66 [Senate 



who have adverted to this topic. Thus Dr. Leiber, in his German 

 Conversationes Lexicon, defines manure to be " vegetable, animal and 

 mineral matters, introduced into the soil to accelerate vegetation, and 

 increase the production of crops." The Encyclopedia, published by 

 the London Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge, thus 

 defines it: — " Every substance which has been used to improve the 

 natural soil, or to restore to it the fertility which is diminished by the 

 crops annually carried away, has been included in the name of ma- 

 nure." Loudon, in his great work on Agriculture, says — " Every 

 species of matter capable of promoting the growth of vegetables, may 

 be considered as manure." Prof. Low, in his Elements of Agricul- 

 ture, says — " All substances which, when mixed with the matter of 

 the soil, tend to fertilize it, are in common language termed ma- 

 nures." Mr. Johnson, in his " Farmers' Encyclopedia," lately pub- 

 lished, says — " A manure may be defined to be any fertilizing com- 

 pound or simple ingredient added to a soil, of which it is naturally 

 deficient." The definitions of Prof. Liebigand Dr. Dana, two of the 

 latest writers on the subject, do not differ essentially from those al- 

 ready given. Of these definitions, I prefer the most simple and com- 

 prehensive, that of Loudon, and in this paper shall consider the term 

 manure, as embracing every substance capable of promoting the 

 growth of plants. 



Manures, by some, are classed as earthy, organic and saline; others 

 divide them into animal and vegetable, mineral and mixed manures, 

 ciassifica- ^""^ some speak of them as composed only of geine or hu- 



tion. mus and salts. Others class them as organic and inorgan- 

 ic; but these divisions are of little consequence, as every farmer un- 

 derstands that manure is the result of decomposition or change; and 

 that, whether organic, that is, derived from animal or vegetable mat- 

 ter; or inorganic, such as the earths, clay, lime, the alkalies, &c., it is 

 only efl&cient when presented to plants in certain forms, such as de- 

 composition, division or solution. In France, they have terms to dis- 

 tinguish those siibstances which act mechanically in improving the 

 texture of the soil, from those which act directly in the nourishment 

 of the plant. The former class of substances they call amendements, 

 and the latter ones engrais. It is probable, however, that the system 

 which considers all manures as consisting of humus or geine, and 

 salts, comprehending, in the latter term, all the mineral substances 

 that enter into the growth or nourishment of vegetables, will eventu- 



