Notes and Gleanings. 247 



Liquid Manure. — It would not be stretching truth too far (and we see 

 pretty often at the present day some toughish straining at it) to say that the laws 

 which control and regulate the application of liquid manures are less understood, 

 simply because they are less studied, than are the other many and wise rules 

 which arrange, direct, and govern tiie operations in both farming and gardening. 

 Ask any ordinary rule-of-thumb farmer or gardener when and how he would 

 apply liquid manure, and, twenty to one, he would reply, " Oh ! put it on at any 

 time when it's ready, and you've nothing else to do : it'll be all right." Ah ! but, 

 my unthinking friend, this will not do ; it will not be all right ; and those off-hand, 

 hit-or-miss, happy-go-lucky conclusions will fail you, simply because they 

 cannot stand the test of quiet, searching inquiry. Now-a-days, the world is full 

 of people who will not be satisfied with such loose, inconstant, baseless reason- 

 ings : they insist on having a sound, positive, irrefragable "why" for every one 

 of their persistent " wherefores." " How do you do this?" "Why do you do 

 this ? " " When do you do this ? " and " What do you do it for ? " 



Let me in this short paper see what I can do to throw a little light (it may be 

 a very little) on the question of applying liquid manure ; and possibly I may 

 satisfy in some slight degree the questionings of many of your correspondents. 

 (I quietly infer, you see, that you have queries of this description.) I will 

 endeavor, at the beginning, to clear the ground, so that we may walk along 

 without stumbling. First, then, what is liquid manure ? It is water holding in 

 solution all the chemical constituents and active agents of manure. Being in 

 this state, its action on the crop to which it is applied is immediate ; and success- 

 ful results are attained with great celerity if the liquid has been judiciously 

 applied. 



The laws which regulate liquid manure growing must now be considered ; 

 and though these laws are elastic in their interpretation, yet they are still 

 infallible and inflexible in their substance. In order, therefore, that the fullest 

 effects may be derived from its application, and that without injury to the plants 

 to which it is applied, it is absolutely indispensable, ist, that it be weak, and 

 freqtiently given ; 2d, that it should be clear ; and, 3d, that it should only be 

 administered when plants are in full growth ; for, if strong, it is apt to produce 

 great injury, because of the facility with which it is absorbed beyond the 

 assimilating power of the plants. If muddy or thick, it carries with it, in sus- 

 pension, a large quantity of very fine sedimentary matter, which fills up the 

 interstices of the soil, choking it, or, deposited on the roots themselves, very 

 greatly impedes their power of absorption ; and, if it is applied whenj)lants are 

 torpid, it either acts as in the case of being over-strong, or it acually corrodes 

 the tissues. It must always be borne in mind, that, liquid manure being an agent 

 ready for immediate use, its main value depends aod lies in that peculiar quality : 

 therefore its effect is to produce exuberant growth ; and that it will continue to 

 do as long (but no longer, mind) as the temperature and light required for its 

 action are sufficient. These, then, are the true and inviolable laws which regulate 

 this most important gardening operation : if these are well studied, no mistake 

 can be made. The leading truths which we educe from these principles are, 

 that it must be applied weak and ofte7i, and that it must be given according to 



