J. E. TESCHEMACHER'S ADDRESS. 615 



is one of the reasons why, bulk for bulk, it is so much in- 

 ferior to guano. 



In Europe they have a plan of box-feeding cattle ; one of the 

 great benefits of this is stated to be, that the manure is only 

 taken out of the boxes once in three or four months, and that 

 it thereby becomes trodden into a hard consolidated mass; 

 now, although it appears to me a preposterous idea that cattle 

 should thrive well, always living over their own manure, (in- 

 deed this practice has been clearly decided against in an exper- 

 iment in New Jersey, conducted by Professor Mapes, with his 

 usual skill and care,) yot it shows that experience has given a 

 verdict in favor of consolidating the manure, the benefit of 

 which, in point of permanence, it is one object of this scheme 

 to exhibit. 



Experiments have been recorded years ago, made with long 

 fresh manure against old rotted manure, in which the results 

 were in favor of the fresh manure, and why I Because the old 

 rotted manure had been left unprotected, and the wind and 

 rain had completely exhausted it of the gases and soluble salts, 

 or in fact of its chief virtues ; but I have made experiments 

 where the result was much in favor of the old manure, because 

 it had been properly protected and consolidated. Here is a 

 specimen of guano of which I procured a box full, five years 

 ago, from the coast of California; my experiment with it failed, 

 as I expected, because for want of protection the virtue had 

 been washed out of it by the rains and evaporated by the sun; 

 it still, however, contains phosphate of lime and some other 

 valuable ingredients, but not enough to pay freight. So then 

 proper consolidation and proper protection are main points in 

 this scheme. The object then in view, — permit me this repeti- 

 tion, — is to pile up a manure heap for several years, in such a 

 way that not a particle of the useful gases shall escape ; be- 

 sides this, gradual additions shall be made of all the phos- 

 phates and other inorganic salts necessary for luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion ; the mass must also be kept moist enough for gentle fer- 

 mentation to carbonize it, yet be sufficiently protected against 

 washing rains. The following are my ideas of the best way of 



