ARTIFICIAL MANURE. 219 



was delivered at the Print-works, by the neighboring farm- 

 ers at 20 cents per bushel. Clear dung is delivered at the 

 Print-works in Dover at 12i cents per bushel, and at seve- 

 ral of the Print-works in Rhode Island, at 16 cents per 

 bushel, giving an average of 17.45 cents per bushel, and 

 as a cord contains, in round numbers, 100 bushels, its 

 price is $17.45 



Deduct from this the price of an artificial cord, 5.15 



$12.30 

 It is hence evident that an artificial cord is only about one- 

 third of the price of a natural cord, and if the last may be 

 mixed with two parts of loam or swamp muck, so may the 

 first, which will reduce the price of a cord of artificial 

 manure, to $2.71. Now this is equal, according to all expe- 

 rience, cord for cord, to stable manure ; the value of that 

 may be estimated at $5, so that an artificial cord costs only 

 about one-half The best plan for preparing the artificial 

 manure is to dig the peat or swamp muck in the fall ; in the 

 spring of the year let this be mixe<| in the proportion of 30 

 lbs. of potash, or 20 lbs. of soda ash, or 8 bushels of com. 

 mon house ashes, to every cord of fresh dug peat, estimating 

 this by the pit dug out, and allowing nothing in the spring 

 for shrinking. If ashes are used, they may be mixed in at 

 once with the muck, but if soda ash or potashes are used, 

 they must be dissolved in water, and the pile evenly wet 

 with the solution. The pile is then to be well shovelled 

 over, and used as is other manure. But it has been found 

 by experience, that the peat may be dug in the spring, im- 

 mediately mixed with the alkali, and used forthwith. If 

 spent ashes are used to prepare this muck, add one cord of 

 spent ashes to three cords of peat or swamp muck. 



275. But there are still other forms of cheap alkali frona 



