44 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FACTS AXD OBSrP.VATlOXS RF.LATING TO 



agricultl:re s: do.mi:stic eco.\omy. 



LKtlTD MAMRK. 



Mr. Robert Sniilh, President of the Maryland 

 Agricultural Society, gives the foUowiua^ ac- 

 count (uliich is taken from the American Far- 

 mer) of the arranijenient- he luis iiiado for tiie 

 preservation and application of the li(|uid ma- 

 nure, yielded Uy liis stribles and Ijarn yard at 

 Orange, tivo miles t'rom tiie city of Baltimore. 



'• The yard is situated to the south of the 

 barn ; on its east and west sides are built cow- 

 stables, which extci'.e'i almost the whole leng^ih 

 of the yard. In tlic=e stables, well ventilated, 

 are several ranq-es of cattle standing in separate 

 stalls, and each secured by a chain and halter. 

 At the tails of each range of cows, there is a 

 drain, made of strong planks fourteen inches 

 wide, and twelve inches deep, and so fixed us 

 to receive all their dung and urine. These 

 several drains have a suHicient declivity to car- 

 ry all fluid matter to their soutiiern termma- 

 tions, where they intersect similar drains, which 

 convey all their liquid manure into a cistern 

 fit'ty feet long, six feet wide and six feet deep. 

 This cistern is so placed and constructed as to 

 receive not only the urine of the stables, but 

 also all the liquid matter of the farm yard. In 

 it there is a pump by means of wliich its con- 

 tents are pumped into a large hogshead fixed 

 on a pair of wheels drawn by oxen. To the 

 end of this hogshead is attached a box, jiierced 

 with holes, into which this liquid matter tlows 

 through a spigot and faucet, and is then sprink- 

 led over the ground as the oxen rao\o forward. 

 Before these drains had been made, the stables, 

 notwithstanding the greatest exertions of two 

 pains-taking men, were so wet and dirty that 

 the cattle could not be liept free from tilth. 

 But since they have been made, the stables 

 have been dry and clean, so as to be comforta- 

 ble to the cows, and agreeable to the milkers. 

 But this is not all. One man Ins now so little 

 difficulty in cleaning the staldes that he has 

 time enough for the currying of all the cows in 

 the most perfect manner. .At the time of laying 

 these drains, 1 was somewhat apprehensive 

 that they would prove too deep ; but experi- 

 ence has sliewn, that they have the recommen- 

 dation of convenience as well as of cleanliness. 

 Were they but five or six inches deep the cattle 

 ivould often stand with their hind feet in them, 

 and in such case the advantages of the drains 

 would be but isartially obtained. 



" In the middle of the farm-3 ard is a large 

 trough supplied with water for the stock from 

 a hydrant. This water is conveyed in pipes 

 under ground from the milk house. A line of 

 these pipes I am about laying so as to have a 

 hydrant at the upper end of every drain to fur- 

 nish water for the washing of the stables. All 

 the water employed in this operation, carrying 

 with it the dirt of the stables, will tlow dov/n 

 the drain into the cistern to the no inconsidera- 

 ble increase of its invaluable contents. 



" The urine in the cistern contains not only 

 its own constituent fertilizing properties, but it 

 is also highly impregnated with certain portions 

 of the dung with which it had been mixed, and 

 among which it had flowed. Tlie beneficial 

 eff'Cts of this species of manure are practically 

 known to all farmers. And Sir Humphrey Davy 

 and other chemists have assured us that urine 

 ^Ci^tams in a state of solution the essential ele- 



ments of vegetables. The highly celebrated 

 author of the f'nde of .\griculture, has, more- 

 over, stated that .>Ir. Harvey, of Ghi'igow, by 

 using cow urine has cut grass six times in a 

 season, and that the aver.ige of each cutting 

 was fifteen inches in length.'' 



Should the farmer think that drains, of the 

 above description, would be too expensive, 

 he may obtain some practical hints from the 

 foIlo^ving observations by Sir Humphrey Davy. 



" When dung is to be preserved for any time, 

 the situation in which it is kept is of impor- 

 tance. It should, if possible, be defended from 

 the sun. To preserve it under sheds wouicl be 

 of great use ; or to make the site of a dunghill 

 on the north side of a wall or building. The 

 floor, or place, on which the dung is heaped, 

 should, if ])Os<ible, be paved with flat stones ; 

 and there should be a little inclination from 

 each side towards the centre, in which there 

 should be drains connected with a small well, 

 or cistern, furnished with a ptimp, by which 

 any fluid intitter may be collected for (he use 

 of the land. It too often happens that a dense 

 mucilaginous and extractive fluid is suffered to 

 drain away from the dunghill so as to be en- 

 tirely lost to the farm." 



The Complete Grazier sajs that " Urine or 

 the liquor of farm-j'ards, is a fluid capable of 

 being employed with great benefit both on 

 nicodo-u' (mowing lands) and arable land, which 

 renders them uncommonly fertile. It should be 

 used as fresh as possible, as the soluble animal 

 matter it contains is destroyed by putrefaction ; 

 and if not mixed with solid matter should be 

 diluted with wafer, as, when pure, it contains 

 too much animal matter to form a proper fluid 

 nourishineriit lor absorption b}- the roots of plants. 



'• In order to make the most of this valuable 

 manure it should be carried to the mowing land 

 or pasture intended to be watered in dry weath- 

 er, as the farm yard liquor in the reservoirs is 

 at that time strongh' impregnated with salts, 

 ivhicii may be known by its deep brown tinge. 

 Thus the reservoirs, or ponds, appropriated for 

 its reception, may be constantly kept in a state 

 of readiness for that purpose; while the land 

 may we watered or sprinkled as often as the 

 operation may be necessary. 



*' .\n interesting account of an economical 

 mode of collecting and applying the urine of 

 cattle as a manure to land, has been communi- 

 cated in No. XLIX, of the Farmer's Magazine, 

 by an intelligent farmer, Mr. Charles Alexan- 

 der, in the vicinitj' of Peebles. His farm build- 

 ings are so disposed, that the urine of all the 

 stalls is conveyed by trunks into a dung pit ; 

 and the dung is laid in a place appropriated for 

 that use, instead of being thrown into the mid- 

 dle of the yard, according to the usual practice. 

 Tiie dung pit is twelve yards square, and four 

 feet deep, and is filled with mould {)reviously 

 carried into it, for the purpose of being impreg- 

 nated with the urine and moisture from the 

 dung. This pit produces about 238 cart-loads, 

 forty of which are suflicient for an acre. 'l"hc 

 dung itself is laid on the land in the common 

 way ; but the compost, made by the urine, &c. 

 with the mould, is spread on the surfice after 

 ploughing, and is merely harrowed in." 



NEW APPLICATION Or PLASTER OF PARIS. 



A correspondent to the American Farmer 

 says that he has ascertained by experiment that 



pla-tcring clover largely at the time of turning 

 it down, and preparing for a wheat crop, is by 

 far the most advantageous to the crop, and 

 much preferable to turning in the clover in the 

 usual way and plastering on the surface. He 

 states that " the action of the plaster, thus ex- 

 cluded from atmosjiheric air, upon the clover, 

 covered over, is instantaneous, and the putridity 

 is so certain as to cause considerable ga*, which 

 in its passage through the clod, impregnates it 

 with all its manuring qualities, and the root of 

 the plant shoots down and feeds on a bed of 

 manure." 



OS THE FORMATIOX OF MORTAR. 

 Extract from an E'^say of .Kimes Andf r.-on, l.l.d. f.b.s 



" The best modern mortar I ever saw, was 

 made of lime that I myself had analyzed, and 

 found it contained eleven parts of sand to one 

 of lime. — To this there was added between 

 twice and thrice its whole bulk of sand by ynea- 

 sure, which may be allowed to have been al 

 least three times its quantity by weight. 



'■'• Now supposing that ever3' particle of thai 

 lime had been so perfectly calcined as to be it 

 a caustic state, there could not be less thar 

 forty .seven parts of sand to one of lime. The 

 reader may allow what he pleases for the un 

 caustic part of the lime, and make his calcula 

 tion accordingly. But it is hardly po.«sible t< 

 suppose, that above one hundredth part of thi 

 mass, independent of the ' w ater, consisted o 

 pure caustic calcareous earth. 



" I>ut whatever was the exact proportion 

 caustic lime, the mortar was made of these ma 

 terials in proportions expressed, and was em 

 ployed for pinning the outside joints of th 

 stone wall of a house situated in a tempestuou 

 climate, and exposed to every blast. It is hot 

 about fourteen years since it was finished, an 

 I do not believe there has fallen to the grount 

 in all that time, one pound weight of th I 

 mortar.* 



" Had this mortar been employed in buildin 

 a thick wall, whore it would have been suftere 

 to dry slow enough, there seems to be littl 

 reason to doubt but it would in time have be 

 come as firm as the stones of the wall itself 



" From these considerations we maj' clearl 

 see, that it is impossible to prescribe any d< 

 terminate proportion of sand to lime, as th: 

 must vary according to the nature of the limt 

 and other incidental circumstances, which 

 would be tiresome to enumerate, and whic 

 would form an infinity of exceptions to an 

 general rule. 



'' But it would seem, we might safely infe 

 that the moilerns in general, rather err in gi.' 

 ing too little sand, than in giving too much. 



'• It deserves, however, lo be remarked, th; 

 the sand, when naturally in the limo-stone, 

 more intimately blended with the lime thr 

 can ])o.ssibly be ever effected by any mechan 

 cal operation — so that it would be in vain 1 

 hope to make good mortar artificially from pui 

 lime, with such a small proportion of caust 

 calcareous matter, as may sometimes be effec 

 ed when the lime naturally contains a vei 

 large proportion of sand. But there seems 1 

 be no doubt that if a much larger proportion ' 



* fn a note to a serontl edition of this worlc is tl 

 lollowinf^ addition : — "After seven years longer tri; 

 the mortar still proves good and firm, and exhibits 1 

 appearance of evtx falling;."" 



