Salt As A Manure

Many of our readers, doubtless, have a small pasture in which they keep a cow and occasionally turn a horse. Many of these pastures have coarse grasses growing in them, while in other places the grass dries up quickly on approach of warm and dry weather. All such pastures will be greatly improved, and often the coarse grasses will entirely disappear, if a harrow is passed freely over back and forth during this month, and salt at the rate of eight to ten bushels to the acre be spread over the ground.

Salt As A Remedy For Pear Blight

Thanks, Viticola. My pears are mostly dwarfs; and with the belief that salt is one of the agents to success where the quince root is used, I have used it. I am now thinking of dressing my orchard with bone meal, salt, and plaster - say, tor the acre, one bushel of plaster, four bushels of salt, and four bushels of bone meal. What do you think of it ? Reuben.

Salt For Asparagus

We have no doubt of the value of salt for asparagus, but it may be overdone. The best way is to sow a little at a time, and frequently, say from the 1st of March once in two weeks, until June or July. This will be somewhat after nature's dressing by the salt waves and spray on the sea-shore, where it is a native, as each rain will tend to dissolve the sowing.

Salt For Pear Tree

The result of an experiment is thus reported by a horticulturist: " Last spring I put a small shovelful of the refuse material from the salt works, which is composed, I believe, of salt, lime and ashes, around a four year old pear tree. It has made a very thrifty growth, and the leaves are all free from blight or spot, and have a very glossy, healthy look; while others of the same lot, manured with-barnyard manure, have grown but little, and the foliage is spotted and dull. Now, if no ill effect may be attributed to the barnyard manure, it would seem that the difference in these trees was owing to the salt."

Salt For Quince Stocks

Question - Has the use of Salt been found to be beneficial to Quince stocks, or to Plum trees?

Geo. Ellwanger had applied salt to pear and plum trees, and found it produced a wonderful effect; would apply six or eight barrels to the acre - would use as much as a peck for a large tree, as large as a large apple tree. Uses it in February. Puts enough on to make the ground white.

C. Downing thought salt good for all vegetation, but it would do no good to kill insects.

W. P. Townsend had used salt for many years with the best results, for quince trees.

Dr. Sylvester said there was a limit to the use of salt - it must not be used in excessive quantities.

Salt For Strawberries

D. Stewart, of Upper Alton, 111., believes in salt. He says:

" I believe in it as a heavy dressing. I find on manuring the ground that I have applied salt to strawberries at the rate of thirteen and a half bushels to the acre. I did this early in the season, to kill the' beetles, and the leaves of the strawberries were not injured. The cut-worms were doing great damage to my asparagus beds, eating into the crowns of the plants; and I applied salt at the rate of twenty bushels to the acre. I consider salt as a perfect remedy against many injurious insects, as well as an excellent manure for the land.