THE FARMERS' R EG I S f E R . 



Vol. V. 



AUGUST 1, 1S37. 



No. 4. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOU AND PROPHIETOR. 



From tlie Libiary of L'scCul Kiiowltdsje— Farmers' Scries. 



misckm.a:^eous hjanures — clay — sawu — 



rOAD, lilVKK, AND SKA MUD. 



Clay. 



Such frequenf. allusion ha.'' bpen already made lo 

 the, expeilieric.y of mixiiiu; togiMlier dilicMviU soils 

 of a ririi-l<e>l (•,!mr.ii!ier, as a means oT aniehora- 

 tin»riheirdi.s;iiiL'l qualities, that it is unnecossary 

 to repeat that ri'i-oaimeiidation, whenever ii can 

 be carried in'o elfect wiiii maderale expense.— 

 This advanuige is in no ease rii'ire fully eviiii;ed 

 than by layinir clay upon sand lands, wheiher 

 they be of the red, rich, or more valuaaledesciip- 

 tioMS, or those, ol'an inferior quality, which usually 

 conniin a |)ortion of moor and white sand. On 

 the farmer, about 50 Ions per acre will efiect a 

 vast improvement ; but, the latter are seldom 

 bmuirht into a fertile state with less than Irehle 

 that quamify. Tlie most eliuible period to a[)ply 

 it, is in the autumn, or early |)art of the winter, 

 when the land is in ijrass, and intended to be bro- 

 ken up for a crop of corn; or orhertvise at the 

 same period, when intended for fallow. The f.ost, 

 rain, and dryiui;; winds will then cause ihe lumps of 

 clav, however larije, lo open, and by repeated 

 elicrht harrowinof, to divide anil iniim.ttely cover 

 the surliice bei()re the land is piouuhed — a circum- 

 Ptance ol' little trouble if atiended to at the profjer 

 season, ihougli, if not so reduced beii)re the land is 

 y)lou:ihed, large pieces of clay will be lound to 

 have lieen |)reserved fronr the atmospheri<'. influ- 

 ence, and consequently unbroken and miprofltable 

 many years allerwards. It is more profinible lo re- 

 peat the operation after an interval of a i'^w years, 

 ratherthan to lay on an immense tpjantity at once, 

 ns bj' this means the clay irets more thoroughly 

 incorporated with the sand; and it will be obvious 

 that the first plouirhinir ought not to be to the full 

 depth, lest the clay be lost. It is, however, scarce- 

 ly practicable to lay clay, in its natural state, upon 

 Band, both because of the great labor of digging, 

 and alierwards preparing it with the requisite de- 

 gree of care ['ov mixture. If not rendered so fine 

 as to be perfectly incorporated with the sand, its 

 tendency to sink throuizh light land trraduallv 

 brings it to the bottom, and renders it afterwards 

 useless, if not injurious, by forming a retentive 

 subsoil. 



Sand 



Is, however, not exposed to the game objections, 

 for it is dug with less labor, and does not require 

 any further trouiile in its preparation. Its applica- 

 tion, as an alterative for stiff" clay land, is of the 

 greatest ad viuitace ; for its intermixture with the 

 Boil — which is effected by the various means — has 

 a tendency to lighten the land, and to brins it lo 

 that loamy state which is the most liivorable to the 

 purposes of vegetation. In this respect, its action 

 is the counterpart to that of marl, as applied to 

 light sandy ground; for, in both cases, if is the 

 interepf of the farmer to brin^r his land into that 

 Vol. V— 25 



state which is the most liUely to be productive. — 

 Mar!, by stiffening it,- produces this effect in tlie 

 one instance; and sand, by loosening it, in the 

 other. 



Until abouthalfaccntnryago, this plan was very 

 little known as an improvement to tl\e soil, when 

 a spitited agrit-ulturist in Cheshire began to use 

 considera!)le quantities; sonieiimes mixing it with 

 duntr, and sometimes laying it raw on his grass- 

 lands. The success which invariably at leaded 

 lhe.-5e experiments, at lenirlh induced several far- 

 mers in his neighborhood to follow his example, 

 and the practice has since been very generally 

 adopted in many of the principal dairy-farnts in 

 the middle of Hie country; deep beds of sand' 

 being there frequently met with under the clay, 

 which predominates as the superficial at>-atum of 

 ihesoil. The ntode of em|;Ioymg it is thus de- 

 scribed by a land owner who has employed it ex- 

 tensively with the greatest advantage: — 



'When there is a piece of strong day land in 

 tiilaue, and the fiirmer has an opportunity of co- 

 verinir it over vviih sand, about twice as thick as in 

 a common set of manure, the soil will be pulver- 

 ized and opened by this means — will cive better 

 crops when in lillaire, and when laid down will 

 produce a hner herbaiie, less liable lo be parched 

 in drv, or trod down in wet seasons. It is excel- 

 lent mana.'fement in the liirmer, beliire he ties up 

 his cattle fi)r ihe winter, to lay a coat of sand, at 

 least a loot in thickness, where he intends to throw 

 his dung out of ihe cow-honses. The dung 

 should Im?. repeatedly levelled on the sand, and a 

 second coat of the latter laid on towards the end 

 of February; upon which should be put the re- 

 mainder of the dung procured before the caiile go 

 to grass. As soon after this time as possible, the 

 compost should be either turned and well mixed 

 where it lies, or filled into the dung-carts, and fa- 

 ken away to some situation near the land oh 

 which it is intendeii to use it. Hers it should be 

 laid in a iteap of at least two yards in thickness^ 

 and after remaining two or three months in this 

 stale, it is in excellent condition for putting on the 

 land.'* 



This, however, only alludes toils employment 

 as a compost; but, if laid in its natural state, either 

 as a top-dressing upon a meadow of a stiff nature,- 

 or slightly ploughed in upon heavy arable land, 

 it will be" found to effect a perrnanent improve- 

 ment in the soil. It nnjst, in the laifer case, how- 

 ever, be laid on in very large quantilies; jierhaps 

 not less than two to three hundred cart-loads, or 

 cubic yards. f This, of course, carmot be accom- 

 plished with prudence, unless the sand lies either 



*HoiIand's Survey of Cheshire, p. 231. 



t It has been laid on a larjre extent of drained moss, 

 in Dumfriesshire, at the rate of a sinjile-liorse cart- 

 load, to every square yard of snrCace, thon°;h the land 

 was in such a soft state that the sand could only be 

 carted by hors.^s with wooden doss or pattens on their 

 hind feet. The expense must, therefore, have been 

 enormous; yet the improvement in the land seems to 

 have reimbursed the proprietor. See Dr. Singer'* 

 Survey, p. 309. 



