VALUE OF NIGHT-SOIL. 173 



most distinguished in agricultural science, rising above the 

 prejudice of the times, and largely utilizing night-soil. 

 France and Belgium share this honor between them, and 

 have taught the rest of the civilized world, not only the value 

 of this manure, but how to bring it into use. That its use 

 in England was so long delaj'-ed by agriculturists who have 

 been foremost in all scientific discoveries and improvements 

 in the art, as well as in crops, in feeding, and in stock-raising, 

 can only be attributed to the force of prejudice and a 

 squeamishness out of place in the practice of husbandry. 

 Its introduction into this country as an article of commerce, 

 leading to the popular use of the crude material, is due to the 

 late Anthony Dey, an agriculturist and lawyer who practised 

 in the city of New York in the early part of the present cen- 

 tury. Having taken a leaf from the book of the French 

 agriculturists, he established on the banks of the Hacken- 

 s'ack, in the meadows remote from all habitations, a factory 

 to utilize the products of the sinks of the city of New York, 

 which in those days, before the introduction of Croton 

 water, was an intolerable nuisance, which was got rid of sub 

 noete by dumping it into the rivers. The business exists 

 there to this day ; and the farmers of old Bergen and Hudson 

 Counties will attest to how their corn-fields have been glad- 

 dened by the use of " poudrette," or, as they called it, " pow- 

 derette." 



Now, passing from the liistory of its use, let us con- 

 sider, Second^ Its value. This consideration will require that 

 we look first at the analysis of its constituents. These we 

 find, according to Berzelius (the most generally quoted 

 authority) to be as follows : — 



Human Excrements. 



Remains of food 7.0 



Bile 0.9 



Albumen 0.9 



A peculiar extractive matter 2.7 



Indeterminate animal matter, viscous matter, resin, and an insolu- 

 ble residuum 14.0 



Salts 1.2 



Water 73.3 



100.0 



