' [ 2*9 ] 



eessary, for there is no fibrous matter rendered solu- 

 ble in the process, and a part of the manure is lost. 



The best farmers in the west of England use it 

 as fresh as it can be procured ; and the practical 

 results of this mode of applying it are exactly confor- 

 mable to the theory of its operation. The carbonic 

 acid formed by its incipient fermentation must be part- 

 ly dissolved by the water set free in the same pro- 

 cess ; and thus become capable of absorption by the 

 roots of plants. 



The effects of the sea weed as manure must prin- 

 cipally depend upon this carbonic acid, and upon the 

 soluble mucilage the weed contains ; and I found that 

 some fucus which had fermented so as to have lost 

 about half its weight, afforded less than iV of mucila- 

 ginous matter ; from which it may be fairly conclud- 

 ed that some of this substance is destroyed in fermen- 

 tation. 



Dry straw of wheat, oats, barley, beans and peas, 

 and spoiled hay, or any other similar kind of dry ve- 

 getable matter is, in all cases, useful manure. In 

 general, such substances are made to ferment before 

 they are employed, though it may be doubted whether 

 the practice should be indiscriminately adopted. 



From 40O grains of dry barley straw I obtained 

 eight grains of matter soluble in water, which had a 

 brown colour, arid tasted like mucilage. From 400 

 grains of wheaten straw I obtained five grains of a 

 similar substance. 



There can be no doubt that the straw of differ- 

 ent crops immediately ploughed into the ground af- 



