AND H O R T I C U L T U R A I. R E « I S T E R . 



PUULISHKD BV JOSEPH BREfK St CO., NO. 52 NOUTM MAIIKKT STRK.KT, (Aoiiicultu.ai Waii«mou.e.)-AI-LKN PUTNAM, KOITOK 

 VOl»XX.] 



BOSTON, WEDNKSDAY EVKNINC, DKCKMUKR I, 1841. 



ISO. as 



N, E. FARMER. 



FARMYARD MANURE. 



The quality of farm-yard compost naturally v»- 

 ic9 with tiio food uf the animals by which it is 

 made : that from the cattle of the Btranr yard is 

 decidedly the poorest — that from thuso fed on oil 

 akc. corn, or 9wede.<, the richest. Of Btahle 

 uiig, that from corn-fod horses is most powerful — 

 Tom those subsisting on strau- and hay, the poor- 

 Thc difference betwoen the fertilizing ef- 

 'acts of the richest and the inferior farm-yard dung-, 

 3 much greater than is commonly believed : in 

 niny instances the disparity e-tceeds one half; — 

 bus, that produced by cattle fed upon oil cake is 

 ully equal in value to double the quantity fed upon 

 urnips. And as tlio food consumed so materially i 

 fluences the quality of the manure, it follows, as : 

 natural consequence, that that mode in summer j 

 y the clover, grass, and tare-fed stock is much ' 

 operior to that produced during the winter months ; 

 J the store-fed cattle of the straw.yard, which is 

 su&lly still further impoverished by the rains and 

 I0W8. Hence, too, the superior richness of the { 

 iianure of fatting swine to that of pigs in a lean I 

 tate, and the far superior strength of nightsoil to 

 my manure produced from merely vegetable food. I 

 hemical e.\amination3 are hardly necessary to 

 rove these facts. Cvc-ry farmer who has had stall- 1 

 id cattle, will testify to their truth — every cuiti- 1 

 itor will readily acknowledge the superiority of | 

 town-made" — that is, corn-produced stable dung, | 

 » that from horses fed only on hay and straw — and I 

 at night soil is far superior in strength to either. I 

 'he relative quantities employed by the cultivator 

 stray the same fact; for on the soils where he 

 iplies twenty loads of good farm-yard compost 

 ir acre, be spreads not half that quantity of night 

 iL 



It is usual for the farmer, although not so com- 

 lob a practice as is desirable, to increase the bulk 

 not the quality of his dung-heaps, by addintj to 

 era various other substances. Thus, as to en- 

 rging them, by adding to that of the farm-yard 

 lat mosi, the late Lord Meadowbank made many 

 iperiments with success, and his directions are 

 a very simple and easily followed description. 

 Let the peat-moss,"' he says, " be thrown out of 

 e pit for some weeks or months, in order ti> lose 

 redundant moisture. 15y this means it is ren- 

 !red the lighter to carry, and less compact and 

 avy, when made up with fresh dung for fermen- 

 tion ; and accordingly less dung is required for 

 is purpose tlian if the preparation is made with 

 lat taken recently from the pit: the peat taken 

 ra near the surface or at a considerable depth, 

 swers equally well. Take the peat moss to a 

 y spot convenient for constructing a dunghill, to 

 irve the field to be manured ; lay the cartloads of 

 in two rows, and of the dung in a row between 

 em. The dung thus lies nearly on an area of 

 i6 future compost dunghill, and the rows of peat 

 lOUld be near enough each other, thai workmen 

 making up the compost, may be able to throw 



them together by the spade. In making up, let 

 the workmen begin at one end, and at the extremi- 

 ty of the row of dung, (which should not extend 

 quite so far at that end, as the row^ of peaH on 

 each side of it do,) lot them lay a boitom of peat 

 six inches deep and tifleeii feet wide, if the ground 

 admits of it ; then throw forward and lay on about 

 ten inches of dung above the bottom of peat, then 

 add from the side rows about six inches of pc;it, 

 then four or five of dung, and then six more of poat 

 — then another thin layer of dung, and then cover 

 it over with peat at the end where it was begun, 

 nnd at the two sides. The compost should not be 

 raised above four feet or four feet and a half high, 

 otherwise it is apt to press too heavily on the un- 

 der parts, and check the fermentation ; when a be- 

 ginning is thus made, the workmen will proceed 

 working backwards, and adding to the column of 

 compost, as they are furnished with the three rows 

 of materials directed to be laid down for them. 

 They must take care not to tread on the compost 

 or render it too compact, and of consequence, in 

 proportion as the peat is wet it should be made up 

 in lumps, end not much broken. In mild weather 

 seven cartloads of common farm dung, tolerably 

 frosh made, is sufficient for twentyonc cartloads of 

 peat moss ; but in cold weather a larger propor- 

 tion of dung is desirable. To every twantyeight 

 cartloads of the compost when made up, it is of use 

 to throw on above it a cartload of ashes, either 

 made from coal, peat or wood ; or if these cannot 

 be had, half the quantity of slacked lime may be 

 u.sed, the more finely powdered the better; but 

 these additions are no wise essential to the general 

 success of the compost. " The dung to be used 

 should either have been recently made or kept 

 fresh by compression, as by the treading of cattle 

 or swine, or by carts passing over it; and if there 

 is little or no litter in it a smaller quantity will 

 serve, provided any spongy vegetable matter is add- 

 ed, at making up the compost — as fresh weeds — 

 the rubbish of a stackyard — potato shaves — sawings 

 of timber, &c. ; and as sonic- sorts of dung, ev«n 

 when fresh, nre much more advanced in decomposi- 

 tion tlian others, it is material to attend to this ; 

 for a much less proportion of such dung as is less 

 advanced will serve for the compost, provided care 

 is taken to keep the mass sufficiently open, either 

 by a mixture of the above mentioned substances, or 

 if these are wanting, by adding the peat piecemeal ; 

 that is, first making it up in the usual proportion 

 of three to one of dung, and then adding, after a 

 time, an equal quantity more or less of moKs. The 

 dung of this qual'ty of greatest quniitity is shamble 

 dung, with which under the above precautions six 

 times the quantity of peat or more, may be prepar- 

 ed. The same holds as to pigeon's dung and oth- 

 er fowl dung, and to a certain extent also, as to 

 that whicli is collected from towns, and made by 

 animals that feed on grains, refuse of distilleries, &c. 

 The compost, after it is made up, gets into a 

 general h»at sooner or later, according to the 

 weather and the condition of the dung : in su-u- 

 inor, in ten days or sooner ; in winter, not perhaps 

 for many weeks, if the cold is severe. It always, I 



however, has been found to come on at last; and 

 in summer it sometimes rises so high as to be mia- 

 chievous, by consuming the materials (firt-fangxng.) 

 In that season a slick should be kept in it in dif- 

 ferent parts, to pull out, and feel now and then ; 

 fiir if it approaches to blood heat, it should either bo 

 watered or turned over, and on such an occasion ad- 

 vantage may be taken to mix it with a little fresh 

 moss. The heat subsides after a time, and with 

 great variety, according to the weather, the dung, 

 and the perfection of the making up of the com- 

 post, which then should be allowed to remain un- 

 touched till witliin three weeks of using, when it 

 should be turned over upside down, and outside in, 

 and all lumps broken ; then it comes into a secon d 

 heat, but soon cools and should be taken out for 

 use. In this state the whole, except bits of tJ le 

 old decayed wood, appears a black free mass, at id 

 spreads like garden mould. Use it weight fi ir 

 weight as farm-yard dung, and it will be found in 

 a course of cropping fully to sfand the compirisoi n. 

 Compost, if made up before January, has hitho) •- 

 to been in good order for the spring crops, but tli is 

 may not happen in a long frost. In summer, it is 

 ready in eight or ten weeks, and if there is an anx i- 

 ety to have it soon prepared, the addition of ashi .'s 

 or of a little lime rubbish of old buildings, or ( >f 

 lime slackened with foul water, npplicd to tb le 

 dung used in making up, will quicken the procci s 

 consideribly. Peat prepared with lime nlone hi is 

 not been found to answer as good manure ; in oi ,o 

 instance, viz: on a bit of fallow sown with wliij: it 

 it was manifestly pernicious. The opinion of Loj d 

 Meadowbank in favor of the use of peat or sat /- 

 dust as a mixture ivith farm-yard compost, has bc< -n 

 recently confirmed by Mr Dixon, of Hatheraha' w, 

 in Lancashire. 



WOOLLR.N RAOS. 



These are almost entirely composed of anini al 

 matter; tiiey are found to contain a very lar( ;e 

 proportion of albumen, (a substance similar in a p- 

 pearaiice to boiled white of egg,) minute portioi is 

 of lime and silica, and traces of various salt s. 

 They form, therefore, an excellent manure, b y 

 slowly decomposing In the soil ; .nnd are found ;to 

 remain dissolving in it, and forming soluble aa d 

 elastic matters for the service of plants, when ap'- 

 plied at the rate (if twelve hun Irod weight per aor« •, 

 for periods varying from two years on the heavy 

 clays. The lightness of carriage, and its readi- 

 ness, as well as cleanliness of application, render 

 it peculiarly eligible as a fertilizer; it keeps, too, 

 for any lon!>ili (if time, until the farmer is ready to 

 apply it to his ground, and is much more slowly 

 decomposed and consuir»ed, than either blubber, 

 rape cake, train oil, or bone dust. 



Of these rags, the consumption by the Berkshire 

 and Oxfordshire firniers, and especially in Kent 

 for the hop grounds, is very considerable. I am 

 informed by an extensive dealer in these rags, that 

 at least 20,000 tons ore annually consumed by the 

 farmer.s of the south of England. My informant 

 himself has a vale of more than .500 tons per an- 

 num, which he delivers free on board o vessel, at 



