34 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



AUG. a, 1S4E 



From Trausaclions of the N. T. Slate Agiicukural Society. 



PRIZE ESSAY ON THE PREPARATION 

 AND USE OF MANURES. 



BT WILLIS GAYLOKU. 



Peat Composts. — Notwithstanding this decayed 

 vegetable matter is so rich in the organic elements 

 of plants, experience proves that, applied in its 

 natural state, it is almost valueless as a manure, I 

 compared with stable manures; and hence ihe rea- 

 son it has been so little prized. Science has 

 shown the cause of this result, and the means of 

 obviatini^ It ; or, in other words, of unlocking the 

 fertilizing powers of these vegetable deposits. To 

 be able to give out ammonia, the peat or swamp 

 muck must be fennented ; and this may be effected 

 by the direct addition of alkalies, or by making 

 the peat into a compost with fresh manures. It 

 alkalies are added, the quantity necessary to bring 

 a ton of fresh peat into the same condition, so far 

 as regards ammonia as cow dung, would be "92 

 lb=. of potash, Cil lbs. of soda, or 16 to 20 bushels 

 cf common house ashes." But the farmer will 

 usually find the best method of using peat, will be 

 to combine the peat with manure, by mixing it with 

 dung in liis yards, or otherwise making it into 

 compost. Many e.xperiments have been made by 

 some of the best farmers and gardeners of Massa- 

 chusetts, in relatitiu to the use of peat; and all 

 unite in pronouncing it most valuable. Mr Phin- 

 iiey, of Le.xington, says, that " a cord of green 

 dung converts twice its bulk of peat into a manure 

 of equal value to itself; that is, a cord of clear 

 stable dung, composted with two of peat, forms a 

 manure equal in value to three cords of green 

 dung." Mr Robbins, of Watertown, though own- 

 ing a large stock, makes no use of their manure. 

 This he sells, but keeps his farm in a high state 

 of fertility by mixing swamp muck or peat with 

 spent ashes from his soap and candle factory. 

 The proportions he uses are, one part of spent ash- 

 es to three of peat, dug up in the fall and mixed 

 with the ashes in the spring, .^fter shoveling over 

 two or three times, it is spread and plowed in. 

 The effect is felt at once, and so far the manure 

 has proved durable. 



According to Mr Colman, in his Fourth Report, 

 two-thirds of the manure used on the extensive 

 garden and farm of Mr Gushing, near Boston, is 

 made from meadow muck or peat. The compost 

 for top dressing meadow and grass lands, is made 

 by taking the muck from the pit in August or Sep- 

 tember, where it lies to the next year. The com- 

 ))ost heap is then made on some convenient place, 

 by spreading a layer of muck eight inches thick; 

 on the muck four inches of ashes ; then another 

 layer of muck, and so on for five layers, making a 

 pile five feet high, in the form of a ridge. This 

 lies through the winter, is opened and mixed in the 

 spring, and the next fall is spread on the land. 

 The compnst for plowed lands i.i made of two- 

 thirds muck and one-third manure. Fresh manure, 

 or that which has not fermented, is always used, 

 and care is taken not to put in so much muck as 

 to prevent the compost's heatin.'. The fermenta- 

 tion of the manure decomposes the muck rapidly 

 and when this is done, the compost is fit for the 

 land. Horse manure or unslackcd lime, accele- 

 rates the fermentation — colder manure letards it. 

 It is the opinion of Mr Ciiohing and his gardener, 

 that muck for mixing with cowdung, or for putting 

 in hog-styes, should be dug from the swamp six 



Johnson, in his lately published work on Fertili 

 zors, says: " Dry bones contain about two-third 



months before using, as the action of the atmos- 

 phere facilitates the change necessary. .Muck, 

 without this preparatory fermentation, they consider 

 of little importance as a manure. 



Pond Mud Pond mud, although not as rich in 



vegetable matter or humus as swamp muck or peal, 

 is still one of the most valuable of fertilizers. The 

 ([uantity of earthy matters it contains, is rather an 

 advantage than otherwise, when applied to light or 

 sandy soils, and will rarely be found injurious on 

 any. As a manure, the action of pond mud is 

 more immediate than that of unfermcnted muck, 

 owing to the much greater proportion of salts and 

 silicates it contains. It is astonishing what quan- 

 lilies of this manure are lying worse than useless 

 in the thousands of mill ponds in our country. In 

 the winter of 1839-40, Mr VVhalen, of Saratoga 

 county, drew from a pond 1000 loads of mud, and 

 put it on a field of 17 acres ; soil light and sandy, 

 or gravelly, and reduced hy skinning until it would 

 produce nothing but sorrel and mullen. This 

 field, planted to corn, gave him 850 bushels. The 

 extra product from the use of this manure, he esti- 

 mated at twenty bushels per acre. In the winter | fi"er bones can he crushed or ground, the better ( 



their weight of earthy matter, the other third chief 

 ly of animal matter, resembling glue. Of th 

 earthy matter, five-sixths consist of phosphate o 

 lime and magnesia. A ton of bone dust contain 

 of 



Animal matter, about 740 lbs. 



Phosphate of lime, iSic. 1,245 lbs. 



Carbonate of lime, &c. 249 lbs." 



It is evident, then, that bones abound in matter 

 capable of producing ammonia. Dr. Dana est 

 mates its power in this respect to be equal to 8 

 10 times that of cow dung, while, if the salts ar 

 regarded, 100 lbs. of bones contain nearly 6G time 

 as much as the same quantity of cow dung. E; 

 perience proves that the power of aiding crops, be 

 tween dung and bones, is about in the proportio 

 of the constituents named. It is evident th; 

 much of the value of bones depend on their ca 

 tilage. Boiling bones, as generally practiced, h: 

 but little effect in extracting the gelatine ; an 

 does not remove even all the fat or oil. Th 



of 1840—41, he took from the same pond 700 loads, 

 and applied it to two other fields, and with similar 

 results. Mr Whalen has also, at different times, 

 drawn 800 loads of muck from an ash swalo, and 

 found it to nearly or quite equal, in its effect on 

 vegetption, the pond mud. After the corn, Mr 

 Whalen has uniformly grown oats ; and on those 

 worn out lands, where he formerly would have lost 

 his seed oats as well as the grass seeds used, he 

 has been successful, both taking well where the 

 mud or muck had been used. For heavy loams or 

 clay, Mr Whalen is of the opinion that a mixture 

 of lime or yard manure, with the muck or mud, 

 would be indispensable. This mixture, the expe- 

 rience of Mr Chirk, of Northampton, and others, 

 shows, is well effected by placing the muck in the 

 cattle-yards or pig-styes, to be incorporated with 

 the manures by the feet or noses of the animals, 

 and to act as absorbents of the urine and soluble 

 matters that are too frequently lost. 



Bones. — Bonos, ground or crushed, form another 

 powerful manure; and although but little used as 

 yet in this country, there are some indications, such 

 as the erection of mills for crushing them, that 

 their use will soon become extensive, and our far- 

 mers be saved the mortifying spectacle, so long 

 witnessed here, of seeing shiploads of bones ex- 

 ported to Europe, to be used by farmers there. 

 The manner in which bones act as manures, and 

 their value, will be best seen by a statement of 

 their constituents. The bones of the ox, accord- 

 ing to Herzelius, contain in 1110 parts — 



quicker will their influence be felt ; and boilin, 

 by removing the exterior cartilage and fat, rendei 

 the crushing more perfect. It is owing to th 

 cause, undoubtedly, that many of the English agr 

 culturists prefer dry to fresh bones; as the du 

 made from the former is more suitable for sowir 

 or drilling with seeds, than that of the latte 

 Bone dust is the most efficient on light and di 

 soils. It has been found also very useful on lim 

 stone soils and light loams ; but on lieavy clay 

 wet soils, this manure does little or no goo 

 Bone dust is one of the most efficient manures < 

 clover, particularly the white clover; exceedir 

 gypsum in its effects on this plant. This is a 

 counted for by the fact, that white clover abouni 

 in phosphate of lime ; and the phosphates of bom 

 supply it in abundance. Although principally ei 

 ployed as a manure for turnips, in consequence 

 their importance in a rotation of crops for the an 

 mals of the farm, particularly sheep, it is conside 

 ed by many farmers quite as useful, employed as 

 manure for potatoes, as it is for turnips. Bon 

 are found to be more valuable, if subjected to 

 partial fermentation before being applied to tl 

 crops. If mixed with five or six times their weitr 

 of vegetable mould or fine rich earth, and turm 

 over several times a few weeks before using, tl 

 value is much increased. Since the general u 

 of bones has been introduced into England, va 

 quantities are gathered and imported from all pai 

 of the world. 



[To be continued.] 



Cartilage, 



Phosphate of lime, 



Fluate of lime, 



Carbonate of lime, 



Phosphate of magnesia, 



Soda, with a little common salt, 



33.3 



55.35 

 3. 



3.85 

 2.05 

 2.45 



100. 



The analysis of Fourcroy and Vauquelin, gives : 

 Gelatine and oil, 51. 



Phosphate of lime, 37.7 



Carbonate of lime, 10. 



Phosphate of magnesia, 1.3 



A Warning. — Died in Lexington, July 15th, J 

 Hammond Locke, 53. The circumstances atlen 

 ing his death we hope will be a caution to perso 

 not to go into the water when their blood is hi 

 He had been mowing that day, and at night 

 thought he would go into the water and bathe. I 

 swam out a short distance and on returning beg; 

 to falter and dropped his head partly under wati 

 but not sinking, a person standing by reached I, 

 hand and pulled him out, but the vital spark h 

 fled. A physician was called, but to no purpos 

 He said the deceased came to his end by beii 

 chilled and his blood stagnated. — Mass. Piowina 



100. 



There is a better way of telling when the si 

 rises than by consulting the almanac. 



