J. E. TESCHEMACHER'S REMARKS. 249 



neons. He had only to refer to the kicid and interesting state- 

 ment of Hon. Mr. Brooks, to show that, even with the sale of 

 his produce, he had increased his manure to superabundance. 

 How had he done it ? He had carefully saved every particle of 

 urine and fceccs, and all rubbish and otial on his premises, and, 

 to mix with and absorb this, he had carted loads of stuff from 

 his peat bog. Now this peat muck, called by chemists, under 

 various names, as geine, humus, coal of humus, vegetable 

 mould, is, as far as regards agriculture, cJiarcoal, the absorbent, 

 the storehouse of ammonia. Mr. Brooks's next process is, to 

 pare his meadow, burn these parings, and mix them also with 

 the urine and faeces. Now here is another storehouse, both of 

 ammonia, and of inorganic salts, and nothing is lost, as it used 

 to be; all is stored up for use. Every horticulturist, who has 

 grown plants in garden pots, which are nothing but burnt clay, 

 the same as Mr. Brooks's burnt parings, knows, that the roots of 

 plants leave the soil in the centre of the pot. and push for the 

 sides of the pot itself, and why ? Because the salts, dissolved 

 by watering the plants, have been absorbed by the burnt clay, 

 and there the roots go to find their nourishment. These store- 

 houses, also, absorb the ammonia, which comes down in rain 

 and snow, as well as the inorganic salts, arising from the an- 

 nual disintegration of stones and rocVs. 



A preference has been stated fo/ plaster, as an absorbent of 

 ammonia, because plaster is a manure, which charcoal is not. 

 Plaster may be, and, in some cases, not the majority certainly, is 

 a manure ; by the absorption of ammonia, it becomes sulphate 

 of ammonia and lime. Nov one hundred parts of sulphate of 

 ammonia contain about sl^ij parts of sulphuric acid, not very 

 advantageous to vegetation, about twenty-six parts of ammonia, 

 and about fourteen parts of water. Charcoal can condense in 

 its pores about ninety parts in bulk of ammonia. Plaster is an 

 excellent material to strew in stables, where many horses are 

 kept, as it destroys all noxious effluvia, and it is then, unques- 

 tionably a good manure, but it appears far inferior to charcoal, 

 as an absorbent, and certainly where plenty of peat muck exists, 

 it is bad economy to purchase it for this purpose. 



The notes read by Mr. Newhall, of his observations on his 

 32 



