113 



THE Ox makes poor dung and rich urine.* 

 THE HORSE makes rich dung and poor urine.* 



NIGHT BOIL. 



The best manure within the reach of the farmer is 

 night soil, or human excrement. The manure of 

 man consists (as does that of any other animal) of 

 those parts of his food which are not retained in the 

 increase of his body. If he be growing, his manure 

 is poorer, as in the case of the ox ; and it is subject 

 to all the other modifications named in the early 

 part'of this chapter. His food is usually of a varied 

 character, and is rich in nitrogen, the phosphates, 

 and other inorganic constituents ; consequently, his 

 manure is made valuable by containing large quan- 

 tities of these matters. As is the case with the ox, 

 the dung contains the undigested food, the secretions 

 (or leakings) of the digestive organs, and the insoluble 

 parts of the ash of the digested food. The urine, in 

 like manner, contains a large proportion of the nitro- 

 gen and the soluble inorganic parts of the digested 

 food. When we consider how much richer t\\efood 

 of man is than that of horned cattle, we shall under- 

 stand the superior value of his excrement. 



Xight soil has been used as a manure, for ages, in 

 China and Japan ; and herein lies, undoubtedly, the 

 great secret of their success in supporting a dense 

 population, for almost countless ages, without im- 

 poverishing the soil. 



* Comparatively. 



