OF MANURE. 181 



sides the carriage, which in many cases equals the prime- 

 cost. 



Even ordinary farm-yard dung, before it is moved from 

 the fold-yard, or the cow-houses and stables, ought to be 

 carefully mixed, otherwise it can never be of equal quality. 

 Mr John Shirreffis of opinion, that if the dung- of cows 

 and horses be spread over each other regularly as dropped, 

 the whole mass will very soon be in a state sufficiently rot- 

 ten for use. As straw, if rotted without a mixture of the 

 excrement of cattle, makes a very weak manure, it is there- 

 fore proper to mix all the superfluous straw with what 

 comes from the cattle. 



It is much disputed, whether it is for the advantage of 

 the farmer to give straw for dung, it being always under- 

 stood, that the straw should be taken good care of, and not 

 wasted. It is supposed, however, that unless the straw 

 should happen to be very high priced, it is greatly for the 

 farmer's interest to give straw for the dung, except he is 

 under the necessity of carrying it to a great distance, for 

 in this way he gets all the straw back again, made into good 

 dung, with this great addition, that he also gets the dung 

 arising from the hay and corn which the horses have made 

 use of. The generality of farmers in the neighbourhood of 

 the metropolis, however, afraid of being imposed on, sell 

 their straw, and buy their dung at the market price. 



On the whole, dung t being the most essential ingredient 

 for promoting fertility, the utmost exertion ought to be gi- 

 ven, by every farmer, to collect it in as great quantities as 

 possible, and to prepare it for use. Calcareous and other 

 manures, in particular cases, ai*e also necessary, especially 

 for reclaiming land in high situations, or stiff soils; but n.ii- 

 mal and vegetable substances, when reduced to a putrid 

 state, are peculiarly weil calculated for recruiting exhausted 

 land ; and, if a sufficient quantity for that purpose could 



