370 



SAL 



SAL 



sure. Those cattle, however, 

 which have not been accuston\ed 

 to so free an use of salt should be 

 brought to it by degrees. 



Upon the occasion of an appli- 

 cation by the landed interest to the 

 British parliament in 1817 for a 

 reduction of the excise duties on 

 salt, on the ground of its great va- 

 lue as a manure, a committee of 

 puiliament was appointed to take 

 evidence in the case ; and the re- 

 srlt of that evidence seems to esta- 

 blish, beyond all doubt, the great 

 benefit of salt as a manure. It is 

 still a question, whether the price 

 in this country will permit its use 

 to a great extent. We shall, how- 

 ever, state some of the most inter- 

 esting parts of the evidence. Of 

 course, in a work like this, we can 

 give only a brief abstract. 



The late Mr. Hitt, well known 

 for his treatise on fruit trees, de- 

 clares it to be of great use in de- 

 stroying insects which affect them. 

 He found also that water impreg- 

 nated with salt, in the proportion 

 of one ounce to a gallon of water, 

 produced a visible effect on grass 

 land, materially improving it. 



Dr. Holland, in his survey of 

 the county of Cheshire, states, 

 its advantage to rushy meadow 

 land, applied at the rate of eight 

 bushels to the acre. It killed the 

 rushy growth in April ; but the 

 latter end of May, a flourishing crop 

 of rich grass made its appearance. 



Lord Erskine, the present dis- 

 tinguished orator, also speaks of 

 salt, as a manure, in j^trong terms. 

 There is an abundance ofevidence 

 furnished, as to the utility of salt 

 for cattle ; but this is so universally ' 



known and practised in this coun- 

 try, that it cannot be necessary to 

 say any thing more, than that, we 

 fear, a misplaced economy pre- 

 vents as free an use of it, as would 

 be desirable. The earl of Dun- 

 donald, in his evidence before a 

 committee of the house of com- 

 mons in ISOl, speaking of its use 

 as a manure, said, that when the 

 benefit of salt and saline substances 

 as manures should be fully under- 

 stood, the consumption of it for 

 these purposes would amount to 

 five times the quantity consumed 

 in Britain for all other purposes. 



Its use was known to the ancient 

 Romans. Pliny speaks of it as fa- 

 vourable to cattle. Lord Bacon 

 mentions sea sand as an excellent 

 manure on account of its salt. 



In more modern times, the tes- 

 timony has multiplied to an extent, 

 which could not be given in a work 

 like this. In proportion as the 

 science of agriculture has improv- 

 ed, the sentiment of the value of 

 salt as a manure has gained ground. 

 Mr. Hollinshead, in a work printed 

 in 1802, declares salt to be the 

 cheapest best, and most durable 

 manure ever used. It is admitted, 

 however, by all, that, used in ex- 

 cess, it is fatal to all vegetation. 

 The corrector of this article used 

 it on grass land in Roxbury at the 

 rate of a bushel per acre, and it 

 did not affect the vegetation inju- 

 riously. He intends to extend its 

 use, being satisfied of its salutary 

 effects. On asparagus, its effects 

 he proved this year to be very 

 useful. That plant, however, grows 

 in and near salt marshes. 



It is affirmed to be an admirable 



