50 WALL'S MANTTA r, 



hills and hill sides so badly treated as to become* 

 nearly barren of vegetation on the surface, and the 

 soil itself so sharp and sandy as scarcely to show a 

 vestige of vegetable matter ; but upon the applica- 

 tion of muck and . manure, muck and ashes, or muck 

 and lime composts, at the rate of fifteen to twenty 

 wagon loads per acre,, to produce again as liberal 

 crops as they did before their original fertility became 

 exhausted. 



As to the quantity of muck tobe applied to the 

 acre, depends much on the circumstances of each 

 case no definite rule can be laid down. It may be 

 observed, however, that very large accumulations of 

 muck are not desirable on uplands. Ten or twelve 

 per cent, of the soil would be more beneficial than a 

 larger quantity. That amount, with the presence of 

 proper salts in the soil, would supply the plants as 

 well as if the quantity were indefinitely increased. 



The time will come when the farmer will look upon 

 muck, or vegetable mold, as one of the most valuable 

 agents Nature has bestowed upon mankind. It will 

 be the most economical, and, next to charcoal dust, 

 the best absorbent '-to use in his stables, barns, sties, 

 sinks, reservoirs and cellars ; indeed it cannot be 

 dispensed with and leave any hope of profitable 

 farming. Steaming manure heaps should be covered 

 with it, to absorb^the gases ; floors of horse- stalls 

 should be sprinkled with it, as it readily absorbs 

 ammonia, and renders the air clastic and pure. 



Leibig, the great German chemist, said he could 

 judge of the commercial prosperity of a nation by the 

 quantity of sulphuric acid it consumed ;. and Mr. Pusey, 

 a member of the British Parliament, said it was a good 



