194 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 4 



under the clay, or in the immediate vicinit}' of the 

 farm; and even in that case, the expen:=e ol'cart- 

 ao;e, if calculated at its cost in money, ^You!d ap- 

 pear too serious to admit of much chance of pro- 

 fitable remuneration. JV'Jany circumstances, are, 

 however, continually occurinir on every firm to 

 prevent the constant occufiation of the teams: on 

 those days they inav be invariably emoloyed in 

 the cariaire of llie sand, wiihout any charire ex- 

 ce|)tihat of day laborers todi^r; and, if it cannot be 

 immediately spread upon the land, it may be hud 

 upon the headlands of the field to which it is in- 

 tended to be applied. 



Mud. 



The mud from ponds, when they are cleaned 

 out, has always been an object of attention to tiir- 

 mers, so iitr as reii irds its collection; but it must 

 be presumed that its different properties, and con- 

 eequenlly the must judicious mode of its applica- 

 tion to the land, are either but little understood, or 

 neglected; for some cart if directly upon the 

 ground, and plough it in either lor turnips or for 

 corn-crops; others spread it upon old leys; and 

 many lay it out in thin heaps to dry, after which 

 they mix it with lime, (dialk, or dung. Upon this 

 it has been remar!<ed by an eminent agriculturist, 

 'that in reasoning with the tiirmers upon the cause 

 or principle by which the/ are guided in those dif- 

 ferent proceedings, the reply is generally, "that it 

 has been their practice to do so — that it has an- 

 swered very well — tmd ihiit the\" know of no bet- 

 ter mode of treating it." From which we are ne- 

 cessarily led to conclude, that upon the same, or 

 nearly the same sort of soil, these different prac- 

 tices cannot be right. It, therefji'c, becomes neces- 

 sary to consider what is the usual composition of 

 the sediment in ponds, — then to point out as cor- 

 correctly as we are able, the best way vf prepar- 

 ing it for use — the soils to which it should l>e ap- 

 plied — and the crops which ought to succed such 

 apfilication.' * 



Upon this it may be ohserved, that ponds, be- 

 ing usually placed at the lower part of the fields, 

 receive alter every hard rain a parr ot" the soil, as 

 well as of the substances with which they have 

 been manured. If the ponds be large and deep, 

 they may also acquire much decayed vegetable 

 matter, arising from the aquatic plants with which 

 such pools usually abound; and if near to the 

 yards at which cattle are commonly watered, 

 they must likewise receive a portion of their dung: 

 such mud is, therefore, particularly applicable to 

 light soils, both as containing nutritive matter, and 

 adding lO the staple and consistency of the land. 

 If, on the contrary, the ponds contain sprinirs, 

 the sediment taken from them will be found unfit 

 lor vesjetation, lor it contains more sand than ve- 

 getable matter, and it hardens upon exposure to the 

 Bun; it may, however, be useful in killing! he rushes 

 and coarse weeds upon low sour meadows, but 

 prejudicial if applied to uplands. It is, therefore, 

 evident that the mud must partake of the nature 

 of the various ingredients of which it is composed; 

 and, therefore, every farmer should take these cir- 

 cumstances into consideration before he applies it 

 to his ground. 



The most common time of mudding ponds is 

 during the summer months, when it is usual to let 



* Malcolm's Cornp. of Mod. Husb.. vol. ii. p. 116. 



the slime lie near the edge of the pond until the 

 water is drained from it. A spot is then marked, 

 either upon a head-land of the field upon wliich it 

 is to be laid, or as near to it as possilde. of a size 

 to raise a compost with alternate layers of either 

 lime or dunir. !f dung can be had, the best mode 

 ot preparuig this mainire is to lay a linnidaiion of 

 nuid, of about a foot or a foot and a half in dep-ih, 

 of an oblong ihvfi), and not more tluin eight It'et in 

 width, upon which the freshest yard dmiir is laid 

 to aliout double tliat depth; then a thin layer of 

 mud; after v.'hich, al'ernate layers of nnid and 

 dung, until the heap be raised to about five or six 

 feet in height — keeping the sides and ends square, 

 and coating the whole with nuid. It should then 

 be left to lertnent; alter which, it must be again 

 turned, at least twice, at ditierent [ieriods. 



If quick-lime be used, and there renuiins any 

 moisture in the pond scourings, it will bo sufficient- 

 ly fallen for turning in a lew days; but, if the com- 

 |!0S' be made wiih farm-vard dung, it may require 

 to remain lor six or eight weeks to ferment and 

 decompose, before it is in a [iroper state lor turn- 

 ing. To derive the greatest advantage Iron) com- 

 posts, it is necessary to mix them thoroughly, 

 which can only he effected by repeated and care- 

 ful turnings. To Ibrm them, in the first instance, 

 with both quick lime and manure is injudicio\is ; 

 the former ought never lo be brought into contact 

 with the latter — though manures may be advan- 

 tageously incorporated wiih an old compost, in 

 which a littk lime has been used. 



These conqjosts may be applied at the rate of 

 16 to 20 cubical yards ll>r siroug loams, and upon 

 light loams in a rather smaller |;roporiion. Pond 

 mud is, however, not unirequently used, in an un- 

 prepared state, upon grass-lands; but the accounts 

 iTiven ol' its efiinits ai-e so ditierenfj and the expe- 

 riments are so inaccurately stated, that we might 

 mislead our readers were we to detail them. \^ ere 

 attention paid to the properties of the nnid, and 

 to the quality of the soil on which it is to be laid 

 — in the manner already alluded to — there can, 

 however, be little doubt that errors in its ap- 

 plf'ation might be avoided. If appears the better 

 mode to apply it in the latter end of autunm, or 

 the early part of the winter, and to bush-hatrow 

 it well after it has been hanlened by the li-ost." 



River Mud in creeks, or banks, from which it 

 can be collected, answers the same description, 

 and IS also extensively enq:»loyed in some districts 

 in the operation of warping, winch will be noticed 

 hereafter. 



Sea mud, or sleech, has also been used in some 

 places in veiy large (juantities, and has been found 

 of so very enriching a nature, lliat it was thought 

 worth while to carry it in baro-es up the river Mer- 

 sey, to the estates of the late Duke of Bridirewater, 

 at Worsley, in Lancashire.! It abounds at the 

 mouths of many of the friths and rivers which 

 run into the sea: and one gentleman, who hag 

 used it for upwards of half a century in Cheshire, 

 asserts that no other manure is equal to it, either 

 for corn or grass. Itis there, however, alwayslaid 

 upon grass and ploughed in, without any addition, 

 in the following spring. If the ensuing March be 

 dry, and there has been much frost in the winter, 

 a heavy pair of harrows will prepare it for the 



*Farey's Survey of Derbyshire, vol. iii. p. 187. 

 fSincIair's Code of Agriculture, third edition, p. 242. 



