130 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



With the foregoing precautions, there is little dan- 

 ger of fermentation proceeding to a wasteful or im- 

 proper length before the manure is wanted for the 

 corn or potato crop. 



What fanner is there, who makes any pretensions 

 to economy, who would not feel insulted to be told 

 that he carelessly wasted one half of his family 

 food or of his cattle food one half of what his farm 



-educed for animal subsistence '\ And where is the 

 fference, whether he wastes the food of his family, 

 his animals, or his crops ? His crops feed both his 

 family and his livestock ; and, unless he feeds his 

 crops, the others must ultimately suffer the penal- 

 ty ; for the earth, though a kind and prolific mother, 

 cannot always give when we withhold from her the 

 means of giving. Return to her what is no longer of 

 use to us, and she will requite us with her richest 

 blessings. Let us bear in mind, that every animal 

 and vegetable substance which we give back to her 

 bosom, she will faithfully elaborate into new organ- 

 ized matter for our pleasure and profit ; but that if, 

 like the prodigal, we exhaust the parental treasure, 

 it can no longer supply us with bread or meat. Too 

 many who occupy a rich virgin soil, may be com- 

 pared to useless drones who waste their patrimonial 

 wealth : they waste that which would benefit both 

 themselves and their children. 



SPECIFIC MANURES. 



We have repeatedly said that wheat cannot be 

 depended on as a profitable c*rop on primitive soils 

 without the application of animal matters and lime. 

 The hopes of making New-England a wheat-grow- 

 ing country always seem to us fcHacious, from the 

 absence, in all primitive formations, of these two 

 essential elements, lime and animal matter. Lime 

 is now generally admitted to be essential to a wheat 

 soil ; but as lime consists of 20 parts of the metal 

 calcium, and about 7.5 of oxygen, it does not seem 



