THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



525 



is complete. Water is only a vehicle for removing it out of 

 sight, and off the premises. It neither absorbs, nor 

 effectually deodorises. It rather, both in cesspools and in 

 Bevvers, aggravates the offeusiveness of the fermentation 

 which soon sets in, and is often repeated; and further, it 

 dilutes and wastes a most valuable manure. Whereas dried 

 surface-earth both absorbs and deodorizes the most offensive 

 mattei-, and that almost instantaneously ; and under sacli 

 circumstances as those narrated, it seems to preserve its 

 full value for agricultural purposes. One experienced 

 farmer who has visited my garden, is so fully satisfied of 

 this, that within a fortnight he prepared a shed that he 

 might pursue the same course. 



"An assistant of Professor Way inspected the seven 

 months' heap last November, a few hours after the earth 

 liad been again mixed with those other materials for the 

 fifth time. He handled it, and smelt it, without discovering 

 the slightest offence ; and took some away with him in a 

 deal-box with a loose cover tied only by a string in brown 

 paper, and in his carpet-bag." 



With these facts before them there was every encourage- 

 ment to adopt an improved method of collecting and mix- 

 ing the manure, which had this additional recommendation, 

 that it was always at hand, and could be used when it was 

 wanted. If that were feasible, they had discovered the 

 best method of deodorising, and found out what might be 

 called the philosopher's stone. By the present system of 

 sewers every thing was carried away into the river, but Mr. 

 Mechi's plan was to divert it over the land, which he had 

 done with good result, and it might be done where the na- 

 tural fall permitted it, but at the same time much of the 

 manuring qualities was dissipated in the water. They had 

 heard of numbers of acres near large towns being benefited 

 in this way, but great waste attended it, as was evident from 

 the fact that the sewage of Edinburgh manured only about 

 300 acres, which showed that there must be an immense 

 loss in the strength of the manure by evaporation and the 

 mixture of water. Although they had thus to deal with an 

 immense quantity of water, still this plan was better than 

 doing nothing. Men were too apt to conceal the results of 

 their experiments, particularly if they were successful, and 

 a friend of his, connected with a Nobleman who used night- 

 soil lai'gely, told him that he did not want the results known, 

 as others then would take it |np. Various modes of de- 

 odorising the manure had been tried at Leicester and Chel- 

 tenham, but they had not answered, because they accumu- 

 lated the material. One great mistake which Boards of 

 Health made was to compel people to do away with cess- 

 pools, and turn all the sewers into the rivers. He could say a 

 great deal more upon this subject, but he recommended 

 the Oxford Farmers' Club to take the matter up and dis- 

 cuss it fully, and he should be happy to co-operate with 

 them. He had found that it would not do to mix lime 

 with the manure, but that gj'psum or gas-tar might be mixed 

 with it to advantage, A friend of his in London mixed the 

 night-soil with road-scrapings, and sent it away in a liquid 

 state to Kent for the hop growers, and used to export it to 

 Scotland. He recommended this Club to offer prizes for 

 the best Essay on the subject, and as his object was not to 

 benefit agriculture only but the health of towns and the 

 well-being of all classes, he should be happy to give a prize 

 of £5 (Much applause). He found it diflScult to get atten- 

 tion to the subject, notwithstanding that they spent 7i 

 millions of money on the sewers in London, when the con- 

 tents of them might be made serviceable to the land. The 

 people at Manchester sold their manure for upwards of 



;£6,000, and though the expenses amounted to i' 16,000, 

 ihey had cleansed 31,000 houses and increased the pro- 

 ductions of the land. England did not keep pace with 

 the population, and though they congratulated themselves 

 on the advancement of agriculture, they were not able to 

 feed the people. Once they were an exporting people, but 

 now they imported 1-2,000,000 quarters of corn, and had 

 already sent to their colonies upwards of 4,000,000 of 

 people — a nation, it might be said. The population of 

 Ireland was much less than it was twenty years ago, and 

 yet they could not grow sufficient to feed the people who 

 remained behind. They exported [at the rate of 200,000 

 people a year, and yet they were obliged to purchase 

 8,000,000 quarters of corn, and therefore, while they con- 

 tinued to waste the manure of the country, they would not 

 be able to keep pace with the population. By making a 

 proper use of the manure which they had at their com- 

 mand, they would greatly increase the producing powers 

 of the whole kingdom, and make many a barren field 

 yield an abundant crop. Mr. Clarke resumed his seat amid 

 much applause. 



The Rev. Mr. Clutterduck had listened with great 

 pleasure to what bad fallen from Mr. Clarke, for it was a 

 subject of very gi-eat importance to agriculture, and there 

 was much truth in the old saying, " Muck is the mother of 

 meal." With respect to the arrangements in France, alluded 

 to by Mr, Clarke, he (Mr. Clutterbuck) had witnessed the 

 same in Algeria. He had observed at Nice, where he spent 

 a winter, that in the vineyards there were facilities afforded 

 for the collection of night-soil. Experiments had been made 

 at Watford for utiUzing night-soil, which was collected in 

 tanks, and the Earl of Essex paid £bO a year to be allowed 

 the privilege of having the sewerage into his tanks, and it 

 was then pumped over his park with great success. The 

 strength of the manure was very much lessened by its being 

 mixed with water, as in the case of sewers ; and when it was 

 borne in mind that 60,000,000 gallons of water were supplied 

 by the Water Companies in London, besides the fall of rain, 

 they might judge in what a dilated state it was when it 

 reached the Thames. With regard to the use of night-soil, 

 he believed that when it was mixed with road scrapings it 

 became very beneficial to the land, and he tried it upon a 

 piece which would bear nothing, not even a mangold, and 

 now it yielded a good crop. Mr. Clutterbuck suggested that 

 Mr. Clarke should submit some drawings and plans, as to 

 the best mode of earring out what he had recommended, 

 and concluded by moving a vote of thanks to that gentleman 

 for the able and lucid manner in which he had brought 

 forward this subject. 



The PitEsroENT supported the motion; and bore his tes- 

 timony that one load of night-soil was worth ten of any other 

 manure, and so satisfied was he with his experience of it 

 that he was open to purchase it to almost any extent. 



Mr. Alderman Towle remarked that the system which 

 Mr, Clarke had witnessed in France, and recommended to 

 be adopted here, had for many years been acted upon in 

 Nottingham, Derby, Mansfield, Chester, and other places la 

 the North, where the privies were built so as to combine 

 with them the ash-heap. He condemned the system of 

 deodorising the manure in any other way, and thought that 

 the error which people had fallen into was in using the 

 manure too strong. 



Mr. Williams (of Northcourt) urged upon them the 

 necessity of bearing in mind this fact, that they should endear • 

 vour to return to the land what had been taken from it. He 

 had tested the value of nightsoil as a manure, by having 



