FARMERS' REGISTER— MANAGEMENT OF FARM DUNG. 



99 



Davy, on this subject. By a careful considera- 

 tion of such scientitic principles, and applying 

 them according to circumstances, the attentive 

 husbandman may adjust his own practice — en- 

 large the quantity, and improve the quality of his 

 farm dung — and thus add to the fertility of the 

 country. If you think the following remarks can 

 tend any thing to that purpose, if you please you 

 may publish them in your next number. 



Sir Humphrey begins with vegetable substan- 

 ces, and shows that green succulent plants contain 

 the largest proportion of easily soluble matter. — 

 He recommends, therefore, that they be ploughed 

 into the ground while they are sLill fresh and 

 green, about the time of their flowering. But it 

 must be remembered, that the generality of green 

 plants can be used to greater advantage than that 

 of plougliing them immediately into the ground as 

 manure. Besides, if the plants are to be raised on 

 the ground which they are destined to manure, 

 tljat ground must either be possessed of a tolerable 

 share of fertility, or tlie plants must be of a puny 

 growth, and the quantity of manure thus obtained 

 inconsiderable. Hence it is evident, that a great 

 part of the substance of which those plants are com- 

 posed, must be derived from the soil; and plough- 

 ing in the plants is not a great deal more than re- 

 storing to it that of which it had been recently 

 robbed. 



Dry straio, that is, the stems of plants, dried 

 and hardened in the air, is justly represented as 

 widely diifering from tender green plants, being 

 possessed of little easily soluble matter, and much 

 woody fibre. To overcome the resistance to solu- 

 tion, which this suL)stance lias acquired, it is com- 

 monly submitted to some kind ol fermentation ; 

 and Sir Humphrey expresses his doubt of the pro- 

 priety of indiscriminatingly adopting this prac- 

 tice, recommending rather to cut straw small, and 

 keep it dry till it be ploughed into the ground.— 

 So long as farmers must keep live slock, and not 

 only supply them v.'itli a variety of ibod, but, for 

 tlie sake of health and cleanliness, accommodate 

 them with a comfortable bed of litter, it is not pro- 

 bable that there will much straw remain, even of 

 the worst quality, to be used in the manner here 

 recommeniled. J3ut it may not be improper to 

 take under consideration a prescription so directly 

 opposite to ordinary practice. 



Sir Humphrey does not here give explicit rea- 

 sons for prescribing the application of unferment- 

 ed straw as manure, reserving these till he come 

 to treat of composite manure. He only says, that 

 ' though it would produce less effect at first, yet 

 its influence would be much more lasting;' which 

 no doubt would he the case. But the fiirmer ex- 

 pects a prompt return. The soil, indeed, is conti- 

 nually consuming all dead animal and vegetable 

 substances committed to it: and, gradually reduc- 

 ing them to total dissolution, absorbs the dissolved 

 matter, and yields it again for the nourishment of 

 growing plants. But when such substances are 

 dry, they imbibe moisture partially, and the de- 

 composition is languid and slow. If, however, a 

 quantity of straw, steeped for some days in water, 

 till it become soft and pliant, be put in the ground, 

 two or three inches under the suriace, any plant, 

 growing over, or contiguous to it, will in a short 

 time assume a deep verdure ajid vigorous growth, 

 and grow for some years with remarkable luxu- 

 liance, after the conformation of t!ie straw is anni- 



hilated, and no traces of it left. Hence it would 

 appear, that straw, soaked and suppled in water, 

 would be preferable to dry straw : for though, by 

 the force of fermentation, the component princi- 

 ples of vegetables are disengaged ; and such as 

 are capable of taking a gasceous form, are dissipat- 

 ed in air, and lost to the husbandman, before they 

 are committed to the ground: yet they would 

 ferment more freely in the ground, by being first 

 well soaked in water ; and Sir Humphrey ap- 

 proves of a slight incipient fermentation, for which 

 the presence of water is requisite. As straw alone, 

 however, is seldom used as a manure, any farther 

 consideration of the process of fermentation, and 

 its effects, may be waved till we come to compo- 

 site manure, which chiefly occupies the attention 

 of the farmer. For the same reason, the judicious 

 remarks of this celebrated autlior, on manures 

 from animal substances, may be passed. 



I'he dung of horses, cattle, sheep, &c. is itself a 

 composite, consisting of animal matter, mixed with 

 the undigested fibres of their food ; and we are 

 informed, that it yields nearly the same products 

 as vegetable substances. This substance is always 

 less or more moist when voided ; and if continued 

 so, soon decomposes and disappears in the soil with 

 which it is mixed ; but if suddenly dried, Avill 

 keep in perfect preservation for a very long time, 

 a:id almost lose its peculiar fetor ; it will even long 

 preserve tlie same appearance, when afterwards 

 buried in the moist earth. The dung of live stock 

 is still more compounded by tlie straw and of&ls 

 which have served for tlieir litter ; and this mix- 

 ture forms the dunghill, on which the farmer de- 

 pends for renovating the fertility of the soil. The 

 management of this substance, in such a manner 

 as to render it most efficient, is therefore of great 

 importance ; and on this, we are favored with the 

 opinion of this illustrious philosopher. ' A slight 

 ' incipient fermentation,' says he, ' is undoubtedly 

 ' of use in the dunghill ;' (tmd indeed it is una- 

 ' voidable) ' for by means of it, a disposition is 

 ' brought on, in the woody fibre, to decay and dis- 

 ' solve, when jdoughed into the soil.' And again : 

 ' Too great a degree of fermentation is very pre- 

 ' judicial to the comjiosite manure of the dung- 

 ' liill ; it is belter that there should be no fermen- 

 ' talion at all before the manure is used, than that 

 ' it should be carried too far.' To form a candid 

 judgment of this opinion, it seems proper to take 

 a view of the putrefactive fermentation, in those 

 varieties whicli circumstances produce. 



The three great agents of fermentation — water, a 

 warm temperature, and air, have each their peculiar 

 effect ; as their presence is less or more abundant. 

 If fermentable substances are immersed in water, 

 the process goes on very slowly ; the parts of the 

 subject are rather separating, than the component 

 principles disengaging; and this is accelerated by 

 heat. When the subject is exposed to the free ac- 

 cess of the air, a hot fermentation quickly com- 

 mences, which is most rapid in a warm tempera- 

 ture, and when there is just moisture enough to 

 keep it alive. Thus circumstanced, farm dung 

 quickly consumes ; more than half perhaps of its 

 bulk escapes in vapor and gas ; and what remains, 

 by being rendered less soluble, must yield less 

 support to vegetation. Our senses may convince 

 us, that such is the case, if we -svill take tlie pains 

 to make use of them, and should overcome the 

 prejudice so generally prevalent, f.T wasting botli 



