28 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Aug. 10, 1831. 



MUD. ' thfiii riiiy other, is taken from <loeks, and from the 



Mud, a black or dark colored sediment, found sides of wharves in populous towns. For it has 

 at the bottom of ponds, rivers, creeks, ditches, anil been greatly enriclied liy the scouring of foul 

 wet sunken phices. It is mostly composed of a ! streets, and from common sewers ; as well as from 

 fine vegetable mould, mixed with the substance of I an unknown quantity of animal and vegetable sub- 

 perished vegetables, &c, and therefore it contains stances, accidentElly fallen, or designedly thrown 



into such places. 



Sea mud may be taken up at any season, when- 

 ever the fjirnier has most leisure. It is a good 

 method to dravv it up on sleds from the flats in 

 March, when the border is covered with firm ice. 

 I have thus obtained mud from flats, with great 

 expedition and little expense. 



Mud that is newly taken up, may be laid upon 

 grass land. But if it is to be ploughed into the 

 soil, it should first lie exposed to the frost of one 

 winter. The frost will destroy its tenacity, find 

 reduce it to a fine powder ; after which it may be 

 spread like ashes. But if it be (doughed into iho 

 soil, before it has been mellowed, it will remain 

 in lumps for several years, and be of less advan- 

 tage. 



A layer of mud will be no bad ingredient in a 

 heap of compost. But it should be contiguous to 

 a stratum of lime, if that can be obtained. But 

 where this is wanting, new horse dung is the best 

 substitute, to excite a strong fermentation. , 



The best method of managing all sorts of mid, 

 were it not for increasing the labor, would be to 

 lav it 'U farm yards, and let it be thoroughly raijcd 

 with the dung and stale of animals. When il is 

 so managed, the compost is excellent, and fit 'or 

 almost any soil, though best for light ones. I'tr- 

 haps the advantage of it is so great as to pay ior 

 the increaseil expense of twice carting. For it 

 will absorb the stale of cattle, and retain it bettei 

 than straw, and other light substances. 



much of the natural food of plants 



In ponds and rivers, this sediment is made up 

 of fine dust, together with a' rich variety of other 

 substances, which have been wafted in the 

 air, and have fallen into the water; together with 

 the subtilest particles of the nsigliboring soils 

 washed down into them by rains. That is sup- 

 posed to be the richest mud, which is near to the 

 borders, and which has been alternately flooded 

 and fermented ; as it will ferment when it lies 

 bare, in some degree. 



In rivers, and in long ditches that have currents, 

 there is a greater proportion of soil in the mud. 

 It has been brought down from soft, mellow lands, 

 through which the rivers pass ; and some of it 

 doiditless from beds of inarle, which are often 

 found in the banks of rivers, and which readily 

 dissolve in the water. 



Some ponds are totally dried up in a hot and 

 dry sutnmer ; and all ponds and rivers are so di- 

 minished by a copious evaporation, as to leave 

 part, and the richest part, of their beds uncovered. 

 And these beds, where there has been no rapid 

 current, are always found to contain rich mud. 

 In some places it reaches to a considerable depth. 

 This mud, though taken from fresh waters, has 

 been found to be a valuable manure; more espe- 

 cially for dry, sandy and gravelly soils. I have 

 known it to have as good etfect as barn dung, in 

 the culture of Indian corn, U|)On such soils. The 

 advantage of it is not found to be only for one 

 season ; it meliorates the land for several years. It 

 restores to a high piece of ground what vegeta- 

 ble mould the rains, in a long course of years, 

 have been washing away from it. 



It is happy for the farmer that Providence has 

 prepared for him these magazines of manure in 

 all parts of the country. None but the stupid 

 will let Iheni lie unnoticed, or luiremoved. When 

 a dry autumn happens, the prudent formers will 

 be very industrious in carting mud up fiom evapo- 

 rated ponds, and other sunken places in their 

 farms, and laying it upon their light soils, espe- 

 cially upon high gravelly knolls ;or into their barn 

 yards, if the distance be not too great. 



But with respect to using mud as a manure, 

 the maritime farmers have the advantage above 

 all others. For the sea ooze, which appears on 

 the flats, and in creeks and harbors, along the 

 shores of the sea, has all the virtues of fresh water 

 mud, that of sea salt superadded, Vi'hich is one ol 

 the most important ingredients in the composi- 

 tion of the best manures. I might add, that it 

 abounds, more than any other mud, with putre- 

 fied animal substances. Much of these are con- 

 tained in the sea itself : And innumerable are the 

 fowls and fish that have perished upon flats since 

 time began ; and the component parts of their 

 bodies have been inclosed by the supervenient 

 slime. 



Mud taken from fiats where there are shell fish 

 or even where they have formerly lived, is better 

 for manure, than that which appears to be more 

 unmixed. The shells among it are a valuable 

 part of its composition. If it abound much with 

 shells, it becomes a general manure, fit to be laid 

 upon almost every kind of soil. 



That mud, however, which is a richer manure 



ately caught breath, and rising on his feet, he 

 seized the breathless and apparently lifeless body 

 of his son, and with it in his arms, succeeded in 

 etting into the bucket or tub, iji which situation 

 they were raised to the top of the well by tlw 

 women. Water was immediately applied to the 

 yoiuig man, which in a short time produced symp- 

 toms of returning life. Mr Vial in a few hours 

 attained his usual health and strength, and the 

 young man, by medical aid, had so far recover- 

 ed as to be able to walk about on the succeedim? 

 lay. 



The experiment of letting down a candle was 

 then tried, which went out at the depth of si.x 

 feet from the top of the well — a live chicken was 

 also let down, and at the depth of six feet anima- 

 tion became suspended, but by pouring down wa- 

 ter on it, aniuuition was immediately restored. 

 From these experiments it appears that on inhal- 

 ing this gas, life is not immediately extinguish- 

 ed, but suspended only, and that the application of 

 water will restore it — whether by conveying at- 

 mos|)heric air, contained in the water, to the 

 sufterer, or from some other cause we are not suf- 

 ficiently scientific to determine. 



Numerous valuable lives have been lost within 

 the circle of our acquaintance by exposure to 

 these damps, ami we hope the preventive now 

 suggested will bo fairly tested, and if foimd to be 

 a general restorer of sus|)cnded animation in cases 

 of this kind, that a knowledge of its eflicacy will 

 be widely diffused. 



From the Ravenna (Ohio) Courier. 



VALUABLE DISCOVERY. 



By a communication received from a respecta- 

 ble and scientific Physician in Medina cotnty, 

 we learn that a remedy has at length been founi' 

 for restoring animation suspended by the efl^LH-ts 

 of carbonic acid gas, or damps, as it is usually 



.i Mode of destroying the Red Spider on 

 plants. — Sir — As you are very desirous that all 

 gardeners should not only be reading but wri- 

 ting gardeners, I, for the first time (being very 

 yomig), venture to take up my pen to write a few 

 lines, and shall be very happy should you tliink 

 them worthy of insertion. The subject on which 

 1 now write is the red spider, which is very com- 

 mon on certain stove, green-house, and, in dry 

 seasons, certain hardy plants. I have heard and 

 read many receipts fur the destruction of this in- 

 sect, but I never found a more powerful remedy 

 than Clearwater. I have under my care a few 

 ilove plants, which are in general in a very healthy 



humane to discover a re 

 lien it is suspended by in 



termed, in wells. The frequent occurrence of 



death, caused by persons descending into wells in L^t^ " j syringe them every morning wkh clear 

 which this gas, or damps exists, has long inade it a | ^^ter on both sides of the leaf, and the plants are 



not in the least afl'ected by this destructive insect. 

 I had, for instance, a species of Plumbago that 

 was much infested by the red spider ; but after I 

 had syringed it well for a few mornings, there was j 

 tint an insect to be found on the plant. I verily 

 believe that clear water, applied as before observ- 

 ed, will eflectually destroy the red spider ; and, if 

 constantly used, it will preserve any plant from 

 this destructive insect. I think that if stoves or 

 green-bouses devoted to the culture of exotics 

 were steamed well every night (water being ap- 

 plied in tlie form ofsteam), the plants would never 

 1)6 attacked by the red spider. — Gardencr^s j\lag. 



Temperance Societies — are established in erery 

 county in Pennsylvania, and are so well organ- 

 ized, as to ]iroduce the happiest results. Their 

 influence is perceptible everywhere. The work, 

 of reformation among the laboring classes of so. 

 ciety, is most conspicuous — a drunken man i^, 

 lodted upon in many parts of the state, as an out- 

 cast from society ; deserted by his former associ- 

 ates, he is compelled to quaff the bowl in solitude, 



desideratum with the 



storative to animation 



haling the gas. Accident has at length done 



what science and study had failed to effect ; and 



if we cannot at all times avoid the gas, we can, 



by timely aid, prevent the fatal consequences of 



its effects. 



On the 17th of June last, three individuals, 

 a Mr Vial, his son, and another person, were 

 engaged digging a well in the Township of 

 Copley, Sledina County, and having been absmt 

 about one hour, on returning, the young man wont 

 into the well, and after descending a short tis- 

 tance, fell apparently lifeless to the bottom. His 

 father immediately descended to his relief, and 

 having arrived at the region of the damps, also 

 fell to the bottom in a similar condition. On see- 

 ing them apparently lifeless, the third person, start- 

 ed in great haste for the physician, (our informant) 

 who resided at some distance from the place. 

 During his absence, several ladies tvho were as- 

 sembled at the place, determined to make an ef- 

 fort to raise the bodies from the well. One of 

 them threw a pailful of water down — most of 



and suffer himself to be pointed at by llje finger 

 which fell on the face of Mr Vial, who iramedi- 'of scorn, or to reform ! — Paulson. 



