122 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



as possible before it is turned in by the plough. A generous applica- 

 tion, regulated bj" the condition of the land, insures a good crop of 

 corn or potatoes the next season, without putting manure in the hill 

 at the time of planting. 



Have used nitrous earth, taken from under an old barn to the depth 

 of a foot, for corn ; thought it superior to stable dung. 



Have used muck pretty extensively for a few years. Have applied 

 it green to the land (loamy and gravelly) at the rate of 80 loads to 

 the acre, with no apparent benefit the first year ; but as it became de- 

 composed and mingled with the soil by frequent ploughings, found it 

 was an improvement to the soil, which became '"lively." The best 

 way I have to use muck is, to dig it and let it lay on dry ground through 

 the winter, so as to freeze thoroughly, Avhen it becomes fine. It is 

 then fit to use as an absorbent for the dung and urine of the barn and 

 hog-pen. I use five or six loads of muck (if the season is so that I 

 can get it) during the season, for each hog or horned creature kept on 

 the premises." 



FROM J. S. MUKCH. 



"Within a few years, many of the fiirmers of Dayton, have been 

 in the practice of hauling muck and soils from the highways into their 

 yards and composting to good advantage. A few have constructed 

 barn cellars, which they think of great benefit to their manure, and 

 deem the advantage greatly to exceed the outlay. 



Some farmers are in the habit of using their manures in a green 

 state, by spreading and ploughing or harrowing it in. If not used in 

 a green state, it should, by all means, be composted, as the sun, rains 

 and air will take away a large portion of their value. There is too 

 much neglect on this point, among the cultivators of the soil. 



It would be impossible for me to tell, and therefore I will not 

 undertake it, how much increase in the value of manures might be 

 made and saved on o\ir farms, by reasonable care and labor ; but I 

 dare say more tha,n one hundred per cent., by means of composting 

 muck, top-soil, clay or sand, with our manures. By placing these 

 ingredients in situations to take the liquids from our barn-yards and 

 stables, under hen roosts, and all such places, they will soon acquire 

 a richness that will render them very valuable. The wash of the 

 sink, if properly managed, is capable of enriching a large quantity of 

 material for manure. 



Swine, if supplied with materials, will manufacture a large quantity 

 of manure. Refuse hay, weeds, leaves, and leaf mould from tlie 

 woods, and almost everything that will rot, are very valuable additions 



