500 



FARMERS' REGISTER— FERMENTATION OF MANURES. 



present, when this final change takes place within 

 the soil, these substances, from their light and 

 elastic nature, must quickly and entirely be lost to 

 the earth, and to use, as to the food of plants. It 

 must be then, |)rincipa!ly or entirely, in some of" the 

 earlier previous Ibrms, tiLud or solid, during the va- 

 rious changes produced by lermcntation, that these 

 elements of manures act as the food of ))lants. 

 Davy has proved that nothing solid, however 

 finely divided, ca!i be absorbed by roots, and that 

 every thing soluble may be.* 



From all these premises, the following deduc- 

 tions maj' be considered as established: 1st. 

 That putrescent manures may be entirely con- 

 verted into food for plants: 2nd. That no portion 

 of them can serve for that purpose while in a solid 

 ibrm: 3rd. That every portion will be, when so- 

 luble in water: and 4th. That much or all may be 

 lost, if manures reach their final decomposition, 

 and assume a gaseous form. 



Let us now apj;ly these deductions to the prac- 

 tical management and application of manures. 



The fermentation of manures — to what extent ne- 

 cessary. 



It was formerly the prevailing opinion among 

 the farmers of Britain, (from whom most of our 

 practices have been borrowed,) that a long and 

 thorough fermentation was absolutely necessary 

 to make manure nutritious and productive in the 

 highest degree: and for this purpose much time 

 was used, and much labor spent, in heaping the 

 litter and dung of the farni-j ard, and in turning 

 over the heap, to renew tbrinentation after its first 

 heat had subsided. Thus it was kept a year be- 

 fore using, and sometimes longer, even by such 

 as were esteemed good and enlightened farmers. 

 The celebrated grazier Bakewell, was accustomed 

 to keep his manure before using, until it was re- 

 duced to the texture and appearance of black 

 snuff.f It seems not to have been suspected, until 

 a comparatively recent period, that any valuable 

 principles of the manure were lost, by this general 

 practice of long continued fermentation. 



Atlerwards a practice entirely ditTercnt was in- 

 troduced, and had many warm advocates, both 

 scientific and practical. This was to carry out ail 

 manure from the stables and farm-yard in its coarse 

 unrotted state, or wlien fermentation had barely 

 commenced. This practice gave a far greater 

 bulk of n)anure to the fields, and was supposed by 

 its advocates to cause greater increase of pro- 

 duct. 



The discussion of the comparative merits of 

 these, different practices has been kept up in Eng- 

 land for half a century, and yet remains undeci- 

 ded. As usual, both practices have been copied 

 in this country, without regard to the difference of 

 climate ai:d tillage, and the dispute between 

 "short and long muck," or fermented and unfer- 

 mented manure, has been carried on here with as 

 much zeal, and to as little purpose, as in our mo- 

 ther country. Our distinguished agriculturist John 

 Taylor, has been the most able and influential ad- 

 vocate lor unrotted manure, in Virginia, as Ar- 

 thur Young was in England on agricultural, and 

 Professor Davy on chemical grounds: and Judge 



*Ao;ricultural Chemistry — Lecture VI. 

 tBrovvn's Husbandry: Kii. Manures, Edinburgh En- 

 cyclopaedia. 



Peters of Pennsylvania, on the other side, has 

 strenuously opposed their arguments and opinions. 

 The principal argument used by all who have 

 supported either side of this question, is the great 

 loss of manure sustained by the practice they op- 

 [)ose: and unfortunately the loss suffered in either 

 practice is so great, as to make this argument on 

 both sides, if considered alone, ajjpear abundantly 

 strong. The usual practical operations of the dis- 

 ciples of both schools are also so defective, that 

 they are condemned by the doctrines of their own 

 leaders, no less than by those on the other side. 

 Thus, Arthur Young, who so strongly urges the 

 superior benefit and profit of using unfermented 

 manure at all times, considers it absolutely neces- 

 sary that it should be buried deeply and co\-ered 

 in the most perfect manner by the plough. Judge 

 Peters, while maintaining the advantages of well 

 rotting manure, by keeping it long enough in bulk, 

 and using every care to have the fermentation 

 thorough and complete, still tells us that it is indis- 

 pensable to conduct these operations in a paved 

 and roofed stercorarj", so as to guard against the 

 great losses that would otherwise take place. Yet 

 the followers of Young omit the effectual covering 

 of the manure by the plough — and those of Pe- 

 ters, leave their manure to pass through a year's 

 changes from fl^rmentation, exposed to rain, sun 

 and air. Both practices are attended with serious 

 objections and losses: but either one carefldly and 

 correctly carried on, doubtless is better than the 

 otlier under the common wasteful management. 

 And, from the difference in climate, it seems most 

 likely that either of these opposite modes of ma- 

 nuring in Britain, must be less wasteful than when 

 imitated in Virginia. 



The great loss of fertilizing principles from fer- 

 mentation carried on in the dung heap is so evi- 

 dent, that it ought to convince every one of the 

 propriety of carrjing out fresh manure, who does 

 not fear otiier and equal waste from that mode. 

 But though in this case the fermentation is lost 

 sight of, it does not the less take place, and in such 

 manner, that equal, if not greater loss may be well 

 suspected. 



The objections of Davy to the use of fermented 

 manure, are entitled to most attention and respect, 

 because in the chemical facts on which his opin- 

 ions are founded, he could not have been mistaken. 

 I will quote his words at sufficient length to give 

 them full force. In his sixth lecture, after treating 

 of the more simple and highly putrescent ma- 

 nures, such as the pure dung of different animals, 

 and showing the impropriety of fermenting them 

 before applving them to the soil, he proceeds to 

 consider their mixture with less putrescent sub- 

 stances. "The question of the proper mode of 

 " the application of the dung of horses and cattle, 

 " however, properly belongs to the subject of com- 

 " pns'iie manures^ for it is usually mixed in the 

 " farm-yard with straw, offal, chaff, and various 

 " kinds of litter; and itself contains a large pro- 

 " portion of fibrous vegetable matter. 



" A slight inci|)ient fermentation is undoubtedly 

 " of use in the dunghill; for by the means of it, 

 " a disposition is brought on in the woody fibre to 

 " decay and dissolve, when it is carried to the 

 " land," or ploughed into the soil; and woody fibre 

 " is always in great excess in the refuse of the 

 " fiarm. 



" Too great a degree of fermentation is, how- 



