THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



409 



getting mossy and thick by the spring of the year, 

 through not being properly fed, the young grass is 

 prevented getting through it, and the scythe can- 

 not get to the bottom of it ; so that you lose an 

 inch or more in depth of hay, which is certainly a 

 loss to the farmer. As I before stated, I tried the 

 system as an experiment, and found it just as I 

 have stated to you, and I have never done it since. 

 My usual plan is to begin dung-carting about Octo - 

 ber, and get it all on before Christmas ; it then has 

 all the benefit of the frost and severe weather, which 

 makes it decay more rapidly, and tends, in a great 

 measure, to preserve the young grasses from the 

 inclemency of the season; and here let me say that 

 I prefer the dung for meadows just as it comes 

 from the stable or yard (with the long straw taken 

 from it), without any fermentation, as the dung 

 from stables, or from yards where stock has any 

 hay for feed, contains a small amount of clover, 

 and other hay seeds, which are destroyed by fer- 

 mentation, but which, by the dung going out fresh, 

 vegetates, and so replenishes the meadows with 

 plants, and thus saves the expense of sowing seeds, 

 which is required ; and, likewise, the fresh dung 

 restores to the ground so much more valuable 

 manuring elements, than with the rotten dung 

 which is usually applied. Ordinary farm-yard and 

 stable dung contains a large amount of nitrogen, 

 which, during the putrefaction of the dung, 

 changes into ammonia ; and other volatile combina- 

 tions, such as sulphur and phosphorus (or sulphu- 

 reted hydrogen), are likewise generated ; these, 

 in the process of putrefaction, escape into the air, 

 and are thereby lost to the ground to a great ex- 

 tent (for Nature performs what man will not do, 

 by restoring to the ground, in every shower of rain 

 that falls, much of the gases and volatile salts 

 which we allow to escape into the air) ; whereas, 

 by putting the manure fresh on the ground, putre- 

 faction takes place in the earth, and the earth, like 

 all other porous bodies, has the power of absorp- 

 tion, and it is by this power that the gas and 

 other volatile substances set at liberty, are retained 

 in the soil until taken up by the roots of the plants. 

 But where it is not practicable to supply fresh 

 manure, either from want of a proper supply when 

 required, or other causes, then the farmer should 

 take care that he loses none of the valuable por- 

 tion of the manure during its fermentation ; the 

 prevention is very simple, and yet how many 

 neglect the means, and not only injure their farms, 

 but also their pockets ! How often do we see a 

 large heap of dung smoking, and filling the air 

 around with a disagreeable vapour, and affecting 

 the olfactory nerves of every passer-by, unless it be 

 the farmer himself, and he will exclaim, " Oh, I 

 like that smell, it shows it is good." What is the 

 cause of that smell ? Why, the evaporation from 

 that heap, of the gases, and the real wealth of that 

 heap. Aye, gentlemen, and the evaporation, too, 

 from that farmer's pocket, of a great deal of his 

 wealth, and I will try and explain it to you. One 

 ton of fresh dung usually contains 8 lbs. of nitro- 

 gen 'hat ton, by lying some httle time, say two 

 months, will reduce to 15 cwts., and if it comes to 

 lie till thoroughly decomposed, will be reduced 

 quite half. Now, from the first loss in the bulk 



there will be at least from 2 to 3 lbs. of the nitro- 

 gen lost, and during the last evaporation the 10 

 cwt. will be found to contain not above 2 lbs. of 

 nitrogen, and very often nothing at all. So that 

 although a load of the last-named manure may 

 seem to be of much greater value to the ground, 

 and will, notwithstanding the loss it has sustained, 

 do more good, yet, putting the value of the one 

 with the other, which is the cheapest ? Suppose a 

 load of fresh manure to be worth 5s., then a load 

 of the other will cost 10s., since two loads of the 

 fresh are required to form one of the decomposed, 

 without any calculation of the value of the loss 

 sustained by the volatihzation of the enriching and 

 manuring elements. But many of you may say, "It 

 is all very well to talk about such thmgs, but how 

 are we to prevent it ?" Gentlemen farmers, who 

 have plenty of money, may do many things ; but 

 the farmers cannot afford to be at all this expense 

 and trouble with their manure. Ah, gentlemen, 

 if you only knew what you lost in the course of a 

 year you would be astonished, and which might be 

 avoided by a trifling outlay. There are several 

 simple means, and I will give you two or three 

 useful methods, and one of the best is to put your 

 dung into a heap and keep it close together, and 

 as soon as it begins to steam take some sulphuric 

 acid, and mix at the rate of one pint to about 15 

 pints of water, and with an ordinary watering-pot 

 well sprinkle the heap, which will soon stop the 

 fermentation and fix the ammonia in the heap, and 

 prevent its escape, besides greatly adding to the 

 value of the dung, as the sulphuric acid with the 

 ammonia forms sulphate of ammonia, a manure 

 which every practical farmer well knows the value 

 of. Gypsum, likewise, sprinkled in layers with the 

 dung will also answer the same purpose, the sul- 

 phuric acid in the gypsum acting the same way ; 

 and another way which it is in the power of all 

 without any expense except labour (which many 

 of you do not estimate, although I think differently, 

 as I think it the dearest part belonging to a farm) 

 is to put a good covering of mould over the mixen, 

 or, what is better still, in each yard in thickness of 

 the heap lay on a thin coat of mould. The advan- 

 tage of this is easily seen : when the dung begins to 

 ferment, the gases rise, and are thereby absorbed 

 by each layer of earth, so that you get your dung 

 more even in quality than when your mould is all 

 on the top, and there is no fear of any loss by 

 evaporation. Such, gentlemen, are a few simple 

 practical means of enriching your manure, or, I 

 should say, preventing the deterioration of it, and 

 they are within the reach of all of you, and I trust 

 that many of you who do not avail yourselves of 

 these remedies now may ere long do so. And 

 now, gentlemen, I come to the subject of artificial 

 manure in connection with meadow land, and I 

 must say, from my connection with them, I na- 

 turally feel some little diffidence in entering upon 

 the subject; yet knowing the indulgence shown by 

 you to all who address you, and the kind spirit in 

 which their communications are received, I am cer- 

 tain you will not impute to me any other motives 

 but those of a desire to be instructive to you ; and 

 in the first place, with respect to artificial manures, 

 let me impress upon you the absolute necessity of 



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