152 CHEMICO-AGRICULTURAL TOUR. 



torn and sides rendered water-tight with cement, is generally built 

 under the stable or byre, so that the liquid excrements of the ani- 

 mals can easily flow into it ; and by means of an aperture outside 

 the steadings, the liquid can be readily removed at any time by 

 means of a pump or ladle, when required. 



Night-soil, which we sufiCer in great part to go to waste, by al- 

 lowing it to be carried down into our rivers, rendering them more 

 or less impure and unfit for many domestic purposes, is held in 

 high esteem by the Flemish agriculturists, and the saving and col- 

 lecting of it form a material point in their rural economy ; and they 

 even go to considerable expense to obtain from the neighboring 

 towns additional supplies of that substance, which are brought to 

 them in peculiar carts or barrels constructed for that purpose. 



This night-soil they apply as manure, either in the state they re- 

 ceive it, or after having first mixed it with water and rape-cake ; 

 and when so prepared, it forms what they term "d'engrais fla- 

 mand," which manure is employed chiefly in the cultivation of 

 their industrial plants, as, for example, flax, colza, tobacco, and 

 hops, which are most extensively grown in different parts of Flan- 

 ders. 



Two different methods are adopted^in the application of liquid 

 manure, viz : it is either applied directly to the stem and roots of 

 the plants, or it is diffused generally over the soil, where they are 

 either growing, or intended to be grown ; and the employment of 

 either of those methods depends on the nature of the plant under 

 cultivation, and the season of the year. 



Different simple arrangements are adopted for the distribution 

 of the liquid manure, which is brought to the field in barrels, or 

 peculiar carts constructed for that purpose ; the following is one of 

 those which is much eniployed in some districts : a cask or barrel, 

 having an aperture in its top and bottom, which can be opened by 

 drawing a string, is placed on a frame to which wheels are at- 

 tached, so that it can be drawn by a horse ; the person who is 

 distributing the manure sits on horseback, and when he comes to 

 where he wishes to apply it, he has only to pull the string, and the 

 liquid flows out of the lower aperture against a flat board placed 

 in front of it ; and by this simple contrivance the manure is spread 

 evenly over a space of several feet, though issuing from one aper- 

 ture, and the quantity which is applied is regulated by the rate at 

 which the horse is made to move. 



