vol.. \\. KO. «0. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



317 



Kroin Dr. Dao«'t Muck Manual, 



RECIPES FOR COMPOSTS. 

 A Sitbstitutt J'or Soiipboilers' S/ient Lty Take 



•• Fino dry snufTy pent. 



Salt, 



Astios, 



Wiilor, 



50 lb(. 

 1-2 bushel. 

 1 



100 (lallona. 



,Mi\ llic ashes and pest well togollicr, sprinkling; 



^ til nator to moisten a liltio : let tho heap lay f'xr 



reck. Dissolve the salt m the naler, in a hu;;3- 



id, and add ti> the brine, ihn mi.Ytiiru of peat and 



les, stirring well tho while. Lei it be stirred 



a^iionslly for a week, and it will be tit for use. 



. >ply it as spent ley, grounds and all. Both ashes 



> 1 salts may be doubled and trebled, with advan- 



, ;e, if convenient The mixture or ley must be 



I id before it begins to putrefy : thi.s occurs m 



ee or four weeks. It then evolves sulphuretted 



T Jrogcn gas, or the smell of gas of rotten eggs : 



s arises from llie decomposition of thesulphates 



the water and ashes, by the vegetable matter. 



portion of the geinc is thus deposited from the 



ution." 



Salt, Lime and Peal. — Take 1 busliel of salt— 1 

 k of lime. Slack the lime with the brine made 

 dissolving the salt in water sufficient to make a 

 T paste with the lime, which will be not quite 

 Relent to dissolve all the salt Mix all the ma- 

 als then well together, and let them remain to- 

 .her ill a heap for JO days, and then be well mix- 

 wiili three cords of peal ; shovel well over for 

 )Ut t! weeks, and it will be fit for use. Here, 

 n, are produced 3 cords of manure, for about tho 

 t of $2 10 per cord. 



Salt, $0,60 



Lime, 1,20 



Peat, 4,50 



3}$6,30(|2,10 

 From experiments made in a small way, it is be- 

 «ed that this will be found an effectual manure: 

 : author suggests it, in the hope that it may lead 

 cautious experiment" 



Peal, Sal .Jmmoniac and Lime. — " Tliere is still 

 )lher form in which this artificial manure may 

 prepared — that is by the addition of ammonia, 

 real Simon Pure of cow dung. Take 



3 cords of peat, 

 61 lbs, sal ammoniac, 



]-t cask, or about 61 lbs. lime. 

 Slack the lime, dissolve the sal ammoniac, and 

 t the peat well with the solution through every 

 •t 'J'hen shovel over, mixing in the lime accu- 

 ely. We have here then, 3 cords of manure, at 

 irice as follows : 



3 cords peat, $4,50 



61 lbs. sal ammoniac, at 1*., 10,17 

 61 lbs. lime, 0,27 



3)ifl4,94($4,98 

 It will be observed that three cords are used in 

 !3e calculations, because the quantity of salts 

 ;d are equivalent to tlie ammonia in a cord of 

 ng, and that is supposed to be composted with two 

 rds of loam, or meadow mud. Whellier the esti- 

 ites are correct, each one will determine by the 

 luc he may place on his peat and manure, and 

 n apply his own estimate. When a cord of 9ta- 

 3 or barn-yard manure is usually estimated worth 



$1, the price of n cord of clear pure cow dung will 

 not be thought high at $17. In fact, it probably, 

 when mixed with the usual proportion of litter, | 

 straw, stalkd, and tho usuni loss by waste of its ' 

 value, would become worth only about $5. Iltit | 

 these questions do not affect tho principle — that j 

 iVdiii alkali and p^'at, as cheap a manure inny be ! 

 pioparnd, ond 08 good, us from stable dung; for 

 let that bo called - - - $5,00 — then adding I 

 2 cords of peat, - . - 3,00 I 



3).$8,00 



$2,60 per cord." I 



.liiimnl ^falter and Peat. — " There are other 

 sources of alkali, for converting peat into soluhle 

 matter. Of these the chief is animal matter. — 

 Here we have ammonia produced. It has been 

 actually proved by experiment, that n dead horse 

 can convert 20 tons (or cubic yards) of peat into 

 a valuable niainire, richer ond more Listing tlinn 

 stable dung; — 'a barrel of olewives is equal to n 

 wagon load of peat." The next great and prolific 

 source of ammonia is the urine. The urine of one 

 cow for a winter, mixed up as it is daily collected, 

 with peat, is suflicient to manure 1-2 an acre of 

 land with 20 loads of manure of the best quality, 

 while her solid evacuations and litter, for the same 

 period, afforded only 17 loads, whose value was 

 only about one half that of the former." 



From the .same. 



MANURES— BONES, SOOT, &.c. 

 Bones. — " Bones consist of variable proportions 

 of cartilage, bone-earth, and carbonate of lime. 

 The bone-earth may be estimated at one iiaif the 

 weight It is a peculiar phosphate of lime, con- 

 taining 8 parts of lime to 3 of phosphoric acid. A 

 great part of the value of bone as manure, depends 

 on its cartilage. The animal part of bones be.og 

 one third of their weight, the ammonia is equal to 

 8 to 10 times that of cow dung, while, if we regard 

 the salts only, 100 lbs. of bone-dust contain nearly 

 6G times as much as an equal weight of cow dung. 

 Such statements, while they express the chemical 

 facts, are almost, if not quite, supported by the tes- 

 timony of those who have, in practical agriculture, 

 applied these concentrated animal manures. It is 

 a common opinion that bones from the soapboiler 

 have lost a portion of their animal matter. It is 

 erroneous. Boiling, except under high pressure, 

 extracts very little of the gelatine, and not all the 

 fat and marrow. Heads and shoulder-blades, and 

 the smaller bones, still contain, after boiling, 3 1-2 

 per cent of fat and tallow. If the phosphate of 

 lime of such bones is dissolved out by acid, the 

 animal portion remains, with all the form and bulk 

 of the bone. Bones which are offered in the mar- 

 ket, are quite as rich in the elements above stated, 

 ae are unboiled bones. The phosphate of lime is 

 rendered quite soluble by its combination with gel- 

 atine and albumen." 



Soot. — " Among the most powerful of manures 

 in the class composed of geiiie and salts, is soot. 

 There is no one substance so rich In both. Its 

 composition allies it to animal solids, and is as fol- 

 lows : 



Geine, 30.70 



Nitrogen, 20. 



Salts of lime, mostly chalk, 25.31 



Bone dust, 1.50 



SaltA of potash and S'idn, ami ammonia, 6.14 

 Carbon, 8.H5 



Water, 12..50 



100. 



On tho principles adopted for determining the 

 value of manure, the salts in 100 Ibn. of sunt, are 

 equal to 1 ton of cow dung. Its nitr<igeii gives in 

 a value, compared with cow dung, as 40 to 1. 



Soot forms a capital liquid manure, for the flor- 

 iculturist Mixed with water, in the proportion of 

 I! quarts of soot to 1 hogshead, it has been found 

 to be a most eflicacious liquid, with which to 

 water green-house plants ; and being not only a 

 comcat-ablc, hut a comely preparation, it may re- 

 commend itself to the cultivators of flowers, by 

 these lady-like qualities." 



Urine of the Cow "The quantity of liquid ma- 

 nure produced by one cow annually, is erpial to 

 fertilizing 114 acres of ground, producing effects 

 as durable as do the solid evacuations. A cord of 

 loam, saturated with urine, is equal to a cord of 

 the best rotted dung. If tho liquid and tlio solid 

 evcuations including the litter, are kept separate, 

 and soaking up the liquid by loam, it has been 

 found they will manure land, in proportion by bulk 

 of 7 liquid to 6 solid, while their actual value is 

 as 2 to 1. 



" 100 lbs. of cow's urine afford 35 lbs. of the 

 most powerful salts which have ever been used by 

 farmers. The simple statement then, in figures, 

 of difference in value of tho solid and liquid eva- 

 cuations of a cow, should impress upon all the 

 importance of saving the last in preference to the 

 first Let both be saved. If the liquids contain- 

 ed naturally, geine, they might be applied alone. 

 It is the want of that guiding principle which 

 teaches that salts %ni geine should go hand in 

 hand, which has sometimes led to results in tho 

 application of the liquor, which have given this 

 substance a bad name." 



Woollen rugs. — " Woollen rags and (locks be- 

 come powerful manure. They aflord ammonia, 

 and 100 lbs. containing 17 of nitrogen, should be 

 nearly 34 times stronger than 100 lbs. of fresh 

 cow dung. Connected with flocks and wool, there 

 is a very valuable product, rich in all the elements 

 of manure, which is often lost or not used for ag- 

 ricultural purposes, namely, the sweat, or natural 

 soap of wool. Fresh clipped wool loses from 35 

 to 45 per cent of its weight by washing. This is 

 due to a peculiar matter exuded from the wool, 

 and which consists chiefly of potash, lime, and 

 magnesia, united to a peculiar animal oil, forming 

 an imperfect soap. It is remarkable that this soap 

 of lime, in all other cases insoluble, is here solu- 

 ble in water. The experience of the best French 

 agriculturists, is full of testimony to the good 

 eflects of this wool sweat It has been calculated 

 that the washings from the wool, annually consum- 

 ed in France, are equal to manuring 370,C00 acres 

 of land." 



Men are born with two eyes, but with one tongue 

 in order that they should see twice as much astliey 

 say ; but from the conduct of many, one would 

 suppose that they were born with two tongues and 

 one eye ; for those talk the in ist, who have observ- 

 ed the least, and obtrude their remarks upon every 

 thing, who have seen into nothing. — Lacon. 



The truth of tlie above is as apparent now as 

 ever. 



