254 



M A N 



MAN 



Sea water, which contains other 

 things besides water and sail, fit to 

 nourish vet,etal)les. It may be 

 sprinkled on land, or used in com 

 posts. 



Soap suds — replete with a pre- 

 pared food for plants ; excellent 

 £ov watering gardens in dry wea- 

 ther. None of this should be lo-^t. 

 If the garden be distant, or wet, 

 it may enrich the dmighill. 



Urine of h\\ animals. This con- 

 tains earth and animal juices, salts 

 and oil ; and is, next to dung, per- 

 haps the most valuable and impor- 

 tant of all manures. See the arti- 

 cle Urine. 



Water in the hollows of farm 

 yards. Instead of sntfering this 

 rich liquor to soak into the bowels 

 of the earth, it should be taken up 

 by mulch, or some absorbent sub- 

 stance thrown into it, or else car- 

 ried out in a water cart, and sprink- 

 led over a soil that needs it. 



Water that runs from compost 

 dunghills. ^ his should be thrown 

 back upon dunghills, or else used 

 as the preceding article. 



Liquors from dye-houses. This 

 should be used in composts. 



After all, I may add Salt, being 

 distinct from all other manures, an 

 important ingredient in the food of 

 plants, and adapted to prepare 

 other ingredients. Some apply it 

 as it is, but it has a better effect 

 when used in composts.* 



If our farmers in general would 

 be persuaded to avail themselves 

 of so many of these manures as 

 fall in their way, or can be easily 



* See the article " Salf in this work for 

 further notice ol it. 



obtained, we should no longer hear 

 of so many dismal complaints as 

 we do, of short crops, and worn 

 out lands. The face of the coun- 

 try would soon be surprisingly im- 

 proved. 



But that manures may fully an- 

 swer their intention, they must be 

 judiciously applied. We should 

 not only apply each matiure to the 

 soil for which it is most suitable, 

 but at seasons when it will produce 

 the most valuable effect. For a 

 general rule, it is best to apply 

 those rich fermenting manures, 

 which are to be mixed in the soil, 

 as near as may be to the tin>e when 

 the ground is seeded. Dung should 

 be ploughed in with the seed fur- 

 row, as it is called. Composts 

 may be harrowed in with the seed. 

 IMie reason for appl}ing these ma- 

 nures at this time is obvious. They 

 will begin to raise a fermentation 

 in the soil, almost as soon as they 

 are applied ; so that if there be no 

 seed, nor plants to be nourished by 

 them, some part of the good effects 

 of the manure will be lost. As 

 part of the fermentation will be 

 past, before the plants begin to 

 grow ; so there may be danger of 

 its being over, before they liave 

 attained to their full growth. If 

 so, the soil will harden, and the 

 plants will receive the least quan- 

 tity of nourishment at the (ime 

 when they need the greatest. 



As to those matters which raise 

 little or no fermentation, they may 

 be laid on at any time when the 

 farmer has leisure for it, as sand 

 on a clayey, gravel on a boggy 

 and pi'ffy soil ; or clay, marie, or 

 mud, on a light soil. 



««Gb-^ 



