1S36.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



19 



yond anv other upon all the liglit. soils throughout 

 Flanders; and even upon sirong lands, originally 

 so rich as to preclude the necessity of manure, it 

 is now coniinir into great esteem, being consider- 

 ed applicali'e to most crops, and to all the varie- 

 ties ol soil.' 



The crop upon which it is, however, chiefly 

 bestowed, \p flax, in the following manner and pro- 

 portion. 'The field, after two or three ploughings 

 and harrowinifs, is backed up in the centre, and 

 j)loughed round in but one set, so as to leave it 

 without any lurrow. A heavy roller is then drawn 

 across the ploughing by three horses, the manure 

 is spread equally over the entire surliice, and. 

 when well harrowed in by eight or nine strokes oi' 

 the harrow, the s?cd is sown, which is also har- 

 rowed in bv a light harrow, with wooden pins ol 

 less than 3 inches, an;l the surface, to conclude the 

 operation, is again carefully rolled, so that nothing 

 can exceed the smoothness and cultivated appear- 

 ance of fields thus accurately prepared.' 



The manner in which the manure is apr.lied is 

 in one or the other of the following modes, ac- 

 cording to the distance. 'Where the cart plies, 

 the manure is carried in a great sheet, closed at 

 the corners by riuining strings, and secured to the 

 four uprighis ol" the carl: tv/o men, s*and one on 

 each side, scatter it with hollow shovels upon the 

 ground. Or, where barrels are made use of, each 

 is carried by two men with poles, and set down at 

 equal distances across the field, in the line of the 

 rollina:. There are two sets of vessels, which en- 

 able the men who deposite the loaded on?s to 

 bring hack others empty. One man to each ves- 

 sel, with a .'jcoop. or rather a kind of bowl, vvith a 

 long hrmd'e, spreads the manure so as to cover a 

 certain space; and thus, by preserving the inter- 

 vals correctly, they can precisely gauge the quan- 

 tity ibr giving effect to any extent of surface,' It 

 must, however, be admitted that this mode of ap- 

 plication is somewhat clums\', and that it might 

 be improved. For the flax crop they are profjse, 

 for they usually allow at the rate of 24S0 gallons, 

 beer nieas;:re, to the English acre.* 



It thus appears that the dissolution of the oil- 

 cake and suillcient time for the thorough putrefac- 

 tion of the contents of the cistern is the only pre- 

 paration of this manure; and it is stated that 21 

 acres, upon a llirm of 200, are most luxuriantly 

 manured lor crops ol' flax and rape with the urine 

 — exclusive of the dung — of fort^^-four head of 

 cattle. t It must, liowever. be borne in mind that, 

 although the Fletiungs have too just a sense oi 

 the value of money to lay it out u'ith the prospect 

 of a nro.Pirable return, yet the construction of such 

 a buildin-x as that described is calculated at about 

 £120: in this countrv it would p-robablv cost con- 



siderably more; and, as it cannot be removed, it 

 will not suit the means of every farmer to be at 

 'he expense, unless he can obtain the assi.slance ot' 

 his landlord. 



In another account, drawn up in consequence 

 of an investigation upon a very extensive Flemish 

 liu'Mi, by persons appointed to examine the plan, 

 (which had been objected to by several intelligent 

 |)ractical men,) it was declared, 'that, owing to 

 to the judicious concavity ol" the l"arm yard, there 

 was as much moisture as was necessary to fer- 

 ment the straw; and it is now ascertained that li- 

 quiii manure is the most clFicacious of any, and 

 produces a third more eU'ecl than what is spread 

 upon the surliu^e. Hence, after the dung is fer- 

 mented, they dilute it in water, and the liquid 

 ;di)ne is carried to the field, and scattered over it, 

 The earth irat!iediately imbibes the liquid, which 

 soon reaches the roots of the plants, and causes a 

 rapid vegetation; whereas it is a long time before 

 dung, in a solid state, fertilizes the soil. The 

 straw that remains, alter the dung is thus washed, 

 is applied as manure for potatoes.J This mode 

 has been, indeed, extensively carried on in other 

 parts of the Continent, and its eficcis are consid- 

 ered as equally beneficial. There, by some farm- 

 ers, water is regularly thrown over the dunghills, 

 the oozings fi'om v.'liich are allowed to drain'into pits 

 constructed for the purpose, and permitted to ier- 

 meiit before they are laid upon the land; or, by 

 others, the whole of the dung and stall-litter is 

 immersed in water, wdiich, after a certain time, is 

 pumped up from the pits, and app-lied in a liquid 

 form; in which manner it is contended that this 

 manure is not only more po^verild in itsclfj but the 

 quantity is thus doubled, for the solid contents of 

 the dunghill remain the same. Experiments on 

 an extensive scale have incontestably proved the 

 efiicacy of liquid manures upon sandy or other 

 lit^ht soils, to which they impart consistency, and 

 dispose them to retain moisture; nor can there be 

 much doubt that in many cases the product of a 

 single crop may be thus more than doubled, by its 

 immediate contact with the plants. 



On heavy land, we however coincide with the 

 opinion of that eminent agriculturist the Earon de 

 Thaer, from whom this account is taken, that it 

 can never replace the solid contents of the dung- 

 hill; and, although not contesting the advantages 

 of which it may be susceptible when applied to 

 those soils and crops to which it is peculiarly ap- 

 plicable, we yet doubt the extraordiary degree of 

 power ascribed to it. Befoie this mode of pre- 

 paring manure l)e generally adopted, it should also 

 be well ascertained whether the pains and ex- 

 pense attendant upon it do not overbalance those 

 ol" our own common manawment; lor although it 



* The average produce of crops iipoa a sandy loam, and the quantity of manure for each per English acre, 

 when applied to the land, is thus stated: — 



- Either dung or compost, 10^ tons. 



Wheat. 222 bushals 



Rye, 28h do. ----- 



Oats, 51 5-6 do. - 



Flax, 6^ do. of seed and stem, worth £17 IGs. 9d. 



Rape-seed, 32 2-5 do. 



Beans, 23j do. . . . . . 



Potatops. 8 5-G tons - . . . 



Farm-yard manure, do. 

 Do. do. 

 - 860 cakes of rape, dissolved in 24S0 gallons of urine. 

 530 lio. dissolved in .9200 gallons of do. 



14 cart-loads of liquid manure and t!ie same quan- 

 tity of siable-dung, equal togetlicr to 21 tons. 

 Do do, do. 



— Radclitf's Report of the Agriculture of Eastern and Western Flanders, pp. 90, 91. 



I Sir John Sinclair, liowever, says, in his 'Hints on tlie Agricnltiiral Slate of the Neflieriam's, 

 ot'iier farm it roquir.'d tl'.e nrinc of GS cattle, of various ages and 32 horses, to manure 40 acres. 

 t Ibid. p. 67. 



that in an- 



