out some kind of manure wc know' that the best lands will fail to return remunerative crons, and the great question is, Where can Ave obtain such manure as will supply this in evitable exhaustion ? Science lias dis closed to us what properties are taken from the soil in cropping and Avhich render it unproductive, and it also teaches us that such elements as our crops have been taking and using up are found in abundance stored away by an all-wise hand to meet the wants of the husbandmen, that bread may be produced for the family of man in all ages to come. These elements are found in the phosphate rock, the potash rock, the lime, sulphur, soda, magnesia, and other mineral proper ties Avhich constitute the inorganic elements of all plants —all of which are sufficient to meet the wants ot the world in all time to come. The sea has also contributed to supply the Avants of the soil in the vast amount of sea-fowl excrement in the form of guano fouud in the islands of ocean, and by the unlimited quanti ties of fish Avhich are taken to be manufactured into a rich fertilizer for the soil. In this way the sea is making return for the Avaste that is constantly going on all over the world in giving to the water the re fuse aud sewage of cities Avhich con tains much of the element drawn from £ <ysd that has improverished the soil. But it is not a voluntary operation of nature that will restore the wasted elements of plant food to the soil; it is only through the enterprise of the husbandman and the aids of science that these great supports to agricul ture can he made available. In the order of nature there is no such thing as exhaustion or failure of the soil, but there is opportunity for increase and progress to meet the want of man to any number within the possi bilities of increase. The resources for the fertilization of the soil are unlimited, and who can tell the ca pabilities of the soil when wisely cultivated and fertilized to its fullest need ? The returns of the earth to reward the industry of the husband man may be said to be unlimited, but pecuniary rewards are prescribed by the circumstances and conditions of surrounding things. That the ele ments of plant food as prepared by the honest manufacturer of commer cial manures are beneficial, and need to be used to keep up the production of our grain farms there can be no doubt with those that have used them. The experiments of Laws & Gilbert, in England, in raising consecutive crops of grain for over thirty years on the same land, with none but min eral manuves, securing an increased production thereby, is a convincing proof of their importance as fertiliz ers, and all who have for several years past used such in this country bear testimony to like beneficial re sults. This experience is only in cor roboration of the common sense prin ciple that if we restore to the soil that which we carry off in growing a crop it cannot be improverished or be less productive, and if we restore more than is taken away the soil must be enriched and made more productive. It would then seem wise for every farmer who has exhausted the virgin fertility of his soil to supply such ma nures as will feed the plant and pro duce the crop desired. Supperphos phate of'lime as now manufactured and sold by reliable parties in our country meets the greatest needs of our grain growers, though experi ence may show the need of other ele ments not usually contained, or it may be found economical to have special manures for special purposes and for special crops. But still there is another question to be solved which is as important to every farm er ; it is whether these fertilizers will be sold at present at such prices that. the farmer oan g row- liio cifop them and leave him a living profit. We know they will be in the future, but they are now too expensive. The materials of which such manures are composed are held too high and the profits of the manufacturers are too great to leave auy encouragement to the farmer in their general use. A good superphosphate should be sold to the farmer for much less than the present rates, and would then afford the manufacturers a larger profit than our farmers receive on the pro ducts of their farms. The manufac ture of fertilizers is now in the hands of a few, who monopolize the trade and exact large profit, much against their general profit. It is true that farmers may make their own super posphates at less than they can pur- I chase, but there are but few who will undertake the work, and none should, without experience and con veniences not usually at hand on the farm. We must continue to buy such : goods as are prepared by the regular manufacturers—that is, if they furn ish us with a reliable article and sell to us with reasonable profits and without commissions or agents’ fees added. In all grain growing sec tions of the older States these fertil izers will be used, and farmers should buy directly of the manufactur er *in such quantities as will be for their, as well as for his advantage. It is a large outlay to our Eastern farm ers to buy the inorganic elements of the grain they grow aud compete with the Western ones who have it ready in their soil, but it is a necessi ty which only due economy will ena ble them to practice.—F. P. Boot in JYeip York "World. DAIRYING AMONG ANTS. It is a well known and curious fact in entomology, of which every one who is at all familiar with this science I is aware, that the common red ants, | everywhere so numerous in our gar j dens and fields, are expert and skill | fill dairymen—dairymen in almost THE FLORIDA AGRICULTURIST. every sense of the word, except that they pursue this occupation for their own luxury and enjoyment, and much to the hinderanco of every farmer and horticulturist. This is proof of the trait, which among human beings is known as foresight,.though doubtless they do not deserve credit for the diligence which indirectly is retard ing to the labors of our gardeners and farmers. I will now endeavor, so far as I am able, to show up this little creature in his work of gratifying at least one of his luxurious tastes. He does not experiment in the breeding of his stock, but such as he rears are cared for with singular vigilance. The milch cattle of the ants are nothing more or less than aphides, or plant lice, the acquaintance of which every gardener must acknowledge. Although these insects are to be found in greater or less abundance on most plants, yet it is not everywhere we find the ants in company with them. Should we, however, while walking through a field bordering upon a pine wood, stop and examine the small, tender shoots of some straggling bush, most likely we would find them together, and with the aid of an ordinary hand glass, could bring before us the mysteries of ant dairying. We have, for example, a delicate, ten der shoot, branching from the main stem ; all along are to be seen these small light-green insects, with their suckers sunk into the tender bark, absorbing its sap, which, after under going process of digestion, is a fluid scarcely inferior in delicacy to honey. When the proprietors are not near to receive it, this juice is thrown to a distance by a jerking motion of the body, being expelled through two small, almost invisible tubes, project ing in the manner of horns from the back of the insect. Hero and there, are to be seen a number of ants care fully picking their way among the motionless little insects, apparently fearful of disturbing them. Watch ing the movements of one of the ants, we observe him approach one of his cows, pause a moment, and then reach up to the extremity of one of the tubes and suck out the delicate nectar. It is a curious fact that the ants know how to milk these little creatures, should the liquid be difficult to find, patting and tickling the aphides on the sides of the abdomen with their extended antennae, aid eagerly drinks Metre' mep-'TOfcn is immcidT iately discharged. N Thus the ants enjoy themselves un til the time arrives when their herds are to prepare for a succeeding gen eration, and to pass out of existence. As soon as the eggs of the aphides are laid, they are taken possession of by the ants, who store them carefully away in their holes, thus making an early claim of proprietorship.— Early in the spring these eggs are brought out and exposed to the influ ence of the sun’s rays until hatched. In the meantime all are vigilant in guarding the eggs from injury, re moving them in their mouths to a place of safety on the slightest ap pearance of danger. Thus these lit tle creatures set a good example to the careless and negligent herdsman, and well may lie profit by the advice of Dr. Johnson, contained in the fol lowing lines, which were written with reference to the words of Solomon: “Turn on the prudent nnt thy heedless eyes; Observe her labors, and be wise. No stern command, no monitory voice, Prescribes her duties, or directs her choice; Yet timely provident she hastes away. To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day.’< The ant being a direct producer of this noxious insect, it is of course working against the interest of man, as before stated. Whether or not the juice secreted by the aphides is put to any other use by the ants than to regale themselves, yet re mains to be ascertained.—P. B. W. in Country Gentleman. Liquid Manure for Flowers. Put one bushel of the clippings of the horse's hoofs into a barrel and fill it up with water. Let it stand a week, wkenljt will be ready for use. Apply it with a watering pot. All bedded plants cau be watered with this liquid every other day if they are not bound. Newly re-potted plants should bo watered onoe a week until they hare plenty of working roots to take up the manure. It will also be found excellent for hard wood ed plants if used once or twice a week. Two or three weeks after the plants have been watered with the manure the foliage generally changes from green to a golden yellow, moving from the stem down to the point of the leaf, which, however, lasts only for a few weeks, when it changes to a dark, glossy green. Plants under this watering grow very strong; the flowers are very large and bright in color. Plants thus treated can be kept in very small pots for a long time without being transplanted. — Flowers watered with this liquid ma nure will bring twenty-five per cent, more than otherwise; besides being in small pots, they are lighter, can be packed closer and are easier to be handled. The fertilizer is not a stim ulant, but a plant food, and plants that are watered with it, if planted out, will continue growing and keep in growth, which cannot be said of guano. It is as powerful as guano, as quick in action and more lasting. —Ex. Celery. At the late meeting of the Western New York Horticultural Society E. lihulmaD, of Niagara county explain ed his method of raising celery. lie employes a collar made of a piece of tin two or three inches wide and nine inches long; this is bent into a circu lar collar and put around the celery plant when it is first planted, and a little manure is placed outside the collar. As the plant grows the col lar is raised up and kept in position around the crown of the plant, and still is retained in place after the cel ery is dug in the fall, lie found Hend erson's half dwarf to be the best var iety. New Method of Preserving Fruits. A foreign chemist has published a new method of preserving fruit which deserves a trial on a small scale, as it is so simple, yet it is deemed to be perfect in the preservation of the pe culiar and original flavor: “Wash the specimens clean after gathering, and place in vessels of fluid composed of 200 to 800 grains of sugar to one litre of pure water, and 2i grains to 3 grains of salicylic acid. The pots or bottles, with their con tents, are then closely covered with -■eonwaaoD -u-ritiug* paper, and So kept in a moderate temperature, as any excess of warmth would cause too great an evaporation of the water. In this way the professor has found by experience, that plums, cherries, apricots, peaches, grapes, strawber ries, etc., can be preserved in good, sound condition for a whole year, each fruit retaining its original and peculiar flavor as fine as when gather ed.’’—Michigan Farmer. Food for Horses. It has become quite common of late to hear of the sudden death of valuable horses, and the ■wonder is that they should die so suddenly, wdien it w r as supposed that the best care was given in regard to their food, exercise, etc. The fact is, that very few owners of horses seem to be aware of the great danger of feeding fine meal to horses. Many an excel lent animal is taken suddenly ill, and in spite of every effort for its relief, dies in a short time, the only thing out of the way in its case having been the feeding of fine meal. The trouble is, that frequently the meal hardens, literally bakes, on the walls of the stomach, forming an indigesti ble mass that cannot be removed, and from the suffering it causes, there is no relief but death. The livery men in tow r ns and cities have discovered this fact, and for meal are substitut ing cracked corn, which is wholesome, nourishing and never attended with danger. It is time horse owners gen erally were make acquainted with these facts. MOTICE—In the County Court and of Probate. Volusia County, Florida. Notice is hereby given that after six months publication of this notice, 1 shall apply to the County Judge of Volusia County, for a discharge from my adminis tration as administrator of the estate of the late James M. Elwood, deceased. Notice is also hereby given that all ac counts against said estate, not exhibited to me,within two years after the date of my letters of administration of said estate, to wit., the 3rd day of July a. t>. 1877 will be forever barred. Of which all creditors and persons entitled to distribution will take notice. A. R. ELLWOOD, 035 administrator & Lesal Notices. MASTER’S SALE of Real Estate •1” Byvirtneo tßDecrceoi,made .andeE tered in the Circuit Court, I will sell a public outcry in front of the Court House door at Enterprise, Volusia County, State of Florida, on the first Monday, the fifth day of August, a. i>. 1878, within the usual hours of sale, the following Real Estate,. lying in Volusia Couuty, Florida, and known and described as follows: Known as the Dunlawton place, being a grant by the Spanish Government to Patrick Dean, on the 13th day of August, 1804, by Patrick Dean to Bunch, by Bunch to LawtoD, by Lawton to Anderson, by Anderson to John J. Marshall, including Sectional Grants forty-three, Township lifteen, south of range thirty-three, east, containing two hundred and ninety and nineteen one-hun dredths acres, more or less, aud section thirty-seven, Township sixteen, south, of range thirty-three east, containing seven hundred and sixty and sixty-two one hundredths acres, more or less, hounded on the north by lands of R. N. Swift, on the east by lots four and five of section thirty three. Township fifteen south, range thirty three east, and lots two, three and four of section four, of Twonship sixteen, of range thirty-three east, and on the west by lot number one, section eight, Township six teen south, of thirtv-tbree east, lots one, two, four and five, of section five, Town ship sixteen south, of range thirty-three east, and the fractional southwest quarter of section thirty-two, Township fifteen, south, of rauge thirty-three east, contain ing in the aggregate one thousand and seventy-seven acres, more or less, also the land on which the dwelling of said J. J, Marshall is situated, immediately on the Halifax river, known and distinguished as lot one of fractional section three, Town ship sixteen south, of range thirty-three east, containing fifty acres, more or less. Sold under and by virtue of a Decree made bv the Judge of the Circuit Court on a bill filed to loreclose and inforce the lien of said John J. Marshall on said laud for the purchase money thereof and sold to satisfy said lien and said purchase money. Sold at the risk and for the benefit of Pomeroy, a purchaser at a sale of said laud and premises heretofore had, who having failed to comply with the require ments of said sale and pay the puschase money. Sold under and by virtue of a subsequent decree made by the Judge of the Circuit Court, at his risk and for bis benefit. Terms cash, purchasers paying for titles. July. 1878. HEZEKIAH E. OSTEEN, 8-11 Special Master in Chancery. "jYOTICE —On Monday, August l9tL ■1" 1878 I will apply by petition to Hon. IV. A. Cocke, Circuit Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, at his residence near Fort Reid, orange County, Florida, for an order to sell for the benefit of Mar garet Watson, Elizabeth Watson and Flor ence Watson, minors, all their right, title and interest of, in and to certain Real Estate situated in Volusia County, Florida, and known as parts of n. w. i of s. 0, 119 s, r. 31 e.; and parts of s. J, 1.19 s. r. 30 e,. July 81878. Malissa Watson 1014 Guardian of Minors above named. TN THE CIRCUIT COURT—7th Judicial Circuit Volusia county. William Allan vs. M. M. Hedges and Jose pliene M. Hedges. Amount sworn to, $517.81 The defendants and all others are hereby notified of the commencement of this suit, that an attachment has been issued, and that they are required to appear, plead or demur to the declaration filed in said cause, by the first Monday' in October next, the same being rule day, or judgment will be taken by default. May 29,1878. JOHN B. STICKNEY, C. B. BUCKNOR, my29m3 Plff’s Attys. TN THE COUNTY COURT and of Probate, Volusia county. In the Administration of the Estate of Arthur Rossetter, Jr., dececased: Notice is hereby given that I have been, by the County Judge of Volusia county, appointed administrator of the above estate, and that all persons having claims against the same are requested to file the same with me duly authenticated without delay, and all per sons indebted to the said estate are re quested to make settlement forthwith. Bercsford P. 0., Volusia co., Feb’y 26,1878. A. T. ROSSETTER, feb2B-6m Administrator. On Motion, Ordered that election dis trict No. 16 he emposed of the following de scribed territory in Volusia county. All of township 17 south, range 29 east, less that portion lying west of the St. Johns river. Also section No’s six. seven, eigh teen, nineteen and thirty, in township 37” south, range 30 east, with voting place at Beresford. On Motion, It was ordered that, that portion of section 28, township 16, range 33 east, lying south of Spruce creek, and sections 33, 34, and that portion of sections 35 and 26 lying west of Turnbull creek, in township and range aforesaid.nowincluded in district No. 10, be set off and included in district No. 9. JNO. W. DICKINS, Clerk of Board Cos. Commissioners. rs T CIRCUIT COURT of the Sev enth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Volusia County. Iu Chancery. Nathaniel Hasty aud Elizabeth P. Hasty his wife vs. W. Howell Robinson. It appearing from affidavit made before me that the defendant above named resides beyond the limits of this State, to-wit. iu the State of Illinois, 6othat ordinary pro cess cannot be served upon him. On motion of C. B. Buoknor solicitor for complain ant : It is ordered that the defendant do appear, plead, answer, or demur to the bill of complaint filled in this cause, on or before the first Monday in December next, other wise the same will be taken pro confesso. Provided that a copy of this order be pub lished weekly for four consecutive months, in an official newspaper published in this Circuit. Witness my hand and seal, this 24tb day of July, A. D. 1878. JOHN W. DICKINS. 12 24 Clerk Volusia Circuit Court. C. B. BUCKNOR, Comp’lts Solicitor.