186 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



and the mineral substances winch will be separated from it by 

 the rains will be washed into the land where they are needed. 

 And this may aid in settling the question of the economy of top- 

 dressing grass land with barnyard manure. I think that by so 

 doing but little of the value of the na,anure is lost, particularly 

 if properly rotten when applied, and the land receives sub- 

 stantially its full effects witliout the expense of turning the soil. 

 If thus applied it is better that it should be done early in the 

 spring so that it will get partially incorporated with the soil and 

 protected by the growing vegetation, before it is subjected to 

 the scorching droughts of the summer. 



One of our most intelligent and successful farmers, Samuel 

 A. Merrill, of Salem, informs me that for the three past seasons 

 he has, early in April, spread upon two or three acres of grass 

 land, fresh barnyard manure, free from litter, at the rate of 

 about four cords to the acre, and that the results have been most 

 satisfactory. 



In addition to these manures, human excrements, both solid 

 and liquid, are rich and stimulating in their character, so much 

 so that they should only be used composted with other manures 

 needing stimulants, or with common soil. Used in this manner 

 they are of great value to the farmer. 



Animal matter is also a very important manure from the 

 mould-forming substances it contains, from its mineral ingredi- 

 ents, and the amount of ammonia it creates in the process of 

 putrefaction- It is one of the most active stimulants, and 

 should always be used in compost, otherwise the ammonia will 

 quickly escape, and its effects will be of little value. The 

 harder portions of the animal such as the horns, hoofs, hair, &c., 

 are not so readily decomposed. 



Straw, hay, leaves and decayed vegetation are of great 

 importance in improving the soil, as they decompose but slowly, 

 and furnish a large proportion of mould. They are of most 

 importance in combination with other quicker manures, as they 

 absorb the liquids and the gases, and their decomposition is 

 accelerated by the stimulants with which they come in contact. 



The above described are the ordinary manures used by our 

 farmers ; yet there is another source of fertility, which, although 

 resorted to by some, is not sufficiently appreciated by any. I 

 refer to the rich deposits of our intervales, which we call muck. 



