152 A PRACTICAL TREATISE 



into the causes of rust, undertaken some years ago in this 

 country, and afterwards continued at different periods on the 

 Continent, it also appeared, that it was never experienced in 

 the in)inediate vicinity of the sea, unless when the ground was 

 greatly over-manured ; and that when sea-ooze or sand was 

 employed as manure, it was prevented. This, however, does 

 not apply to the practice of steeping seed-wheat, which can 

 only have the effect of purifying it, but cannot, it is presumed, 

 prevent the grain from afterwards receiving infection from the 

 air, and which, indeed, applies rather to S7nut, than to rust or 

 mildew. Its influence in forwarding the putrefaction of ma- 

 nure depends upon the quantity in which it is employed;* and 

 although its property of absorbing moisture from the atmo- 

 sphere, and retaining it in the o-round, constitutes, perhaps, its 

 chief value, when applied to light soils and in dry summers, 

 yet, on heavy land and in wet seasons, its power seems to 

 have little eiiect: it has therefore fallen into disrepute with 

 many persons who have tried it without due attention to these 

 circumstances. It is, indeed, evident, that the extravagant 

 expectations entertained of it by some, and the disappointment 

 experienced by others, have been occasioned by the contingent 

 nature of its character, which, depending not alone upon the 

 amount in which it is used, but also on the quality of tlie soil 

 and on the state of the weather, must render it occasionally 

 ineffectual. That it contributes to the health of animals is a 

 fact now universally granted; though its specific virtues, 

 when administered in different quantities to stock of various 

 species, age, and condition, have not yet been sufficiently 

 ascertained, nor have we now to consider of its employment 

 for that purpose. We therefore neither accord in all that has 

 been assumed in its favour, nor yet in its disproval. 



Apjdicatioii of Salt. — Nothing decisive has been ascertained 

 regarding either the quantity or season in which salt should be 

 laid upon the land. It appears, however, that its effects are 

 most visible and satisfactory when applied to hot, dry soils, 

 and in very warm summers; but on cold, wet land, and in 



*If used in large quantities, it is antiseptic; but if moderately mixed up 

 witli composts, it lias been found to promote tlie putrefaction of the vegetable 

 and animal suljstances whicli tliey contain. The quantity has, indeed, been 

 stated as high as a ton to the acre : but this is either foul salt, which has 

 been used in the fisheries, or the refuse of brine which has been manufac- 

 tured, and which cannot be estimated at more than one-half, or perhaps 

 one-third, of the weight of pure salt. — Sir II. Davy, Elem. of Agric. Chem., 

 4to p. 29J: Cheshire Report, p. 237. 



