132 ON FARMS. 



niire from a barn cellar, spread and plough it in, let a heavy- 

 rain follow, and I think the waters running from the drains 

 would show by their color, taste, and smell, that some of the 

 compounds (artificially introduced into the soil by manures) had 

 escaped with the water and were entirely lost. Then let the 

 sun burst out so as to cause a rapid evaporation from the soil, 

 and would not some of the ammonia again take wing and es- 

 cape into the atmosphere ? I so opine ; but that an aluminous 

 soil, possesses a vastly greater capacity for retaining the fertiliz- 

 ing qualities of manures, than a silicious soil, there can be no 

 doubt. 



You ask the results of my practice in fall manuring. In 

 the spring of 1847, I planted about one hundred rods of in- 

 verted sod land with corn, the soil a strong yellow loam, the 

 manure was all applied upon the surface, and harrowed in ; a 

 fair crop of corn followed. Soon as harvested, I prepared the 

 ground for sowing winter rye ; by (a-la-mode Phinney,) the 

 use of the cultivator and harrow ; rye, herds grass, and red top 

 were sown, (as I was residing in Boston, there was no clover 

 seed sown in the spring as I intended to have had done.) The 

 crop of rye was good, but the prospect for future hay crops 

 was bad, and I concluded to plough up and plant again. I 

 left Boston first of June, 1848, and soon after, happening into 

 one of our stores, the owner remarked to me that he had a lot 

 of damaged salt fish, and if I could work them up into ma- 

 nure, I might have them in welcome. The next day I sent my 

 team after the fish ; there were about five quintals, these were 

 placed in alternate layers, with about five cartloads of fresh 

 dug muck ; in a few days there was a strong smell arising 

 from the heap ; first of September shovelled over the pile and 

 found but few traces of the fish remaining. Late in the au- 

 tumn this was hauled on to the rye-stubble being about six 

 common cart-loads, and as many more loads of manure from 

 the barnyard, all of which was spread and ploughed in. In 

 the spring, about a dozen loads of green, winter-made manure 

 were applied, and cross ploughed ; the result was the best crop 

 of corn 1 ever raised ; the corn came up and went right ahead, 

 to the end of the season. 



