162 MANURES, 



302. I will not object to the use of gu^o, poudrette, 

 phosphate of lime, and other costly manures. I honor 

 the men who prepare and sell them honestly. They 

 are bringing into use a vast amount of fertilizing mat- 

 ters, which would otherwise be lost to the world — are 

 returning to the country the phosphates and alkalies 

 carried to the city in the shape of butter, cheese, 

 meats, hay, and grains ; and are raking open and bring- 

 ing to market accumulations of birds' dung, scores 

 of feet deep and thousands of years old. The traffic 

 is a useful one. Farmers, who have faithfully hus- 

 banded their home resources, may find it for their in- 

 terest to purchase these articles. They, of course, 

 will best judge of their own matters. 



803. But for inland farmers, those of but ordinary 

 means, to let their muck remain untouched, and to 

 leave the urine of their cattle to run into the ground, 

 or to the nearest brook — things which, together, would 

 make as good manure as guano, only not quite as con- 

 densed, and at the same time to buy foreign fertilizers 

 at thirty, forty or fifty dollars a ton, seems to me like 

 the height of absurdity. Their improvement should 

 hegin at home. But let us see how these vegetable ab- 

 sorbents should be used. 



304. After removing all the manure from the yard, 

 fill «l'p the yard with them six or eight inches in 

 depth. It will require a large amount of materials, 

 and much labor ; but remember it is a kind of labor 

 that 'pays. This depth will be sufficient to absorb all 

 the liquid manure of the yard. It will absorb also 



