

MANURES. 39 



very liable to decompose; and whether recently or fermented, 

 supplies abundantly the food of plants. In France, Belgium, 

 Holland and England, the attention paid to it as a manure, is 

 very great, and it is employed in different states of fermenta- 

 tion, according to the crops to which it is to be applied. 



The disagreeable odour of this substance may be destroyed 

 by mixing it with quick-lime. When it is exposed to the at- 

 mosphere, and the layers are strewed over with lime, it soon 

 dries, and is easily pulverized. It then forms one of that valu- 

 able class of manures which may be deposited in the ground at 

 the same time with the seed. 



A company has been lately organized in the city of New 

 York, for the purpose of collecting, drying, pulverizing and 

 preparing night-soil, according to the most approved method 

 adopted in France and the Netherlands. It is called Poudrette, 

 is packed in casks, and may easily be transported to any part of 

 our country. Throughout the vast empire of China, night-soil, 

 made into cakes and dried by exposure to the sun, forms a 

 common article of commerce. 



The dung of birds is a powerful manure, though usually ob- 

 tained in quantities too small to render it an object of much 

 importance. The most generally employed is that of pigeons 

 and domestic fowls. It should be spread upon the surface of 

 land in tillage, and slightly covered. It may be reduced also 

 to powder, anil applied in different ways. 



The flesh and intestines of animals are sometimes used as 

 manures. When in contact with the air, these substances un- 

 dergo a very rapid decomposition, and should therefore be 

 covered by the soil before their particles have been lost by 

 evaporation; or they may be mixed with earthy substances 

 and formed into a compost. This last is generally the prefer- 

 able practice with regard to them, because they thus act in fer- 

 tilizing a large quantity of matter with which they are mixed. 



The collections of the slaughter-house^ and the refuse of the 

 shambles, furnish the largest supply of this kind of manure, and 

 it is always highly valuable where it can be obtained. When 

 animals die from accident or disease, they should never be left 

 exposed, but be covered with earth, which will be soon impreg- 

 nated with soluble matters. [See page 29]. The disagreeable 

 effluvia of such substances may be lessened, if not entirely re- 

 moved, by a mixture of quick-lime. 



Fish forms a very powerful manure, in whatever state it is 

 applied; but it cannot be ploughed in too fresh, though the 

 quantity should be limited. It is generally best to mix it with 

 earth in the form of a compost, to prevent raising a too luxu- 

 riant crop, as instances have occurred in which herrings spread 



