260 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



The question now arises, How are these valuable 

 liquids to be preserved ? and how is the loss of their 

 ammonia to be prevented ? The method of accom- 

 plishing this, may vary with circumstances and situ- 

 ation. 



"Where it is practicable to build the barn v.pon a 

 side-hill, there is probably no better plan than to 

 form a cellar beneath it, where all of the solid ma- 

 nure can bo thrown from above, and the liquid con- 

 ducted down upon it. A layer of peat or muck upon 

 the floor would prevent any thing from soaking 

 tlu-ough and escaping. In certain situations, manure 

 kept in this way becomes too dry, and does not de- 

 '^ompose properly ; in all such cases the liquid manure 

 would be doubly valuable. Some farmers turn in 

 hogs to root over and compost the material in such 

 cellars. Manure made in this way is neither exposed 

 to evaporation nor to washing ; and one load is worth 

 two, or even more, of the bleached and washed 

 straw and stalks, which we see being carted out from 

 some yards. If it ferments too much, it is necessary 

 to turn it over to check fermentation ; mixing earth 

 and sprinkling plaster over the top is also a good 

 practice. 



In cases where the formation of the ground does 

 not admit of a convenient cellar under the barn, a 

 tank is the most advantageous receptacle for the liquid 

 drainage. This may be made by digging a square 

 hole at the lowest part of the premises, and render- 

 ing it water-tight by a lining of planks, brick, or 

 stone. This is far better than an open hollow, such 

 as day be seen in many yards. These are not only 

 disagreeable to the eye, and a source of many incon- 

 veniences, but they expose the liquid to the full 

 evaporating and decomposing influences of the sun, 

 so that it decreases and deteriorates in a very rapid 

 manner. 



Many farmers think that a tank must necessarily 

 be made of great size, or it will overflow. If all the 

 ■water from the eaves of the farm-buildings be allowed 

 to flow into it, such a necessity exists ; but if this 

 water is carried away by separate drains, as it should 

 be, then the quantity flowing into the tank cannot 

 be excessive. During the summer, except where 

 much stock is kept, or after showers, little liquid 

 ■would be collected, especially if the yard were spread 

 •with muck. Where there is much stock, a drain 

 should be made to lead their urine directly into the 

 tank. 



The next question that arises is relative to the 

 disposition of this liquid from various sources, after 

 "we have got it into the tank. From what has been 

 said, it Avill bo seen that it is extremely liable to fer- 

 ment and putrefy, and to lose a large portion of its 

 most valuable ingredients ; this will not happen 

 quite so soon in a covered tank as in the open air, 

 under the influence of the sun, but still it cannot, 

 during warm weather, be delayed long. There are 

 several methods of treatment which have been found 

 successful. 



Some farmers mix two or three times its bulk of 

 ■water, thus retarding the fermentation until they 

 have leisure to distribute the liquid over their fields, 

 •with a common water-cart. In most cases this would 

 be a troublesome mode of management. A more 

 convenient way is to pump it up, and pour it upon 

 the surface of manure and compost heaps, sprinkling 

 them over with gypsum at the same time. 



Where neither of these plans will answer, it is 

 quite practicable to preserve the ammonia by sprin- 

 kling in occasionally a little sulphuric acid, say one or 

 two pints ; this converts the carbonate of ammonia 

 into the sulphate of ammonia, a compound far less 

 volatile than the carbonate. The same eff'ect may be 

 produced by adding gypsum or sulphate of lime ; 

 sulphate of ammonia is formed in this case also. 

 The propensity that gypsum has to form this com- 



pound, when it is brought into contact with ammo- 

 nia, explains its beneficial action in arresting the 

 escape of that gas from fermenting manure heaps. 

 Even when ammonia is rising so as to be visible in 

 white fumes, and perceptible to the smell, a sprin- 

 kling of gypsum will arrest all further escape for a 

 considerable length of time. 



In situations where it is convenient to employ 

 them, peat, peat ashes, wood or coal ashes, rich 

 mould, &c., are good materials to throw into these 

 tanks ; they -will absorb nearly all of the valuable, 

 parts of the manure. The tank soon fills up in this 

 case, and must be cleaned out at comparatively short 

 intervals. 



These methods of using the liquids from the barn- 

 yard and the stables are all perfectly simple and 

 practicable, while at the same time they involve little 

 expense. The manure saved is of the most powerful 

 character, and will, upon trial, be found to add very 

 greatly to the resources of any farm. 



The subject of water from the sewers of towns 

 has lately attracted much attention in England, and 

 Prince Albert has quite recently made public a plan 

 for extracting, on a large scale, the valuable sub- 

 stances which it contains. He proposes a large up- 

 ward filter ; that is, to bring the water into a re- 

 ceptacle under such a head as to force it upward 

 through a filter of sand and gravel. The clear wa- 

 ter passes off above, and the solid matter remains 

 below the filter, to be taken out and iised for manure. 

 I think that certain practical difficulties would at- 

 tend the working of this plan, and the prince seems 

 to have overlooked the fact, that the clear water, 

 which runs away, contains every thing that is solu- 

 ble in water, and of course much that it is important 

 to preserve. In any case, the system would bo too 

 expensive for this country, but is worthy of mention 

 as showing how much value is placed upon this spe- 

 cies of refuse abroad. Wherever land lies so that it 

 can be irrigated from the sewers of large towns, such 

 irrigation will be found a most effectual and eco- 

 nomical method of enriching it. 



For my next communication I shall endeavor to 

 select some more savory subject than has occupied 

 our attention in the preceding letters of this series. 



JOHN P. NOKTON. 

 — Albany Cultivator. 



♦ 



MANURES-WHAT FARMERS OUGHT TO 

 KNOW. 



The annual waste of valuable manures by farmers 

 makes, in the aggregate, an immense sum. Suppose 

 it to be but five dollars' worth (a low estimate) for 

 each one in the county, and in the whole it will 

 amount to thousands. 



Waste is the conseqiience of carelessness. Loads 

 of vegetable matter are suff'ered to be scattered about 

 in by-places, and never collected for use. Draining 

 from the yards (perhaps to a running brook) is an- 

 other process of gradual waste. The soluble ma- 

 nures thus carried off" are of more immediate value 

 to the growing crops than the remaining solid por- 

 tions, the latter having to decompose and be dissolved 

 in water before plants receive any benefit from them. 



Some have so little regard for the animal excre- 

 ments, that the cattle and sheep are permitted to 

 roam at pleasure, during the winter and spring ; and, 

 in too many instances, wander about the highways. 

 The hay and cornstalks are often fed in these places, 

 and such portions as the cattle refuse to cat are lost, 

 because never gathered up ; and the droppings also 

 remain, as though the laws of the country required 

 the wagon-track to be a rich soil. Many places may 

 be seen where there is quite as much manure in the 

 road adjoining barns as in the yards. 



