236 On Manures. 



secure the fertilizing parts of the dung from the great loss 

 occasioned by evaporation ; and are useful in rendering va- 

 rious substances more safe and effectual in operating on the 

 soil. In regard to grass lands, experience has shown, that 

 they at oncj improve their quality, and check, for years, the 

 progress of moss, or even unprofitable grasses (* 75 ). In thin 

 moorish soils, composts, properly and repeatedly applied, 

 alter the nature of the soil, by which it becomes more fertile, 

 retains its moisture longer, and does not suffer by the sum- 

 mer's drought, as would otherwise happen ( Z7<5 ). The effects 

 of the Meadowbank compost are still more extraordinary, 

 a farmer in Roxburghshire, (Mr Thomson, of Bewlie), ha- 

 ving raised crops of turnips, and of wheat after fallow, on 

 good soils, manured with this compost, as if it had been 

 from dung( z77 ). 



It is a circumstance not to be omitted, that lime will ope- 

 rate in compost, upon lands that have been exhausted by 

 the over frequent, or too abundant application of lime or 

 marl, even where it had not succeeded when used by itself. 

 This is a strong recommendation of mixing manures with 

 earth, as land may thus be cultivated to advantage, that 

 would otherwise remain unproductive. 



On the whole, it may be safely asserted, that manure goes 

 much farther in compost than in any other way. It is a 

 safe and effectual mode of applying various substances to 

 the soil. The mass becomes one uniform body, equally nu- 

 tritious in every part. The gelatinous and mucilaginous 

 substances are dissolved, and intimately mixed with each 

 other, and when applied to the soil, become instantly the 

 food of plants. There is little or no waste from evapora- 

 tion, but rather a gain of nutriment from the atmosphere ; 

 and the quantity may easily be divided and appropriated, 

 according to the size of the field to which it is to be applied, 

 and the quantity which each part may require. It may 

 be mixed with the soil, or applied to the surface ; it may 

 be used at any time of the year, but its effects are more cer- 

 tain, when applied as a top-dressing, either early in autumn, 

 or when vegetation commences in spring ; and it may be 

 prepared at any time, whenever occasion requires its aid. 



If two compost heaps are to be prepared, lime should be 

 the basis of the one, and stable dung of the other, for the 

 sake of comparison ( a78 ). 



From the perusal of this section, it evidently appears, 

 what endless sources of fertility may be obtained by the ac- 



