MANURES. 77 



guished writer on the character and improvement of 

 soils, etc, says : t; Fortunately, we are provided, in the 

 dung of animals, with a species of manure of which the 

 land can never be said to tire, for this simple reason that 

 it contains within itself not one alone, b;it all the ingre- 

 dients which plants require for their nutrition, and that, 

 too, existing in the precise condition in which they are 

 most readily taken in and assimilated." But a good sub- 

 stitute for this article, where it cannot be obtained, is an 

 important point. Some time ago, we noticed in the re- 

 port of a discussion on manures in Boston,. that the Hon. 

 M. P. Wilder, one of the most distinguished horticultu- 

 rists in America, stated that he had found the following 

 compost equal to stable manure for gardening purposes 

 generally, and for fruit trees. 



" One cord of meadow muck, having been exposed to 

 the action of the air and frost at least one year ; twelve 

 bushels leached ashes ; six bushels crushed bones. This 

 mixture cost him at the rate of $4.50 cents per cord. 

 Latterly, he added to this his stable manure, and about 

 an eighth of the whole bulk of fine refuse charcoal from 

 the depot of venders, which was delivered to him at $5 

 per cord ; and in this way he found it the best, as a gen- 

 eral manure, he had ever used. On fruit trees its effect 

 was remarkable. 



" In the spring of 1847, he planted a square in the nur- 

 sery with imported trees from England, this compost hav- 

 ing been spread and plowed in. These tre.es were from 

 four to five feet in height, and although it is not usual 

 for trees to make a large growth the first year, they ac- 

 quired branches of three to four feet. 



" In June last, which is very late to set out trees, he 

 prepared another square on rather poor land, and planted 

 trees just received from England upon it. The soil had 

 been thrown up to the frost the previous winter, and the 

 compost here was applied in the trenches, near the roots. 



