20 



ESSAY. 



tive character, neither any washing out of soluble 

 elements of the manure, and the whole is saved without 

 loss or depreciation until carried out for use. 



Third. A mode which is theoretically perhaps the 

 best of all, would be to spread the manure, both liquid 

 and solid, upon the land while fresh. In this case what- 

 ever soluble matter might exist at the time, or which 

 was formed afterward, would be washed into the soil 

 by rains and there retained in a perfectly distributed 

 condition until appropriated by growing vegetation. 

 The objections to this plan are the inconvenience of 

 so applying manure generally, its impractibility during 

 the growing season, and also while the ground is 

 deeply covered with snow. 



The second mode, above given, is the one which we 

 adopted some eight years since, and increasing expe- 

 rience leads us to the belief that, all things considered, it 

 is the best. By this arrangement there seems to be 

 absolutely no loss at all, and the liquid portion is at all 

 times available, and the solid at any time after the 

 liquid is all removed, which is readily accomplished by 

 a chain pump of large calibre. 



In this article it has not been our intention to do 

 more than to bring into prominent notice the great want 

 of our soils and the means of furnishing it. We cannot 

 expect our farms to feed us unless, we take care to 

 feed them. There is too great a disposition at the 

 present time to run after foreign fertilizers at high cost, 

 under the delusive impression that in them is to be 

 found a sovereign panacea for all the deficiencies of 

 worn out soils. We are of the opinion that no man 

 can be justified in resorting to such agents until he has 



