DRAINING, MANURES, ETC. 33 



of a few years, however, will develop the vast advantages 

 of such a mode of procedure, which, if it have been neglect- 

 ed at first, cannot be practiced at a subsequent period but 

 with indifferent success, and not without an increase of cost 

 and labor. 



Manures, Sfc. In enumerating the general appendages 

 of gardens, it may be proper to say something of manures ; 

 but we do not consider it necessary to enter into minute 

 details on this subject. Where there are extensive melon- 

 grounds, an abundance of stable and other litter is re- 

 quired ; and this substance, in its partially decomposed 

 state, as afforded by exhausted hot-beds, supplies a manure 

 well adapted to aid the processes of vegetation. Decayed 

 leaves, which are plentiful where there are extensive plea- 

 sure-grounds, and which should be carefully swept together, 

 and collected into a heap in the autumnal months, also 

 form an excellent manure for many purposes. Some prac- 

 tical men prefer composts to simple dungs, or such sub- 

 stances as have undergone fermentation. For fruit-trees, 

 turf from rich pastures, mixed with vegetable earth, is per- 

 haps the best stimulant that can be applied. It is ques- 

 tionable whether any sort of trees are permanently benefited 

 by the application of crude manures to their roots ; and it 

 is certain that many have been irremediably injured by 

 this practice. But whatever caution may be necessary in 

 their use, the prudent horticulturist will find it expedient 

 to pay constant attention to the collection and accumula- 

 tion of manures, Liquid manures, or the drainings of 

 the stable and cow-house, are valuable, yet too often 

 neglected. To fix the ammonia, Professor Liebig recom- 

 mends their being passed through a filter, formed of frag- 

 ments of gypsum, which should be occasionally renewed. 

 The garden cannot go on long without manures ; for ground 



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