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MANURES. 187 



families, a less troublesome way of preserving and ap- 

 plying them is to dissolve them in moistened ashes. 

 Take some large cask, as a sugar hogshead, set it in a 

 cool place, a little away from any building, and out 

 of the sun ; into this, put bones enough to cover the 

 bottom over four or five inches deep ; throw upon the 

 bones an equal quantity of strong, unleached ashes ; 

 wet the ashes with as much water as they will hold 

 without leaching ; then, from time to time, as bones 

 accrue in the family, throw them into the cask ; cover 

 them with ashes, and wet the ashes as before. If this 

 process be commenced in May, and continued till 

 planting time the next year, the bones will then be 

 ready for use, except that a few near the top will not 

 be fully dissolved. These may be put into the bottom 

 of the cask for the following year. The rest will have 

 become soft, and may be shovelled out with the ashes, 

 and with the addition of a few more ashes, in a dry 

 state, will crumble into a powder. They have been 

 applied, when prepared in this way, to Indian corn, 

 several years in succession, and found to produce an 

 excellent effect. The explanation is as follows : the 

 alkalies of the ashes withdraw the oily part of the 

 bones, combining with it and forming soap. The 

 structure of the bones is thus broken up, and they are 

 readily bruised to pieces. 



351. Some have adopted the practice of burning the 

 bones, and then bruising into a fine powder. This is 

 the least troublesome way, but it is attended with the 

 disadvantage that the organic portion, mostly gelatine, 

 amounting to about one-third of the whole, is thus 



