1-2 



N E WT E N G L A N D FARMER 



jri.Y 14. IS41 



ON MANURES, THEIR NATURE AND AP- 

 PLICAl ION. 



We give the name of niuniire to til substances 

 which are applied to land for the purpose of in- 

 creasing the crops we intend to cultivate, and »e 

 are satistli'd that, by the ii[)plicatJon of manures to 

 our land, "jrealer crops are produced, until the 

 strength of the manure be ethausled ; and then we 

 apply anotlier (luanlily to keep up its productive- 

 ness, without even inquiring; into the nature of the 

 manure which we apply, or tlie way in which it pro- 

 duces these effucts on tlie soil. 



The importance of manure to the farmer is such, 

 that his success, in ihe production of the crops he 

 cultivates, will mainly de|iend on its quantity, and 

 the application of it to the crops he raises as fnod 

 for sheep and other stock ; as those crojis which 

 are consumed on tlie farm, are much more produc- 

 tive of an additicinal (piontity of manure thaji the 

 crops of grain, a great part of wlilch is earned off 

 the land. 



Vegetable and animal matter in a slate of decay 

 or manure, is composed of carbon, oxygen and hy- 

 drogen, the elements of which are the elements of 

 growing vegetables. " By the laws of chemical 

 attraction, vegetable and animal manure is changed 

 by the action of air and water, and made fluid or 

 jcrilorm." (Davy.) Vegetable and animal manure, 

 wlien well mixed in the snil, gives to it the power 

 of absorbing and transmitting moisture for the use 

 of plants that grow in it; therefore, iiiiprovement 

 in some soils, and increased energy in others, will 

 be given by the application of manure. — The tf- 

 fects produced will continue much longer in si.iue 

 soils than in others ; in some, it will be of long du- 

 ration ; in others, it will be transitory. The dung 

 of animals, kept on the farm wiih litter, is the prin- 

 cipal manure on which the farmer should depend, 

 as he has it in hi« power either to increase or di- 

 minish it — Other ^lanure he can have recourse to, 

 when an additional ijuanlity is wanted. .As straw 

 and green crops are the foundation of manure, the 

 increase of these raw materials is, therefore, of 

 great impoitance with a view to future crops. 

 When straw is left in the field as stubble, we are 

 deprived of one-fourth at least, of the means of 

 producing manures ; we therefore see the propriety 

 of collecting all the straw which our crops pro- 

 duce, for the purpose of converting it into manure. 



In the experiment we have made to ascertain the 

 weight of a crop of straw, we find that the quanti- 

 ty of wheal straw will average double the weight 

 of the wheat produced ; so that if all the straw be 

 converted ijito manure, by part of it being con- 

 sumed by some animal as food, and the remainder 

 03 litter, it would, with proper care, produce ma- 

 nure sufficient to keep up, and with good culture 

 increase, the proilucliveneea of the soil. 



Well fed cattle or sheep, whether in the field, 

 stall or yard, produce an abundant supply of the 

 best and most valunblo manure, which will again 

 produce an abundant crop of green food for stock. 

 We hold it to be an axiom in agriculture, that all 

 the manure which can be produced, should be ap- 

 plied to the production of gteen food, such as tur- 

 nips, mangel wurtzel, pntatnes, cabbage, vetches, or 

 clover, for stock. By the application of all our ma. 

 Dure to the production of food for stock, a verv 

 large quantity of food can thus be obtained on a 

 dinall quantity of land, when compared with the old 

 system of applying all our innniire for the produc- 

 Uan of corn for the market. The produce of foo.l 



for the feeding of stock ought to be our first ob- 

 ject — that of corn for sale the second : if we se- 

 cure the -first, the second will follow of course. 



A proper and unremitting attention to the accu- 

 mulation of the dung-hiil ought to be one of the 

 first objects of the farmer ; he ought to add to its 

 contents by every means in his power, and adopt 

 every plan for increasing its magnitude by the kind 

 of crops he cultivates, and not only to add to its 

 bulk, but also to its richness. The dung of beasts 

 fed (111 straw only is of little value when compared 

 with the dung of those fod on turnips : but the 

 dung of those beasts fed on corn is better than 

 either; and the dung of those fed on oil-cake is 

 the most valuable of all th-e others. 



An acre of ilover is said to keep three 3-year 

 old beasts for six months, from April to November; 

 and an acre of lurniiis will keep three 3-year old 

 bea.-ts from 1st November to the 1st of May : the 

 quantity of uiauure which these three beasts will 

 produce, while being thus fed in the house or yard 

 for twelve months, will be about thirty tons. 



If we have a cistern or a pool into which the 

 urine and all the water from the dung-hill runs, 

 and if we regularly return it to the dung. hill by 

 pumping it upon it, or if we mix the liquid with 

 earth, or if we cart it out in watcr-carls and spread 

 it over our arable or pasture land, none of the rich- 

 ness of the dung will go to waste ; but if this 

 water runs to waste, this liquid, being the essence 

 of the manure, it must necessarily be of less val- 

 ue ; the whole of the dung-hill will run away in a 

 liquid state, if allowed to remain long enough. — 

 We have seen this to be the case in numberless in- 

 stances ; indeed, there are very few farmers who 

 pay a pioper attention to this circumstance ; all let 

 their liquid manure run away to the brook, without 

 ever attempting to stop it. If I were to make an 

 estimate of the loss which the farmers in general 

 sustain in this way, I would say that he loses at 

 the very least one fourth part, and in some in- 

 stances, much more of the means he has of pro- 

 curing a good crop of turnips. An ox or a cow 

 fed in the house throughout the year, will produce 

 as much dung as will be sufficient for half an acre 

 of turnips. 



The manufacture of manure or the art of pre- 

 paring it for every kind of land, ought to be more 

 attended to than it is, and if farmers saw the ad- 

 vantage which they would derive from having their 

 manure prepared for their particular kind of soil, 

 they would pay more attention to it than they do 

 at present : this is one of the most necessary 

 branches of the agricultural business,— not only 

 the preparation of it, but the means of increasing 

 its quantity, and preserving its quality. 



Then, again, there ought to-be nipre considera- 

 lion paid to the application of jnaoure to particu- 

 lar land : large quantities are frequently put on 

 land, and llie result is ihe production of an over- 

 abundance of straw and less corn. Dung, we 

 think, should never be put on land but for ihe pro 

 duclion of green crops. If the effects produced 

 on these crops are so great, that the consumption 

 ol the whole will tend to make the next crop over- 

 luxuriant, then part of the crop should bo taken 

 from the land, and consumed in the yard. 



When dung is mixed with the soil, it produces 

 a certain degree of fermentation in the vegetable 

 mailer which the earth contains, separating its 

 parts, dividing and piilvel-izing it, making it friable 

 and porous, and in a certain degree pcrforminiT 

 what is done by tillage. This putrid fermentation 



of vegetable and animal matter in the soil has a 

 great elTecl on the portions of earth v/hich it comes 

 in contact with ; the putrid matter is disseminated 

 through it, altering the nature, texture and color 

 of the soil, and making it friable, clammy, and of 

 a dark color. 



The production of turnips, vetches, nnd clover, 

 by a large proportion of the farm, and the consump- 

 tion of these by sheep and oxen, will, under almost 

 every circumstance, produce a sufficient quantity 

 of manure to keep the land in a highly productive 

 slate; and, if sufficient attention be paid to thia 

 port of agricultural business, a much greater quan- 

 tity of corn will result from it, even when a lest 

 breadth of land is sown to corn, nnd a greater pro- 

 portion to turnips, vetches and clover. 



As manure is of such vital importance to tho 

 farmer, every attention should be paid to the col- 

 lection of the materials necessary to form il ; every 

 vegetable substance, together with the waste earth 

 of ditches, road sides, sides of the fields, yards, 

 &.C. will add to the compost heap, not only in quan- 

 tity, but also in quality, if proper care in the mix- 

 ture be attended to. 



Weeds of every kind will be available before 

 they come lo seed, or rather before ihey blossom, 

 as the seeds of many of ihem are perfected before 

 the blossom drops oflf; and it should be kept in 

 mind, that no fermenialioii in Ihe dung-lull will de- 

 stroy the vegetatiic power of a single seed. 



When vegetable matter is fermenting in a dung- 

 hill, it should be mixed and covered with earth, 

 which will imbibe the volatile or gaseous mailer 

 that is thrown off during its fermentation ; and if 

 there be a large portion of animal manure in the 

 compost, it should have a bed of eartli lo imbibe 

 all the carbonaceous mailer that runs from it: and 

 on every turning over which we think it right to 

 give the mass, we should add an additional quanti- 

 ty of earth lo cover il with. 



Much earth should be used in all dunghills, as 

 the earth that is thus impregnated is nearly, if not 

 altogether, as valuable as ibe dung itself, in alter- 

 ing and iniproving the soil lo which it is applied. 



Bui in these composts, regard should be had to 

 the nature of the soil, to which we intend lo apply 

 them; for wc should regard manure more as an al- 

 terative, than as food, for plants. A compost for a 

 light soil should be formed of cold manure, the 

 dung of animals which chew the cud, of clayey or 

 Icnncious earth, nnd ihe clearing of ditches or other 

 water-fed earths. The compost lor strong lena- 

 ciims soils should, on the other hand, be formed of 

 hot manure, the dung of animals thai do not chew 

 the cud, such as horses and pigs. These should be 

 mixed with light, sandy, or rubbly earth, the sides 

 of roads, or sandy, dry, porous earth from rich 

 yards or other places. 



Road scrapings, being the produce of stone rc- 

 dured by friction, is of a grilly, sandy nature, whal- 

 evir be the nature ami properlies of the materials 

 of which il is composed ; and frotn its grilly quali- 

 ty it forms an excellent alterative for clayey soils, 

 and when mixed with a large portion of horse 

 dung, it forii s an excellent compost for all clay or 

 strong soils, us it tends to keep the soil open and 

 porous. 



In the application of manure, ihe nature of the 

 soil should be considered. If the soil be a strong 

 clay, and very tenacious, the monure should be of 

 a light, or loose porous nature, such as stable un- 

 fermented dung ; and if a compost, it should be 

 made of a light, sandy or porous nature : but if the 



