THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 57 



excroraeijts, liquid and solid, treated and prepared in various ways, serve almost 

 entirely as their fertilizers. One writer says : "Human urine is, if possible, more 

 husbanded by the Chinese than night soil for manure ; every farm or patch of land 

 for cultivation has a tank, where all substances convertible into manure are care- 

 fully deposited, the whole made liquid by adding urine in the proportion reqtiired, 

 and invariably applied in that state. The business of collecting urine and nigbt- 

 soU. employs an immense number of persons, who deposit tubs in every house in 

 the cities for the reception of the urine of the inmates, which vessels are removed 

 daily with as much care as our farmers remove their honey from the hives.'' It 

 may be roughly estimated that the average urine passed by a cattle beast dail)' is 

 about two gallons, so that in the course of a twelvemonth each cattle beast would 

 pass from three to four tons of urine, the value of -which would be from £5 to £6 ; 

 and, in addition, a proportionate quantity and value of solid excrements, or in other 

 ■words, the total excrements, liquid and solid, obtained from a cattle beast in a year 

 would be worth from £8 to £10. Thus, supposing the case of a farmer with an 

 average stock of cattle during the year of 50 head, he would collect from 150 to 

 200 tons of urine per annum, showing a value of £200 to £300. Of course a very 

 large proportion of this would go direct to the soil during the time the cattle were upon 

 the grass ; still it is not over-estimating the value of that which can be collected, 

 taking into account the urine from the horses and other animals on the farm, to say 

 that, provided the whole urine could be collected, the quantity would represent a 

 value, say, of £100, or even more. Of course, as it is at present, nothing like 

 the whole of this is lost, a great part being absorbed in the court bedding. In 

 open courts a very large proportion is of necessity lost, being washed away by the 

 rain. In covered courts, however, there is also a large proportion lost by eva- 

 poration. Perhaps the most economical plan would be to have the covered courts 

 properly paved, with charnels conducting to a tank or reservoir where the urine 

 would collect. These tanks would, of course, then be emptied from time to time, 

 and applied to the soil as required. 



Without going very minutely and at length into the details, it would be impos- 

 sible to give practical hints further upon this matter, but it would be well to state 

 that it would also be a great saving were the courts from time to tiice to be sprinkled 

 with vitriol. This could be done very simply by means of a common watering-pan. 

 The ammonia fumes caused by evaporation would thereby be fixed, and, as a matter 

 of course, the loss of the most valuable and important ingrediect of the urine pre- 

 vented. The sprinkling of the courts with vitriol would also have a very beneficial 

 and important effect, as it would keep the courts much sweeter, and therefore tend 

 to preserve in better lio.ilththe animals in the court. The vitriol would require to be 

 used only sparingly, and diluted with water before application. It may also be 

 worth while to state that the fumes arising from the manure in the courts have a 

 peculiar chemical action, which is injurious to the stone and lime, and in course of 

 time would destroy them. The sprinkling of vitriol from time to time on the courts, 

 as above explained, would to a great extent check this. In connection uiiii these 

 remarks, it may be of advantage to bear in mind that, in turning the dunghills, 

 there must of necessity be a great loss of ammonia by evaporation. This loss can 

 easily be entirely prevented by the use of vitriol sprinkled during the time the heap 

 is being turned. In conclusion, Mr. Mitchell said that there was poetry to be found 

 even in a manure heap, and so Pope, one of our greatest English poets, could write — 



" See dying vegetables life sustain, 

 See life dissolving vegetate again ; 

 All forms tliat perish other forms supply, 

 By turns they catch the vital breath and die," 



Leaves fou Gaknishing in Pakis. — Among the minor horticultural indus- 

 tries of Paris may be mentioned, says M. Mayer de Jouhe in the Revue Horticole, 

 the sale in large quantities of leaves for garnishing purposes. They consist of ferns, 

 chestnuts, lilacs, maples, nuts, elms, poplars, and especially of the vine, and are 

 used for decorative porposes, garnishing dishes, and the like. Large quantities of 

 bramble leaves are also used, in spite of their prickles, during the winter season, 

 when they are still to be found in the woods near Paris. The leaves are collected 

 into little packets, slightly pressed, and sold by hundreds of thousands in the Paris 

 markets. 



February. 



