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duce their full effects in agriculture. I shall therefore 

 describe in detail the properties and nature of the 

 manures in common use, and give some general views 

 respecting the best modes of preserving and applying 

 them. 



All green succulent plants contain saccharine or 

 mucilaginous matter, with woody fibre, and readily 

 ferment. They cannot, therefore, if intended for ma- 

 nure, be used too soon after their death. 



When green crops are to be employed for enrich- 

 ing a soil, they should be ploughed in, if it be possi- 

 ble, when in flower, or at the time the flower is begin- 

 ing to appear, for it is at this period that they contain 

 the largest quantity of easily soluble matter, and that 

 their leaves are most active in forming nutritive mat- 

 ter. Green crops, pond weeds, the paring of hedges 

 or ditches, or any kind of fresh vegetable matter, re- 

 quires no preparation to fit them for manure. The 

 decomposition slowly proceeds beneath the soil ; the 

 soluble matters are gradually dissolved, and the slight 

 fermentation that goes on checked by the want of a 

 free communication of air, tends to render the woody 

 fibre soluble without occasioning the rapid dissipation 

 of elastic matter. 



When old pastures are broken up and made 

 arable, not only has the soil been enriched by the 

 death and slow decay of the plants which have left 

 soluble matters in the soil ; but the leaves and roots 

 of the grasses living at the time and occupying so 

 large a part of the surface, afford saccharine, mucila- 

 ginous, and extractive matters, which become imme- 



