tom of the glass. This experiment is sufficient to determine which of the samples tried is the most proper for the uses of agriculture as pure calcareous earth or lime, which is the earth useful in agriculture, will be entirely dissolved; but clay or sand will not be sensibly acted on by the acid. Where great accuracy is required in determining the experiment, lay a soft spongy paper, of which the weight is exactly taken, in an earthen colander-for no metallic vessel, or implement for stirring, &c., must be used in any part of the process-and, pouring the saturated mixture of earth and acid on it, let all the liquor filter through, then pour a little clear water over the earthy matter remaining on the filter; and, when that water has also filtered through, dry the paper with the earthy matter on it which remains undissolved, when the deficiency found, on weighing them, from their original weight, will discover what portion of the marle or lime has been dissolved in the acid. What quantity of earthy matter has been dissolved may be made evident to the sight, by gradually adding, to the liquor which has been filtered through the paper, a clear solution of pearl-ashes, or ashes of burnt wood; this will occasion a precipitation of the contained lime or calcareous earth to the bottom of the vessel, which precipitate must be dried and weighed.

1009. To preserve Seeds, when sown, from Vermin.-Steep the grain or seed three or four hours, or a sufficient time for it to penetrate the skin, or husk, in a strong solution of liver of sulphur.

1010. Striped Grass recommended for Hay.-The Indian striped or riband grass, which is cultivated in gardens, would answer admirably for hay. In rich grounds plants are fre quently four feet high; what a burden of hay would a field so cropped produce! Cattle are exceedingly fond of it; the seeds are easily saved, so that a person might soon have enough for a rood, and from that save again and again, for as many acres as he might choose. It is probable that the crop might be much too large to be made on the field where it grew; but if so, it would be worth while to carry part into another field.

1011. When to cut Rye-grass for Hay.-Rye-grass, if mown for hay, should be cut when in blossom, and not green. The

hay made from it does not heat or sweat so much, and is very good for horses, but not for sheep and cattle. If it is suffered to stand too long before it is cut, the seeds rob the plants of their juices, and leave it no better than wheat or rye-straw.

1012. To prevent the Smut in Wheat.-The means (to prevent smut) are simple; and no other than immersing the seed in pure water, and repeatedly scouring it therein, just before it is sown or dibbled in. Whether well, spring, or river water be used, is indifferent; but repeated stirring and change of water is essential to remove the possible particles of infection that may have imperceptibly adhered to the seed; thus purified, the subsequent crop will be perfect in itself, and seed successively so likewise, if there be no adjacent fields from whence this contamination may be wafted.

The addition of any alkaline or earthy salt, by increasing the specific gravity of the water, is of advantage in floating off the unsound grains, and after the seed is washed, it should be dried immediately by rubbing it with newly slaked lime.

1013. Fertilizing Steeps for Turnips, Wheat, or Barley.Steep turnip seed twelve hours in train oil, which strain through a fine seive, and immediately thoroughly mix the quantity of seed you would wish to sow on an acre, with three bushels of dry loamy earth, finely sifted, which drill (or sow) as soon as possible; and when the plants begin to appear, throw a small quantity of soot over them.

1014. Steep for Wheat, Barley, or other Grain.-Put a peck and a half of wood-ashes, and a peck of unslaked lime, into a tub that will hold forty gallons; then add as much water as will slake the lime, and render the mixture into the consistence of stiff mortar. In this state it should remain ten or twelve hours; then add as much water as will reduce the mortar to a pulp, by thorough stirring. In this state fill the tub with water, and occasionally keep stirring for two or three days. After which, draw off the clear lye into an open vessel, and gradually put the grain into it: skim off the light grains; and, after the corn has been steeped three hours, spread it on a clean floor to dry, when it will be sufficiently prepared for drilling or sowing. The lye will retain its full virtue, and may be repeatedly used.

Remark. It has been doubted whether steeps are of any use, except so far as they facilitate the separation of the light grains, and wash off the seeds of the parasite plants, which are thought to occasion smut, &c. In the best-cultivated parts of Scotland, seed-wheat is steeped in stale urine, or in a brine made with common salt, which, by increasing the specific gravity of the water, floats the unsound grains. The seed is well wash ed, and then dried, by mixing it with fresh slaked lime, and rubbing it briskly with a wooden shovel. The quick-lime and rubbing is thought to assist in cleansing the seed; but, independent of that, the mere drying the seed quickly is convenient.

1015. To sow Wheat to advantage, without laying on Manure. -It has been found expedient sometimes to sow wheat without laying on any manure; and, in the beginning of February, to collect twenty bushels of lime, unslaked, for every acre, and forty bushels of sand, or the rubbish of a brick-kiln; then, about the end of the month, to slake the lime, which doubles the measure, and mix it well with the sand, and, immediately afterwards, to scatter it by way of top-dressing over the green wheat. As rain generally succeeds, it is soon washed down to the roots of the plants, and gives them a vigor and strength, which, to those who never made the experiment, is astonishing. The lime, sand, and rubbish, are particularly useful in breaking the tenacity of stiff clays. In a clay soil, where coal was very cheap, the clay was slightly burned in the field, and spread over the surface, as the cheapest way of subduing the coarseness and stiffness of the soil. The refuse or rubbish from mines in the neighborhood has been burned, and applied with advantage on the same principle.

1016. Approved method of sowing Wheat on narrow ridges.— The seedsman should walk up one side of the bed and down the other side, always keeping his face, and the hand with which he sows, towards the bed he is sowing; his eye must be continually on the edge of the opposite interfurrow, and deliver his seed principally on the side of the bed next to it: as he returns, the sides will of course be reversed, and the beds become evenly seeded.

1017. Great utility of sowing Buckwheat.-In light lands, buckwheat may be raised to great advantage, as a iucrative

crop. When green, it is a fine feed for milch-kine; and when ploughed, is a fine preparation for the land. It fattens pigs with great economy, and, passed through the mill, is, with carrot, a capital feed for work-horses. The seed is excellent food for poultry, and, when ground, makes good bread.

1018 To keep Crows from Corn.--Take a quart of train oil, and as much turpentine and bruised gunpowder; boil them together, and, when hot, dip pieces of rags in the mixture, and fix them on sticks in the field. About four are sufficient for an acre of corn. .

1019. Proper Soil for the Culture of Turnips.--Sandy loams, in good heart, are most favorable to their growth, though they will thrive well on strong loams, if they are not wet; but, on clayey, thin, or wet soils, they are not worth cultivating; for, though a good crop may be raised on such ground, when well prepared and dunged, more damage is done by taking off the turnips in winter, in poaching the soil, than the value of the crop will repay.

1020. Instructions for raising Potatoes to advantage.--The earth should be dug twelve inches deep, if the soil will allow it; after this, a hole should be opened about six inches deep, and horse-dung, or long-litter, should be put therein, about three inches thick; this hole should not be more than twelve inches diameter. Upon this dung or litter, a potato should be planted whole, upon which a little more dung should be shaken, and then the earth must be put thereon. In like manner, the whole plot of ground must be planted, taking care that the potatoes be at least sixteen inches apart. When the young shoots make their appearance, they should have fresh mould drawn round them with a hoe; and if the tender shoots are covered, it will prevent the frost from injuring them: they should again be earthed when the shoots make a second appearance, but not covered, as, in all probability, the season will be less severe.

A plentiful supply of mould should be given them; and the person who performs this business should never tread upon the plant, or the hillock that is raised round it, as the lighter the earth is, the more room the potato will have to expand.

A gentleman obtained from a single root, thus planted, very near forty pounds' weight of large potatoes; and, from almost

every other root upon the same plot of ground, from fifteen to twenty pounds' weight; and, except the soil be stony or gravelly, ten pounds, or half a peck, of potatoes, may almost be obtained from each root, by pursuing the foregoing method.

1021. Use of the Dandelion.-This is an excellent salad, and a good green. Where it grows as a weed, cover it early in the spring, with rotten tan, or decayed leaves; it will soon come up.

1022. Preparations for Carrots and other winged Seeds.Take two bushels of dry loamy earth, finely sifted; to which add one bushel of bran, and a sufficient quantity of carrot seed, cleaned from stalks, and well rubbed between the hands; all which thoroughly mix together, and drill (or sow). The carrot seed will stick to the bran, which, with the earth, will be regularly discharged.

1023. To raise a Salad quickly.—Steep lettuce-seed, mustard, cresses, &c., in aqua vitæ. Mix a little pigeon's dung with some mould, and powdered slacked lime. In forty-eight hours the salad will be produced.

1024. Important Discovery relative to the Preservation of Grain.-To preserve rye and secure it from insects and rats, nothing more is necessary than not to winnow it after it is thrashed, but merely separate it from the straw, and to stow it in the granaries, mixed with the chaff. In this state it has been kept for more than three years without experiencing the smallest alteration, and even without the necessity of being turned to preserve it from humidity and fermentation. Rats and mice may be prevented from entering the barn, by putting some wild vine or hedge plants upon the heaps; the smell of the wood is so offensive to these animals, that they will not approach it. The experiment has not yet been made with wheat and other kinds of grain, but they may probably be preserved in the chaff with equal advantage. It must however be observed, that the husks and corns of rye are different from most other grain. It has been sown near houses where many poultry were kept, for the purpose of bringing up a crop of grass, because the poultry do not destroy it, as they would have done wheat, oats, or even barley in the same situation.