78 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



quenily seeing stones some in a partial state, of 

 decoiuposiiion, others wholly decomposed in t)ogs, 

 and at the depth of several leet Iroiii the surface. 

 Some years' e.xperience has convinced me of the 

 im[)ropriety of using recently dug peat ; proceed- 

 ing in the manner I recommend, it is superior 

 aiid more convenient on every account— very 

 much lighter to cart to the farm-yard or any other 

 eiiuatiori where it is wanted ; and so convinced 

 am I of its utility in composts lor every descrip- 

 tion o( soil, except that of its own character, that 

 wherever it can be laid down on a farm at less 

 than 4s. per ton, I should recommend every agri- 

 culturist and horiicuhurist that can command it, 

 even at the cost here stated, to give it a fair trial. 

 So retentive and attractive of moisture is peat, 

 that if liberally applied to any arid, sandy soil, 

 that soil does not burn in a dry season ; and it so 

 much improves the texture and increases the pro- 

 duce of an obdurate clay soil, if in oiher respects 

 rightly cultivated, that actual experience alone 

 can fairly determine its value. 



For the conveyance of niijiit-soi! and urine, we 

 have the largest and strongest casks, such as oils 

 are impoited in; the top of which is provided 

 with a funnel to put the matters through, and the 

 casks are fixed on wheels like those ot a common 

 (iungcart. For the convenience of emptying this 

 carrTago, the compost heaps are always lower at 

 one end ; the highest is where we discharge the 

 contents, in order that they may in some degree 

 spread themselves over the whole accumulation ^ 

 t!ie situation on which the wheels of these car- 

 riages stand while being discharged is raised con- 

 siderably ; this we find convenient, as the com- 

 post heap may be sloped six or seven feet high : 

 low compost heaps, in my opinion, should be 

 avoided. The plan here recommended I have 

 carried on lor some time. I fiud no ditficuUy in 

 manuring my liirm over once in two years ; by 

 this repetition I keep up the lijriilily of my land, 

 and It never requires more than a moderate appli- 

 cation of manure. 



1 am fully aware that there are many localities 

 where neither peat nor night-soil can be readily 

 obtained ; but it is worth a farmer's while to go 

 even more than twenty n)iles for the latter sub- 

 stance, provided he can have it without deteriora- 

 tion : the original cost is otien trifling. On a fnrra 

 where turnips or mangold are culiivaled to some 

 extent, the sysiem here recommended will be al- 

 most incalculably advantageous; a single horse is 

 sufficient for one carriage — mine hold upwards of 

 a ton each; six tons ol' this manure in compost 

 with peat, or, if that is not convenient, any other 

 matters, such as ditch scourings, or high head- 

 lands which have been properly prepared and 

 laid dry in a heap for some lime, would be amply 

 sufficient for an acre of turnips or mangold. This 

 manure is by far the most invigorating of any I 

 have ever yet tried ; bones in any slate will bear 

 no comparison with it fur any crop ; but it must 

 be remembered that i went on the supposition 

 thai it has not been reduced in strength before it 

 is fetched. 



Convenience frequeniiy suggests that compost 

 heaps should be raised on ditlierent parts of a 

 farm ; but, unless in particular instances, it is well 

 to have them in the yard : in the farm-yard, all 

 the urine from the cattle stalls may be employed 

 with the greatest economy ; and be it remarked 



that the urine from animala, in given weights, is 

 more povverful than their solid excrements.* 

 How imporiant then must it be to the farmer to 

 make the most extensive and the most careful use 

 of this liquiil. It is sometimes carted on the 

 land, but that practice will not bear a comparison 

 with making it into composts in the manner 

 here recommended. Great waste is ofen made 

 in putrescent manures after they are carted on the 

 land ; instead of being immediately covered of 

 incorporated with the soil, we not unlrcquently see 

 them exposed for days together in the hot rays 

 of a scorching sun, or to the injurious influences 

 of a dry wind. 1 have before stated that compost 

 heaps should on many considerations be raised ia 

 the farm-yard ; still circumstances are frequently 

 such that it is more proper to make them at some 

 distance in the field. If a headland becomes too 

 high by frequent ploughingsor workings of tha 

 land, in that case it should be ploughed at the time 

 when clo\er or mixed grass seeds are sown with 

 a white crop, for instance, barley or oats, and clo- 

 ver for the year following : a headland might 

 then be ploughed, and a number of cart-loads of 

 some manuie heaped from one end to the other. 

 Immediately after this it should be trenched with 

 the spade (or what is sometimes called digging,) 

 and ridged high, in order that an action should 

 take place between the soil and manure; by this 

 means the mass would soon be in a condition for 

 turning over, and any ditch scourings, or other 

 matters which had not in the first instance been 

 used, miglit now be added to the mixture. The 

 heap should then be allowed to remain closed for 

 a few weeks, then turned over again; at this 

 turning, in all probability, the mass would be 

 much reduced; if sufficiently reduced, raise the 

 ridge of compost well on both sides, but, instead 

 of its top being pointed, make a trench or cavity 

 on the top from one end of the heap to the other. 

 This cavity should be made tolerably retentive of 

 moisture, which may be efTected by treading with 

 the feet ; carriages of night soil, or urine from the 

 cattle stalls, may then be emptied into the trench, 

 and the bulk of the heap would determine how 

 many were required ; this being done, a little 

 earth should be thrown into the trench, and the 

 heap allowed to remain in that state until the mid- 

 dle or latter end of autumn ; it will then be ready 

 for anoiher turning; but at this time care must ba 

 taken to have the heap well made up at the sides 

 and pointed at the top ; in this situation rain will 

 be thrown oflj and the compost preserved dry until 

 winter presents some favorable opportunity for 

 laying it on the young clover, wheat, or for mak- 

 ing any other use of it which may be required. 



The beneficial efl'ec's of top-dressing young clo- 

 vers or mixed grass seeds is scarcely ever regard- 

 ed with due attention. By this help crops are not 

 only much increased, even 30 or 50 percent., but 

 Ihey are also ready fbrcutiing much sooner, which 

 in a backward spring gives the slock farmer ines- 

 timable advantages for sorting his cattle, and 

 thereby raising manure at his pleasure. The full 

 eflects of this practice I first experienced in the 

 dry season of 1826 : I had some clovers which 

 had been manured the previous winter; my land 



* This must be taken with some limitations, for 

 urine contains 90 to 95 per cent, of water; and un- 

 mixed dung contains all the salts of urine, besides 

 much mucus and other substances.— W. L. Rham. 



