No. 6. 



Mode of applying Farm-yard Manvre. 



171 



To tlie Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The following valuable cs.oay I have had copied from 

 the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, Vol. VII.; I 

 tlrink the experiments therein detailed may su;;(,'est 

 some ideas that will be useful to lariners in tlit: appli- 

 cation and economy of manure. 



On a Partlculnr nioclr of npiilying Farm" 

 Viirtl I>Iaii(ti'e« 



BY MR. JOIl.N BAKKR, N.\.SS,\U COTTAGE, LKEDS. 



The prosent (Irpressed state of apfricultiire 

 throtiofli the kingfdom invites the eerioiis at- 

 tention of all connected with that important 

 branch of indnstry ; it heino-a lamentable fact 

 that, whil.^t the most splendid di.«covcries in 

 science are daily applied to the improvement 

 of our trade and commerce, airriciiltiire as a 

 science, remains almost stationary, notwilli- 

 Btandino- individiinl and national prosperity 

 are so deeply interested in promotiii<r its wel- 

 fare. For more than 2o years f farmed from 

 500 to 1000 acres in the connty of Norfolk, 

 dnrinfj which time my attention was carefully 

 directed to the consideration of every method 

 or system of farmino" which was calculated to 

 increase the productions of the soil, and to 

 improve the condition of that numerous and 

 industrious class of persons who are depend- 

 ent upon it. The proper use of manure is 

 amonijst the most material improvements 

 which I have discovered. By the common. 

 I may say irenernl, modeof manao-ing^ it, onlv 

 half the'bcnclit which ouo-ht to be coiiii?rred 

 on the crops is p-iven, whilst the S3'stem which 

 I have adopted douhles the value of all the 

 manure made, and at the same time it reallv 

 le.ssens the e.vpense ; and it is to this point 

 that 1 will confine myself in this paper. That 

 " the muck cart is the best farmer," is a ma.x- 

 im as fully acknowledjjed as it is oft repeated, 

 and believino- that upon the proper use and 

 application of it the success oi^ the farmer 

 mainly depends; I have never failed to at- 

 tend to this important branch of hu.sbandry. 

 Having experienced the practical advantages 

 of my system, as well upon land under mv 

 own cultivation at Norfolk, as upon farms be- 

 ]oni,nng to my relations and friends in. that 

 county, where it had been introduced at my 

 suo-oestion ; I am induced, at the earnest re- 

 commendation of many gentlemen who have 

 also witnessed its beneficial eifects in York- 

 shire, to invite the attention of agriculturists 

 generally to the subject. Manure of almost 

 every description is carried from the place 

 where it is inado, and deposited on a heap for 

 four, six, or eight months, where it ferments 

 and becomes a .«oft, blade, cohesive mass; it 

 is then put on the land and ploughed down, 

 atler wliich the crop is sown : this may not 

 always be done, but sometbinrr resembling it 

 is the prevailing and general practice in ev- 

 ery part of the country. My method, tlie 



[success of which has been proved by nurner- 

 |ous experiments, is to spread the manure on 

 j the land as soon as convenient after it is made, 

 .except in winter; the maimre made at that 

 'period of the year remains in tlie fold-yard till 

 spring, where it does not ferment. Th" whole 

 \.: taken in the spring, summer, and autumn, 

 fresh to the land ; it' in fiillow it is ploughed 

 in with a thin furrow ; the land is harrowed 

 and ploughed again in a fortniglit, and in a 

 fortnight atler harrowed and ploughed a third 

 lime; after which the muck, however long 

 it may have been, is ded\iced, and the soil 

 will be in as fine and friable a state as the 

 land is capable of From the time the dung 

 is j)ut on to the last mentioned ploughitig, 

 nothing can be more unsightly than its ap- 

 pearance. If it is to be applied to pasture, I 

 spread it ov(;rthe surface of the ground from 

 the beginning of spring to the end of autumn. 

 Three essential points are to be observed : — 

 First, to apply the manure to the soil ns soon 

 as convenient after it is made (except in the 

 depth of winter); Secondly, to keep it as near 

 the surface as possible: and thirdly, to mix it 

 well with the soil. These being observed, I 

 confidently assert, that advantages, equal to 

 double those now derived from manure are 

 conmiunicated to the land by an increase in 

 the fertility of the soil, exhibited in healthier 

 and more abundant crops; so that a farm of 

 200 acresof arable land of medium quality, pro- 

 ducing 400 loads of dung, or two loads for ev- 

 ery acre, worth five shillings per load, will be 

 benefitted to the extent of ten shillings per 

 acr(; annually, and where more manure is 

 made, which on every well managed farm is 

 done, the advantages will be greater. This 

 result has been produced upon the farm now 

 in my occupation, beldnging to Lord (."'ooper, 

 in the neighborhood of Leeds, to vvhich I en- 

 tered at Candlemas, ISIU ; it was then in a 

 most deplorable condition ; so deplorable was 

 it, indeed, as to lead many of my friends and 

 neighbors to predict the impossibility of my 

 procuring a tolerable crop upon one of the 

 fields for seven years to come ; but this field, 

 from the application of manure according to 

 my method, has become exceedingly produc- 

 tive. I fallowed it for turneps, and in May, 

 (1831) I put on about twelve and a half tons 

 of good fresh made stable dung per acre ; as 

 much as possible was taken from the stables 

 and carried to the land the day it was made. 

 I\Iy proceedings greatly amused my agricul- 

 tural neiohbors. The preceding tenant oIk 

 served, that however such a system might 

 have answered in other parts of the countrv", 

 here it would be a useless expenditure both 

 I of time and money, and a jireat wast** of ma- 

 nure. To convince him of the benefit to be 

 derived from such manuring, I directed one 

 piece in tlie middle of the field lobe left with- 



