310 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 5 



of property, and a creat mechanical inventor and 

 promoter of ao-iicujfurai improvement, has been 

 at the expense of talking out a [jatent !br Jauf- 

 fret's manure in England. The sfjecification is 

 in the liepertury of j4rts, No. 51, for March, 

 1838j am! it is taken out in the name of A. B. F. 

 Rosser, of New Bosvvell Court, London. M. Lozi- 

 vy informs us that the specification is a correct 

 translation of that of the French patent, of which 

 we have no doubt, having compared it with the 

 pampiilet alluded to by our correspondent. 



The object of the inventor is stated to be, to re- 

 duce, not only '• broom, heather, furze, rushes, 

 and other vegetables, not hitherto used jbr making 

 manure, as being deemed too difficult of decompo- 

 sition, but also vegetables and weeds, such, lor 

 instance, as couch-grass, which it has hitherto 

 been considered dangerous to introduce into ma- 

 nure, and the vegetating powers of which are by 

 the invention totally destroyed. The principal 

 object effected by the invention is the production 

 of a rapid fermentation, the uffrree of which rnay 

 be regulated nearly at pleasure; whereby the sub- 

 stances to be converted into manure are speedily 

 and uniibrmly decomposed." The inventor next 

 describes a licjuid, which is tn '■>:}. prepared belbre- 

 hand, of water, unslacked l;nie, a little sal-ammo- 

 niac, and kitchen-water, or any sweepings, dead 

 animals, spoiled previsions, and filth fbrm the 

 dwelling-house. This water is to be allowed to fer- 

 ment in a tank or pit. This is the first process. 

 The next is to procure fiecal sulistances and urine; 

 particularly huaian ordure, chimney soot, powder- 

 ed trypsum, unslacked lime, wood-ashes, sea-salt, 

 and what the inventor calls leaven of manure, 

 being the last draimngs Irom a dunffliill already 

 formed by the inventor's method. These articles 

 beinix procured, and mixed together in certain firo- 

 portiuns, (which we do not give, because we do 

 not su|)pose there is one of our readers who 

 would adopt them,) a quantity of the prepared li- 

 quid is to be poured over them, and the whole al- 

 lowed to ferment tor some weeks in a pit or cask. 

 A piece of ground is now to be prejiared by le- 

 velling and beating, so as to render it impervious 

 to water; and on this raised floor the heap oC 

 straw, heath, or other rubbish which is to under 

 go lermentation, is to be placed. The materials 

 may be placed in layers, and thoroughly moisten- 

 ed and slimed with the liquid and its sediment. 

 The heap may be raised to the heio-ht of seven 

 feet, and then thoroughly moistened and covered 

 over with the muddy sediment of the liquid. While 

 the heap is making, it should be beaten or trod- 

 den down, so a« to make the substances of which 

 it is composed lie close and compact; and, when 

 it is finished, it should be beaten all round with 

 the same view. The heap is now to be covered 

 all over with straw, branches, or herbage, so as 

 to retain the heat and exclude the rain, or the 

 drought. At the end of fbrty-eight hours fmm 

 the coaipletion of the heap, a ii^rmentation ol^ 

 from 15'-' to 20'^ of heat by Reaumur's scale (66° 

 to 77" Fahr.) has been found to have taken place; 

 and the following day it has irenerallv attained 

 from 30° to 40" of Reaumur (99° to 122° Fahr.) 

 On the third day, the top of the heap is to be 

 opened to six inches deep with a fork, and the se- 

 diment thrown on the top is to be turned over, 

 and another good drenching with the liquid is to 

 be ap|)lied to the heap, which is again to be im- 



mediately covered up. About the seventh day, 

 holes about six inches distance from each other 

 are to be made with a Ibrk, to the depth of three 

 liiet, and another drenching is to be applied, the 

 heap being afterwards covered up again. About 

 the ninth day, another drenching is to be applied, 

 through new and somewhat deeper holes, and 

 the heap is to be again covered up. After the 

 lapse of from twelve to fifteen days irom the mak- 

 ing of the heap, the manure will be fit to spread. 

 The fermentation is stopped by an excessive 

 drenching, or by opening out the heap. If the 

 materials of the heap are straAV only, the fermen- 

 tation may be stopped at 55° of heat ; (156" 

 FHhr.) oiherwise it may be allowed to proceed to 

 75° Reaumur, (200^ ¥tihv.)—Repertury of Arts, 

 March, 1838, j). 172. 



In order to give this process a fair chance of be- 

 ing introduced into England, M. Lozivy, one of 

 the agents lor the patentees in France, was invit- 

 ed to London, in order to prepare a heap of ma- 

 terials in the Jauflret manner, as an exemplifica- 

 tion of Rosser's patent. He came in March, 

 1838, and |)repared a heap of the new manure on 

 the Earl of Spencer's estate, at Durnsfbrd Lodirey 

 near Wandsworth, in Surry, the residence of Mr. 

 Patterson, the ajrent to Lord Spencer. When 

 the heap was duly lermented, and fit to spread, 

 M. Lozivy invited a numlier of persons to inspect 

 it, on April 16, among whom we were included. 

 It was formed on the south-east side of a field 

 barn, on a raised platform of clay; ten feet or 

 twelve il^et in diameter, and covered with a very 

 thick coating o\' straw. The outer covering of 

 straw was removed, and the heap turned over, in 

 the presence of tlie company ; when the materi- 

 als, which had been chiefly straw, were found to 

 be thoroughly rotted, black, and moist ; and, ta- 

 ken altogether, in a very fit state tbr using as ma- 

 nure. On examining them closely, many small 

 branches ol heath and furze were found, the 

 leaves and the herbaceous parts of which were 

 decomposed, and the bark of the woody part par- 

 tially so. On the whole, it appeared to us that 

 every thing that was proposed to be done was ac- 

 complished. It had required a much longer time 

 than usual; because, owing to the extreme cold- 

 ness of the weather, the heap could not for seve- 

 ral weeks, be brought to a sufficient temperature 

 to induce fermentation. 



The impression on our mind was, that nothing 

 more was done by this process than what may be 

 done in any farm-yard with similar materials, 

 moistened with the drainings of the yard, and si- 

 milarly heaped up and covered. All the nume- 

 rous ingredients in Jauffret's composition would, 

 we believe, have no more effect than clear water, 

 without the assistance of animal matter; and, 

 therefore, if we were going to ferment straw, or 

 other vegetable matters, without the aid of a farm- 

 yard, we should collect the dung and urine of all 

 sorts of animals, and, simply throwing them into 

 a tank or cask of water, allow them to ferment 

 there; and, as soon as the fermentation took place, 

 we would water the heap of materials, and cover 

 it up. Of course, it would be of no use to at- 

 tempt this except in mild weather; for even urine 

 will not ferment in winter. We consider the lime, 

 the gypsum, the sal-ammoniac, the soot, the 

 wood-ashes, the sea-salt, and the refined saltpe- 

 tre, as likely to have no effect whatever, in aiding 



