172 



Mode of apphjhig Farm-Yard Manure. 



OL, 



III. 



out covering. With the exception of the land 

 upon which no manure had been laid, the 

 field produced a very fine crop of tumeps, 

 worth at least six pounds to the acre, whilst 

 the crop raised upon the land not manured 

 was not worth six sliillinofs per acre. After 

 the turneps, the field produced a very heavy 

 crop of barley, averaijini^ notlesa than seven 

 quarters per acre, and in 18:33 I obtained a 

 rno.-t abundant crop of clover without any 

 manure, except on the land omitted in the first 

 year. 1 also covered a field of pasture the 

 same summer with the same kind of manure, 

 half of it in June and the rest in August. — 

 Six weeks after the first part was done, I 

 showed it to a very shrewd and scientific jren- 

 tleman, well acquainted with country affairs, 

 who expressed his astonishment at the im- 

 provement. In October, the farmer whose 

 land adjoins my own, said he had never before 

 seen such extraordinary improvement in any 

 ground. Knowintr that he was one of those 

 who had ridiculed my system, I hinted to him 

 that the propriety of it had been much doubted. 

 He acknowledged he had condemned it, and 

 said he now saw that which he would not 

 have believed had he not witnessed it, and 

 that he thought the manure must have con- 

 tained a large portion of white clover and 

 other grass seeds, otherwise, in his opinion, 

 such an effect could not have been produced. 

 In the liottest part of last summer, I covered, 

 in the same manner, the only field on my 

 farm which had not been previously dressed 

 in a similar way, leaving two ridges in the 

 middle unmanured. I removed all the cattle 

 from this field for six weeks, at the end of 

 which, the two ridges had scarcely grass to sus- 

 tain agoose, while the rest of the field looked 

 like a field of fag or aftermath. Many gen- 

 tlemen examined it. Some seemed satisfied 

 that much benefit was derived at very little cost; 

 ■ >thers expressed their conviction that it was 

 the greatest improvement they had ever seen, 

 and it is my firm belief that, from the time the 

 dung was put on to the end of summer, 1 had 

 at least three times as much grass from the land 

 manured as from tiic other. I must mention 

 another fiict. The man who spread the dung 

 had farmed many years tor hinjself, and might 

 be considered a clever man ; he said to me, 

 you would not thus waste manure if you had 

 not the means of getting plenty more. I 

 asked him to wait a month before he decided; 

 he then declared that he had never been so 

 much mistaken. I mention these things, 

 knowing that my plan has much to contend 

 ugainst, and hoping tiiat noblemen and gen- 

 tlemen, who try my method, may not be 

 laughed out of it before they have applied to 

 it the test of due experience. It may be said 

 that, in these experiments, I did not compare 

 ditferent sorts of manure. I iiave done so re- 



peatedly, but, in truth, I had then no rotten dung 

 by me. I would propose to any one who doubts 

 the propriety of my plan, to put a given weight 

 of fresh dung on a heap to remain (turning it 

 over or not) for twelve months, at which time 

 spread it over the land, and at the same time 

 take a similar weight of fresh dung of the same 

 kind, and spread it over double the space, and I 

 doubt not the result. H itherto I have con fi ried 

 the recommendation of my plan to practical 

 experience alone, but I am not without scien- 

 tific and chemical authorities to support me. 

 Mr. Joseph Hayward's Treatise on the Sci- 

 ence of Agriculture is worth reading by the 

 agriculturist who searches after truth. Being 

 aware of the great difficulties with which the 

 farmer has to contend, I should recommend 

 any new system with diffidence, if attended 

 with additional expense; but as the plan I am 

 desirous to introduce, is alike recommended 

 by its simplicity and economy, and also emi- 

 nently calculated to promote the fertility of 

 the soil, and to secure, by that means, a more 

 adequate remuneration to the farmer, I can- 

 not doubt of its being generally adopted, 

 whenever its practical advantages are more 

 generally known and appreciated. With a 

 view to facilitate its introduction, it will give 

 me great pleasure to correspond with, or to 

 wait upon any nobleman or gentleman, and 

 to explain more fully the details of my method 

 of applying manures, or to assist in introduc- 

 ing the practice upon any farm in hand, either 

 under my own superintendence, or that of my 

 son, who is at this time disengaged, and who 

 is abundantly qualified for such purpose, he 

 j having for several years had almost the en- 

 tire management of a farm of 600 acres in 

 the county of Norfolk, belonging to myselti 

 upon whici), as I have before observed, the 

 system was proved to be highly beneficial. — 

 .My subject has drawn me on to greater length 

 than I expected ; I cannot, however, conclude 

 without saying, thit it", by the system I re- 

 commend, 10s.. or l.js. worth of manure can 

 be added ainnially to every acre of lantl of 

 moderate quality, at no greater expense than 

 by the old method, I think the landlord, the 

 tenant, and the public will be great gainers. 



REMARKS ON THE ABOVE. 



BY JOHN PEARSON. 



On readinir IMr. Baker's mode of applying 

 manure to agricultural purposes, it struck 

 me that he gave no reason why the manure 

 should have the beneficial effect described. 

 The reason appears to me at least to be this, 

 that the manure contained all the essential 

 properties it ever possessed ; and though I 

 liave no doubt but the mode in question will 

 answer very well where it can be conve- 

 niently applied, yet I am disposed to think 



