44 



Liquid Manures and their Uses. 



Vol. X. 



vary miicli from the actual result, the latter 

 yielded nearly 28 bushels.* 



For the benefit of those wlio are opposed 

 to taking agricultural works, or refrain from 

 doing so, which amounts to the same thing, 

 I would add, that this field was completely 

 worn out when purchased by me; the higher 

 part, without soil; and the lower part, like 

 mortar in the winter and spring, baked un- 

 der the summer's sun like a brick. I had 

 attempted draining, but not successfully. 



Meeting with an able essay on draining, 

 in either tlie Cultivator or Farmers' Cabniet, 

 I concluded to make another effort. 



The field was well broken up in the fall 

 and winter, and in the spring a heavy cover- 

 ing of lime was put on ; the draining was de- 

 ferred, however, by a long illness confining 

 me to the house for months. The crop of 

 corn was planted; and the yield was noti 

 over 15 bushels to the acre. Previous to 

 sowing in oats, there were not less than 

 five to six hundred yards of surface and 

 under drains made. 



I believe the increased crop of oats nearly 

 paid for both the lime and drains. The re- 

 sult in the wheat has been stated. 



Four years since, in the then state of the 

 land, it would not have produced more than 



end of their remarks, saying what they 

 meant by it, of what it is to be composed, 

 or what quantity of any kind of manure and 

 water composes it. Now there is hardly a 

 more uncertain thing, hardly a more vague 

 expression, than liquid manure. Various 

 are the manures of the present day. Leaf 

 mould is vegetable manure, and the most 

 innocent of any; for it is composed of no- 

 thing but the leaves which were the pro- 

 duce of the earth returned to earth again; 

 and if you could make a ton of it hold in so- 

 lution with a butt of water, and it were ap- 

 plied instead of w'ater itself, it could do no 

 harm ; but this, perhaps, never entered the 

 thoughts of those who recommend liquid 

 manure. 



We have seen the dung of poultry made 

 into liquid manure : one shovelful of it, in 

 a state which we may call partly decom- 

 posed, put into a barrel of water, that is, 36 

 gallons. This was being applied efficaci- 

 ously to potted plants about every third wa- 

 tering, and to out-of-door crops once a week. 

 Every time it was used it was stirred up 

 until the barrel was half emptied, when the 

 liquor was used without stirring. The con- 

 tents at the bottom were always cleaned out 

 every time the liquor was emptied, that the 



five bushels of wheat to the acre; now it is auality should always be alike, and not be 

 light and mellow, and will, most likely, pro- Haltered by the sediment of the former mix 

 duce an increase in grass of four or five to] tu re. This was thrown on the ordinary 



one. It is not a very difficult problem to 

 solve, whether there has been a gain or loss 

 in the transaction; when by the expendi- 

 ture of four dollars for 200 pounds of guano, 

 twenty bushels of wheat additional are raised 

 to the acre ; or thai a single dollar for a 

 year's subscription to an Agricultural Jour- 

 nal, should be the means, or suggest the 

 idea for improvement, by which land that 

 formerly did not produce over five to ten 

 bushels, will now yield 30 to 40 bushels to 

 the acre. Edward Stabler. 



Liquid Manures and their Uses. 



Nothing is more common than for authors, 

 on various subjects in gardening, to recom- 

 mend liquid manure to be applied, w thout 

 in one instance, from the beginning to the 



* A portion of this acre was unintentionally sown 

 heavier wiih ground bones, say IG to 18 bushels to the 

 acre, instead of 12 bushels as intended. In this case 

 also, the first crop more than repays the cost of ma- 

 nure, and will yield large returns in the grass crop, for 

 years to come. We know the ground bones to be a du- 

 rable manure. For a mere experiment one of my neigh- 

 bours used a few pounds of guano on his corn last 

 year; the effect on the oats this season, is aa marked 

 as on the corn. 



dunghill, where it could do no harm. 



In another establishment sheep's dung 

 was used, at the rate of a peck to a barrel 

 of water. This was put in one day, and 

 stirred up four or five times; and the next 

 day, when used, it was stirred again. This 

 was being used with success to large camel- 

 lias and orange trees, while they were mak- 

 ing growth, and with considerable advan- 

 tage, and also to some beds of layers newly 

 planted out, without any wateiing between 

 at all ; but as it was explained to us, the 

 [soil might have been covered all over an 

 inch or two thick, and then left to wash in 

 by rain and artificial watering, without doing 

 any injury; and certainly, if the appearance 

 jof things were a criterion, there could be no 

 doubt of it. 



We have seen cow-dung used, when de- 

 i composed, in r^ither large proportions; and 

 .here the precaution of using boiling water 

 j was taken, on account, as it was said, of the 

 great disposition of cow-dung to breed the 

 maggot or small grubs of some kind. The 

 proportion was a spadefid to lialf a barrel, 

 and stirred well several times before the 

 water cooled. The liquid was used the 

 next day to Carnations and Piccotoes, in 

 pots, just coming into bloom, and it was 

 said to give them a good colour, and add to 



