^^ ^m^'^fmmiximr 



^^ERICAN HERD-BOOTi 



DE VOTED TO 

 AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AND RURAL AND DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 



Perfect Agriculture is the true foundation of all trade and industry.— Libbib. 



Vol. XII.— No. 4.1 



11th mo. (November) 15th, 1847. 



[Whole No. 154. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY, 



BY JOSIAH TATUM, 



EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, 



No. 50 North Fourth Street, 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Price one dollar per year. — Forconditions see last page. 



Manures. 



The following remarks are taken from a Lecture on 

 the application of Chemistry to Agriculture, delivered 

 by J. C. Nesbit, at Farnham, the latter part of last 

 year; and we are indebted for it to the British Farm- 

 er's Magazine, for the fourth month last.— Ed. 



M.\NY persons, whose farms are near the 

 sea, import fish on their land. These fish 

 contain abundance of phosphate of lime and 

 magnesia — bone dust, — a very important in- 

 gredient; and they contain ammonia, carbon, 

 a little salt, and potash. They are what is 

 called a quick manure; that is, they act 

 quickly; but if you put them year by year 

 by themselves, without applying something 

 more solid, they would not continue to pro- 

 duce a good effect. When those who are 

 near the sea use fish, I would advise them 

 to mi.x them with other manures, to prevent 

 their quick action from deteriorating the 

 value of the land, by taking more from it 

 in the year than it is capable of affording 

 without injury. There is another most gen- 

 eral means of introducing manure on land, 



Cab.— Vol. XII.— No. 4. 



though it is not generally known* as such, 

 viz., by feeding cattle with oil-cake. This 

 is not generally regarded in that light; but 

 still, it is neither more nor less than a means 

 of manuring land. The oil-cake being com- 

 posed of linseed which has been pressed from 

 t^ie oil, still contains considerable quantities 

 of carbon and hydrogen, which are derived 

 from the air, and of nitrogen, and forms a 

 very good food for animals; they can derive 

 from it a large quantity of fat, and some 

 flesh; and that which is given out from them 

 as manure contains large quantities of the 

 mineral ingredients, together vvitii a very 

 considerable amount of ammonia. Well, the 

 mineral ingredients and ammonia thus fur- 

 nished by the oil-cake, is one way of ma- 

 nuring the farm. Oil-cake is very expensive, 

 and it would not pay to feed cattle on it— -at 

 least, so many farmers have told me — were 

 it not for the manure. They feed the ani- 

 mals because the manure which they get is 

 so valuable. They tell me, " We sometimes 

 lose £100 or £150 a year by our bullocks;" 

 "but we must feed bullocks," they add, "be- 

 cause we thus manure our crops." When I 

 was lecturing at Maidenhead, and had occa- 

 sion to speak on this subject, I had to disa- 

 buse the minds of certain gentlemen as to 

 the absolute necessity of submitting to a loss 

 for this purpose; whether I was right or 

 wrong you will be able to judge. A gen- 

 tleman told me last spring, when you will 

 recollect there was a great deal more tur- 

 nips than the sheep would feed off. at least 



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