SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 199 



ful antiseptic properties render it very beneficial to young and 

 tender plants ; by keeping the soil free of putrefying sub- 

 stances which would otherwise destroy their spongiolos and 

 prevent their growth. 



Farm-yard manure. The manner and state in which farm- 

 yard manure should be applied, has been a subject of much 

 experiment and controversy. The conclusions of Johnston ia 

 relation to this subject, appear rational and satisfactory. This 

 kind of manure is made up of the solid and liquid excrements 

 of animals together with straw and hay, some of which are in 

 a state of decomposition, and the remainder fresh and un- 

 changed. The question as to which condition these manures 

 should be used in, must depend upon circumstances. If the 

 object is to furnish the greatest amount of organic matter to 

 the soil, the sooner the manure is applied after it is made, the 

 better this object is accomplished. On compact clays, the 

 mixture of straw and coarse manure is beneficial, as it renders 

 them looser and lighter, while the products of decomposition 

 are more completely retained in the soil than they would be in 

 a loose one. But coarse manures render loose soils more loose, 

 and lose more of their elements in decomposing : for these 

 reasons, compact fermented manures are preferable in such 

 soils. For manuring crops which grow rapidly and attain 

 maturity in a short time, well fermented manures and fine 

 composts are felt more immediately and powerfully than re- 

 cent ones. Such crops as turnips, buckwheat, clover, and 

 many garden vegetables, might nearly attain maturity before 

 decomposition would be sufficiently advanced in new and coarse 

 manures to render them beneficial. When it is desired to force 

 and quicken the growth of a crop, a well fermented, or fine 

 heating manure should be used; such as rich compost, bone 

 dust, or the excrements of the horse and sheep. 



Top dressing for pastures, meadows and turnip crops, should 

 usually be of the same kind as these just named. But farm. 



