128 A PRACTICAL TREATISE 



experiments which have been made upon this species of com- 

 post to speak of its effects with any degree of certainty; and 

 we doubt whether the most beneficial mode of applying the 

 soot will not be still found to consist in spreading it in a dry 

 state, without any preparation as a top-dressing. As an apj)!!- 

 cation in that mode, to such crops as we have mentioned, it 

 will be found useful, when used in moderation, upon soils of 

 every kind; but if intended to be applied as an improvement 

 to the land, it will be of very little benefit after the first year. 



Soapers^ icaste. (a) — The use of the ashes produced by the 

 manufacture of soap — the refuse of which is termed soapers' 

 waste — has been much recommended as manure ; and it has 

 been supposed that its efficacy depends on the proportion of 

 saline matter which ii contains : this, however, is very minute, 

 and depends upon the sort of alkali employed by the soap- 

 boiler, two kinds of which are chiefly used — namely, kelp and 

 barilla — which are much more effective than that which is the 

 refuse of common pot-ash. [In this country, soap-boilers use 

 ordinary wood-ashes to a great extent. Their waste is, in our 

 opinion, of little value — certainly none to our farmers in the 

 interior. Leached ashes do not act so favourably on heavy 

 clay soils as on those of a lighter and more sandy character. 

 We have seen 120 bushels an acre used with better effect 

 than nearly twice the quantity on the same kind of soil] 



If applied in large quantities to the land, there can be no 

 doubt that soapers' waste will be found to be a useful and 

 lasting manure ; it destroys slugs and vermin of every de- 

 scription ; has been found to increase the product of hay by a 

 ton an acre ; and by some farmers the effect of a wagon load 

 of the ashes is considered equal to that of five loads of rotten 

 dung. This we, however, conceive to be exaggerated, if they 

 are applied separately ; but, if laid on together, we have wit- 

 nessed some recent instances which lead us to conclude, that 

 one load of ashes, combined with five of dung, would fully 

 equal ten loads of farm-yard manure in immediate effect, 

 besides producing more permaner^t improvement. 



(a) [Soap, as a manure, is beginning to aUract attention. A series of 

 experiments, not as yet conclusive, are being instituted by one of our best 

 practical farmers. So far, the results are surprising. Soapsuds, soot, and 

 filth in general, are all valuable for manure. Yet about American farms 

 they are generally wasted, instead of being placed in the dung-yard.] 



