146 



On the Preparation and Use of Manures. Vol. VIII. 



On the Preparation and Use of Manures. 



BY WILLIS GAYLORD, OF OTISCO, N. Y. 



[Continued from page 95, last No.] 



Pond Mud. — Pond mud, although not as 

 rich in vegetable matter or humus, as swamp 

 muck or peat, is still one of the most valu- 

 able of fertilizers. The quantity of earthy 

 matters it contains, is rather an advantage 

 than otlierwise, when applied to light or 

 sandy soils, and will rarely be found inju- 

 rious on any. As a manure, the action of 

 pond mud is more immediate than that of 

 unfermented muck, owing to the much 

 greater proportion of salts and silicates it 

 contains. It is astonishing what quantities 

 of this manure are lying worse than useless, 

 in the thousands of mill-ponds in our coun- 

 try. In the winter of 1839-40, Mr. Whalen, 

 of Saratoga county, drew from a pond on the 

 Kayaderosseras creek, 1000 loads of pond 

 muck, and put it on a field of 17 acres; soil 

 light and sandy, or gravelly, and reduced 

 by skinning, until it would produce nothing 

 but sorrel and mullein. This field, planted 

 to corn, gave him 850 bushels. The extra 

 product from the use of this manure, he es- 

 timated at 20 bushels per acre. ;4n the win- 

 ter of 1840-41, he took from the same pond 

 700 loads, and applied it to two other fields, 

 and with similar results. Mr. VVhalen has 

 also, at different times, drawn 800 loads of 

 muck from an ash swale, and found it near- 

 ly or quite to equal in its effect on vegeta- 

 tion, the pond mud. After the corn, Mr. 

 Whalen has uniformly grown oats; and on 

 these worn out lands, where he formerly 

 would have lost his seed oats, as well as the 

 grass seeds used, he has been successful, 

 both taking well where the mud or muck 

 had been used. For heavy loams or clay, 

 Mr. Whalen is of the opinion that a mixture 

 of lime or yard manure, with the muck or 

 mud, would be indispensable. This mixture, 

 the experience of Mr. Clark, of Northamp- 

 ton and others, shows, is well effected by 

 placing the muck in the cattle yards or pig 

 styes, to be incorporated with tlie manures 

 by the feet or noses of the animals, and to 

 act as absorbents of the urine and soluble 

 matters that are too frequently lost. 



Niffht soil. — Night soil, or the contents 

 of privies, is one of the most powerful and 

 valuable of manures; but prejudices, com 

 bined with the difficulties formerly attend 

 ing its use, have prevented much attention 

 to it in England or the United States, until 

 within a few years. In consequence, a sub- 

 stance of the greatest importance to the 

 farmer has been regarded as a nuisance, 

 and, in the vicinity of large cities, has truly 



been so. Now, since science has taught 

 the mode of preparing it for use, its use is 

 becoming general, and its value fully appre- 

 ciated. According to the analysis of ma- 

 nures, made by Boussingault and by Dr, 

 Dana, there is no manure ordinarily acces- 

 sible to the farmer, so rich in the carbonates 

 or salts of ammonia as this. This will be 

 seen by comparing it with horse dung, the 

 value of which is well understood. 



Horse manure. Night soil. 



Geine, 27. 23. 



Salts 96 1.2 



Carbonate of ammonia, 3.24 15.32 



Hog Dung. — The dung of the fattening 

 hog approaches night soil in value, more 

 nearly than any other; indeed Dr. Dana 

 supposes that for all the purposes of ana- 

 lysis, these may be arranged under one head. 

 In practical use. Von Thaer, on the Prussian 

 government farm, determined by experiment 

 its comparative value as follows : If a soil 

 without manure, would yield three bushels 

 of produce for one sown, manured with dif- 

 ferent substances, the result was, 



Without manure 3 for 1 sown. 



With cow dung 7 " 1 " 



With horse dung, 10-' 1 " 



With night soil, 14" 1 " 



Comparative value of night soil. — In some 

 experiments made by Arthur Young, and de- 

 tailed in the Annals of Agriculture, the ef- 

 fect of this manure on wheat, was as fol- 

 lows : 



Simple soil, per acre, 12^ bushels. 



Bushelsof night soil 320 37^ " 



240 32i 



1(!0 31ir " 



Cubicyds.offarm-yardcompost, GO 25 " 



30 23J 



30 do. and 1 cubic yard of chalk, 25 " 



Applied to potatoes, the results were not 

 less decisive: 



Simple soil produced per acre, 120 bushels. 



Night soil, 10 wagon loads, COO " 



Bones, 10 " 650 " 



Hog dung, tiO one-horse cart loads, 480 " 

 Yard compost, 00 one-horse cart loads, 300 " 



Poudrette. — The most common method of 

 using night soil, or at least that in which it 

 is most portable and least offensive, is to 

 convert it into poudrette. This is done to 

 the best advantage in large manufactories; 

 and hence they are usually established in 

 the vicinity of large cities, where the origi- 

 nal article is easily obtained. Different pro- 

 cesses are adopted, but the most common is 

 slowly to dry the night soil in pans, having 

 previously mixed it with plaster or ground 

 peat. The object in adding plaster or peat, 

 is to prevent the escape of ammonia, on 

 which the value of the manure is mainly 

 depending. The dried mass is then pulver- 



