AGRICULTURE. 



as much marl, turf, dry mud, loam, and 

 other applicable articles, us will cover its 



to tin- depth of Uvchc; inches. 



be- many hog-houses, stables, and 

 ,sed into the yard, 



on such spots these materials should be 

 s-pread more thickly. .Bog- peats, if near 

 nt hand, should never be neglected. 

 - may be regarded as vegeta- 

 ble dunghills, and tlieir easy accessibility 

 in this connection will be regarded as of 



i- utility and consequence. Before 



ng is begun, the whole yard 



be well littered, for which stuh- 

 ble, fern, and leaves, are well adapted. 

 No money laid out by the farmer is more 



and successfully expended, than 

 that which he employs in procuring, at a 

 reasonable rate, great quantities of litter, 

 by which his cattle are enabled to lie dry 

 and warm, and the mass of manure which 

 he raises is much larger and cheaper 

 than he could procure in any other mode. 

 Fern abounds in alkaline salts, and must 

 therefore obviously produce very valua- 

 ble dung: it requires, however, to be 

 rotted well, and is more difficult to be so 

 ihan straw. In woodlands, leaves may be 

 collected at slight expcnce, and will make 

 admirable litter and dung. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of marshes, rushes, flags, and 



grass, may all be easily procured, 

 and will be exceedingly serviceable. 

 After these exertions and preparations, 

 ihe farmer must strictly confine his cattle 

 during the winter, not by tying them, as 

 some have done, but, so as completely to 

 prevent their roaming in the adjoining 

 postures. By thus confining all the cat- 

 tle upon straw, ami turnips, and hay, as 

 may be requisite, the necessary quantity 

 of animal manure will be obtained to 

 ;he compost of the several ingredi- 

 ents ferment, rot, and turn to rich ma- 

 nure, while without these animal materi- 

 ils, the heap might be large, but would 

 be of little value, '['he draining from the 

 yard should never run to v. aMe, and, un- 

 less in cMraordinaiy cases, sucl 

 tremely violent rains, this may be easily 



ited. An excellent method for this 

 purpose is the sinking a \\ell in the low- 

 er part of the \ard to fix a pump in ; by 

 which the water ma\ hi conveyed along 

 trough to a large hi-ap of marl, turf, 

 i h:\lk, and oth-r appropriate materials, 

 \\hich, by a daily application of this li- 

 quor, will he of little less value eventu- 

 ally than a heap of dung of the same 

 si/.e. 



If the dung remains under water, pu- 

 trefaction is stopped ; this, therefore, 



.should be carefully guarded against. 

 Stirringthe dung should also be :i\ 

 as t!ie oils and alkaline salts are tin: 

 ried off into the atmosphere, and '.- is not 

 rottenness that is wanted, and 

 particularly that dry rottenness thus pro- 

 duced, but such as exhibits afat, oily, mu- 

 cilaginous appearance. It will be advisa- 

 ble, if practicable, to let it remain in the 

 yard unmoved, till the ground it is destin- 

 ed for is completely ready for its recep- 

 tion. If, for want of room in the yard, 

 it must be carted off' into the field, le* 

 the litter and the marl be well mixed in 

 filling the cart, and let the whole form, 

 under the shade of trees, if an opportu- 

 nity be afforded for it, a heap of about 

 four feet in thickness. 



The dung raised even by a few sheep 

 in a standing fold, under a shed construct- 

 ed expressly for the purpose, (for the 

 trouble and expence of one comp< 

 hurdles will overbalance its profits, un- 

 less upon a very large scale) is a consider- 

 able object, while the sheep under it arc 

 at the same time warm and comfortable, 

 instead of being exposed to driving rains 

 and snow. 



Animal substances are very far prefer- 

 able as manures to fossil or vegetable 

 ones. Woollen rags, hog's hair, horn 

 shavings, the offal of butcher's and fish- 

 monger's stalls, may be obtained in large 

 cities, and, whenevcrreasonably tobe pro- 

 cured, should be eagerly caught at. With 

 regard to the dung of animals, that of 

 sheep is unquestionably the best. That 

 of horses fed upon corn and hay is justU 

 preferred to that of fatting cattle, which. 

 however, is greatly superior to that of lean 

 cattle, and particularly of cows, though 

 they may feed upon turnips. 



The practice of paring and burning is 

 pronounced by men of great philosophi- 

 cal sagacity and research, and \\1. 

 justh referred more to pnn 

 than to theoretical reasonings, to be ot 

 the most decided advantage in the pre- 

 paration of land. It maybe 

 as .1 praruec safe <n am se.il, as in some 

 -;ir\. That which 

 f all requires it, and which it '- 

 impossible by am other mei.ns to pulvi - 

 ri/.e, is what consists of moss, ms' 

 all kinds ot l should be 



i moor and heath-lit Ids, on ac- 

 count of the roots of tl.' naming 

 in it, which ubborn and dura- 

 1 which . heck tin- growth of corn, 

 turnips, and ntlu ; --. by depriv- 

 ing the m of a certain portion of nourish- 

 ment They serve likewise as a harbour 



