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On covered earth as a Manure, By Wm, JFebb. 



Read November 18th, 1823. 



It is a matter of great importance to the farmer, to 

 obtain an additional substance with which to enrich his 

 land, especially since plaster sometimes fails to produce 

 the effect it formerly did. The want of wood to burn 

 lime with some persons, and the want of lime stone with 

 others, prevent lime from being used by all. Stable 

 manure is then the only resource many farmers have, to 

 depend on, to make their land productive. 



The luxuriant vegetation that generally appeared in 

 1823, has been remarked by many for producing extra- 

 ordinary crops of grass and grain, particularly of Indian 

 corn. For this luxuriance, a better reason, perhaps, can- 

 not be assigned, than that of the ^jrreat drought there was in 

 the preceding year. During the long continuance of the 

 dry weather, it is believed, that the earth imbibed from 

 the atmosphere a large supply of food for vegetables. 

 The writer is acquainted with two cases where earth 

 which had been hmg sheltered from rain, was put on 

 land, more for the purpose of getting it out of the way, 

 than for any prospect of its fertilising property, which 

 produced great fertility ; in one case, for ten or twelve 

 years ; the other case is in the third or fourth year of its 

 operation. In England, it is said, that earth obtained 

 by pulverising the walls of decayed clay cottages, and 

 put on land, as a top dressing, is very fertilising. These 

 circumstances are scarcely sufficient to induce some far- 

 mer to make a trial on a small scale, by putting some 

 ground under cover, least exposed to the air, where it 

 should remain some time. By keeping an account of 



