MANURES. 61 



and may be always capable of being rendered so by being fer- 

 mented with lime. They consist of various minerals, ground, 

 or very finely pulverized, by the action of carriages. They 

 form mud in wet weather; and where the country is thickly 

 settled, they are much mixed with animal and vegetable 

 matter. 



Street manure, or the general refuse of towns, is a very 

 compound substance, and of great importance to the fertility 

 of the adjacent country. It consists of all kinds of offal, of the 

 refuse of manufactories, of litter and the dung of animals, and 

 a large quantity of ashes and vegetable substances. 



This species of manure is much valued, though it is far 

 inferior to well rotted dung, the produce of the farm-yard. 

 In every town this substance ought to be carefully collected 

 for the supply of the neighbouring country. 



There is a method of increasing the quantity of manures 

 upon a farm, which should in no case be neglected. This is 

 by forming composts, which, as the name denotes, are a mix- 

 ture of substances, [see page 30.] If dung, or any vegetable 

 or animal substance, be mixed with the earth, the latter will 

 imbibe a portion of the decomposing matter, and becomfe itself 

 fitted to be used as a manure. 



The earthy and putrescent matters may be laid in layers, 

 the earthy covering the putrescent, so as to prevent the loss of 

 gaseous matter by evaporation. But it is not necessary to 

 observe the precise order of layers, since the substances may 

 be mixed together whenever they can be conveniently col- 

 lected. 



There should be at least one heap of this kind upon every 

 farm, as a general receptacle for all substances capable of being 

 fermented, which may from time to time be procured. Urine, 

 soapsuds, and the like, poured upon such a heap, will be found 

 to be very beneficial; and lime, in small portions, may be 

 mixed with it. The whole should be thoroughly turned over 

 several times, so as to mix the materials together and promote 

 fermentation. 



Of the nature of composts, also, are those mixtures of lime 

 with weeds, the mud of ponds, ditches, creeks, rivers, and the 

 like, to which reference has been already made. No oppor- 

 tunity should be omitted of making manure by this method. 



The management of composts of all kinds is exceedingly 

 easy. The knowledge that every sort of putrescent refuse 

 may be mixed with earthy substances, that lime acts bene- 

 ficially in fermenting the mass, that frequent turning mixes 

 the substances together and produces the action required, are 

 sufficient to guide the farmer in all cases in this simple but 

 very important branch of farm economy. 

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