46 



City Manures. 



Vol. VIII. 



From the American Agriculturist. 

 City Manures. 



I HAVE lately read in the Bath and 

 Cheltenham Gazette, published in the city 

 of Bath, England, that a Professor Daniels 

 had taken a patent for a new compost, com- 

 posed of wood saw-dust, charcoal, lime, and 

 a small quantity of bitumen. It stated he 

 had secured patents in England, France, 

 Germany, and this country. If any reliance 

 can be placed on the account given in that 

 paper of its fertilizing power, it must far ex- 

 ceed all other known composts. It stated 

 that the professor had taken a given quanti- 

 ty of land, on which he had raised wlieat 

 four years in succession, increasing the pro- 

 duct every year. Our farmers must be 

 aware that this has ever been considered 

 impossible. The first year the land was in 

 its usual condition, and the crop was twenty- 

 six bushels to the acre ; the second year he 

 applied some of his compost, and the crop 

 was thirty-six bushels; the third year he 

 added more of his compost, and the crop 

 was forty-six bushels; the fourth year he 

 gave more of the compost, and the crop 

 was fifty-six bushels. He expressed himself 

 confident of bringing the crop up as high as 

 one hundred bushels to the acre. 



Our farmers on Long Island, and in New 

 Jersey, must be aware, that their only 

 chance of making money by farming, will 

 be by an increase of crops; for our rail- 

 roads will enable distant farmers to send 

 their produce to our markets, at a very tri- 

 fling cost of transit. Tiiose of our farmers, 

 therefore, who are wise, will avail them- 

 selves of every means of increasing their 

 crops, as the only cliance of breasting the 

 competition with distant opponents, who 

 produce from new soils, on land of one-tenth 

 the value. 



It has been long known that decayed 

 wood, frequently found on wood land, was 

 much valued by the horticulturists. I oftun 

 had it collected, in England, for my own 

 garden; but as it was not very abundant 

 there, it was always used on the flower 

 beds. 



From the number of saw-mills at work in 

 the cities of New York and Brooklyn, the 

 annual supply of wood saw-dust must be 

 very large ; and I would advise some of our 

 enterprising farmers to collect and try it in 

 their compost heaps, adding slacked lime 

 and fine charcoal. The lime is apparently 

 applied to cause a more rapid decomposition 

 of the saw-dust, and to neutralize any acid 

 it may contain ; but it will be seen, in the 

 following article on urine, that when in the 



soil it plays an important part in promoting 

 vegetiition. I would advise our farmers to 

 put the above-named compost into their 

 barn-yards and hog-sties, where it will not 

 only undergo a rapid change, but the char- 

 coal will absorb and retain all the ammonia 

 now lost by evaporation. If a portion of 

 the saw-dust should be the product of pitch- 

 pine timber, no bitumen need be added; but 

 when this can not be obtained, a small 

 quantity of crushed rosin or pitch may be 

 added to the compost heap. 



I shall proceed to bring to your notice the 

 urine thrown away in our cities. In the 

 first place, I will show you the component 

 parts of vegetable matter, and of carbonate 

 of ammonia. By comparing the two, you 

 will readily appreciate the importance of 

 saving every drop of urine from your own 

 families and barn-yards, as well as collect- 

 ing it from our cities. In this explanation 

 I must necessarily use scientific terms, as 

 we have no common terms in our language 

 by which to express their meaning. By 

 comparison, however, the terms will show 

 you that the component parts of vegetation 

 and of carbonate of ammonia are the same, 

 excepting about eight per cent, of the solid 

 portion of vegetation. 



The average elementary portion of vege- 

 tables consists of about 480 parts of carbon, 

 65 of hydrogen, 369 of oxygen, 40 of nitro- 

 gen, and about 46 of solid matter, in 1000 

 parts. 



Carbonate of ammonia contains, in 100 

 parts, about 50 parts carbonic gas. 30 parts 

 of ammonia, 20 parts of water. Carbonic 

 gas contains carbon and oxygen; the ammo- 

 nia contains hydrogen and nitrogen. Thus 

 we perceive that carbonate of ammonia con- 

 tains within itself the elementary portions 

 of all vegetable products. There is no other 

 known substance containing within itself 

 all these elements, and hence is derived its 

 wonderful fertilizing power. 



Stale urine contains a large portion of 

 ammonia and of ammoniacal salts, which 

 are mostly lost by evaporation, as will conti- 

 nue to be the case, unless some material be 

 combined with it capable of retaining the 

 ammonia. Charcoal is undoubtedly the best 

 substance for this purpose, as it will take up 

 and retain within its pores, more ammonia 

 than any other known material. 



Charcoal is a valuable product in the soil, 

 independent of its retaining ammonia when 

 presented to it by human agency. " It ab- 

 sorbs in large quantity into its pores, the 

 gaseous substances and vapours which exist 

 in the atmosphere." It separates from water 

 any decayed animal matters or colouring sub- 

 stances which it may hold in solution. It 



