^itiiSTD 2i»<asjs 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUBLISHED BV JOSKPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NOUTH MARKET STREET, (Aoricultuhal Wabehoose.)— ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR. 



>I..XMI.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 23, 1843. 



two. 8, 



FARMER 



From the Farmers' Manual. 



:CREMENTS OF HORSES, TIORNED CAT- 

 TLE, PJGS, AND FOWLS. 

 Tlifi solid excrements of cattle used in ao;ricul. 

 e differ considerably in value accurdini,' in the 

 3 and uses of the animals. Young cattle retain 

 I phosphates contained in llieir food for the in- 

 lase of tlieir bones; while dairy cows yield the 

 jsphales in their milk ; the dung of both these 

 consequently deficient in such substances, and 

 iduces from this cause a less effi-'cl as manure, 

 e value or virtue of both the solid and liquid ex- 

 iments, are most materially affected by the food 

 'en to cattle. Corn and oil-cake contain a large 

 antity of phosphates, as well as starch and sub- 

 nces containing nitrogen, and when these are 

 'en as food to cattle, they not only thrive rapid- 

 but their excrements become proportionably 

 h in pliospiiates and substances producing am- 

 inia. The flesh or muscles of animals is in- 

 ;asfd by those parts of plants and seeds which 

 nsist of compounds containing nitrogen ; and 

 ;ir fat is derived from such as yield starch and 

 jar. In the case of fatting animals with any 

 ;en quantity of food, they produce much more 

 th of flesh and fat when kept in a state of re- 

 Be, and at a moderate temperature, than when 

 posed to cold and allowed to take e.xercise. " It 

 indeed known that the vital forces decrease 

 len the body is exposed to a certain degree of 

 Id ; and when this is sufficiently intense, that 

 ;y are either suspended or altogether annihila- 

 1." (Playiair.) 



Although rather beside our present purpose, we 

 t cannot refrain from remarking in this place 

 on that beautiful economy of nature which con- 

 cts the nutrition and growth of plants with that 

 animals ; by which the inorganic substances es- 

 atial to the latter, are equally so to the former, 

 lus the phosphates of lime and magnesia, and 

 B sulphate and muriate of soda (common salt,) 

 tash and iron, as required by plants, equally siib- 

 rve the nourishment of animals. Without the 

 nier, the bones of animals could not be formed ; 

 lile phosphoric, sulphuric, and muriatic acids, 

 Ja, potash, and iron, are not only necessary to 

 •m the substance of animals, but are indispensa- 

 3 to the discharge of the functions of life. In 

 3 way, plants may be said to be caterers of ani- 

 ils, as they collect and concoct the food upon 

 lich animals subsist. The caseine (or cheese,) 

 jumen and fibrine, which have hitherto been con- 

 lered the production of animal life, are now as- 

 rtained to be previously formed by plants, as 

 jll as starch and sugar ; and are only assiroila- 

 d and modified by the animal functions. (Liobig.) 

 •le three first substances have been by the che- 

 ist extracted from plants, and their analysis is 

 ecisely similar to those yielded by animals. 



1000 parts of the solid excrement of a cow or 

 :, consist of 750 parts of water, and the remain- 



der of the rejected vegetable matter and some ani- 

 mal substances derived from the waste which the 

 organs of animals are continually undergoing. 

 When 1000 parts of the (hiid excrement is burnt, 

 it yields 00 parts of ashes, consisting of the fol- 

 lowing substances : 



Silica, 44 



Carbonate and [ihosphate of lime, \'i 



Carbamate, sulphate, and muriate of soda, 3 

 Magnesia, alumina and potash, 2 



no 



The solid excrement of cows and oxen is, by 

 itself, very little prone to undergo putrefaction or 

 fermentation, which is owing to the very small 

 quantity of nitrogen they contain ; it therefore 

 gives out but little ammonia ; but when mixed 

 with urine — which abounds with nitrogen — rapid 

 fermentation ensues, and very pungent fumes of 

 ammonia and other offensive gases escape. 



The urini af horned ctittle consists of a large 

 portion of water, holding in solution a substance 

 called urea, which really changes by fermentation 

 into ammonia ; it also contains several salts, form- 

 ed from the various elements already described. 

 The .''ollowing is an abstract of the analysis of 

 100,000 parts of the urine of cattle, by Professor 

 Sprengel : 



Water, 09,(194 



Urea, witli resinous matter, 4,000 



Albumen and mucus, substances contain- 

 ing nitrogen, 200 

 Salts of potash, soda, and ammonia, with 



organic acids, 809 



Sulphates, phosphates, and muriates of 



soda, lime, and magnesia, 747 



Ammonia, 20.5 



Potash, 604 



Soda, 554 



Lime, 65 



Magnesia, 30 



Alumina, 2 



Oxide of iron and manganese, 5 



Silica, 30 



100,000 

 It is owing to the presence of so much nitrogen 

 in urine that it so rapidly undergoes putrefaction, 

 and promotes that action in vegetable substances 

 in contact with it : as, for instance, in the straw 

 and refuse of the farm-yard. The urea — which 

 abounds in nitrogen — takes an active part in this 

 process, and yields a large quantity of ammonia. 

 The solid excrement of horses — as they general- 

 ly consume a considerable quantity of corn — con- 

 tains more nitrogen than that of horned cattle, 

 which accounts for the circumstance of its fer- 

 menting much faster than the latter. 100 parts of 

 tills excrement consist of 70 water, 20 vegetable 

 fibre, and the remaining 10 parts are composed of 

 aniniplizcd matter, earthy and alkaline salts. 1000 

 parts of the dried solid excrement contain, accord- 

 ing to Professor Sprengel, 00 parts, by weight, of 

 aehes, of the following composition : 



Carbonate, sulphate, and muriate of soda, 5 

 Carbonate and phosphate of lime, 9 



Silica, 4g 



60 



Besides these there must be some other earthy 

 substances. 



The wine of horses is composed of 04 parts in 

 100 of water ; the remaining parts consisting of 

 urea and salts of soda, lirno and potash. Nitrogen 

 is much less abundant in this urine than in that of 

 cows and oxen ; which renders the former much 

 less fertilizing than the latter, when applied in a 

 liquid state. Stable dung, however, yields a largo 

 (luantity of ammonia, most of which is lost to the 

 farmer, as is evident from the strong ammoniacal 

 smell which is constantly emitted in stables ; and 

 more especially from the heaps placed near the 

 door. The waste of this precious material might 

 be easily prevented, by means of strewing the sta- 

 ble floor with gypsum powder, by which a sulphate 

 of ammonia would be formed, a substance or salt 

 that is not volatile. The gypsum should be mfine 

 powder, or it will fail of producing the desired ef- 

 fect. Sulphuric, or muriatic acid, diluted with a 

 large quantity of water, will, however, be much 

 more rapid and effectual. 



The dung of pigs is generally considered to bo 

 a '' cold manure ;" but this can orily be said of 

 that of store pigs, for it must form a powerful ma- 

 nure when pigs are fed upon corn and other food 

 containing much nitrogen. The urine contains a 

 large quantity of nitrogen, and becomes exceed- 

 ingly offensive wlien allowed to putrefy by itself. 

 The excrements of the pig should, therefore, be 

 oonsliintly carried away along with the litter, and 

 mixed with the other dung of the farm-yard ; for 

 if applied by itself to potatoes, or other esculent 

 roots, it is apt to impart to them a most disagreea- 

 ble flavor, occasioned, probably, by the large quan- 

 tity of liquid food which they consume, and to some 

 peculiar volatile substance contained in the urine. 



The dung of poultry is a very powerful manure, 

 containing a large portion liolh of phosphates and 

 ammonia; for, as they discharge their excreuiPiits 

 through the same opening, both the solid and fluid 

 portions are mixed together. When applied as a 

 top-dressing, it has an admirable effect in restoring 

 wheat that has been thinned by slugs or an unfa- 

 vorable winter. The dung should be mixed with 

 ashes, for the purpose of spreading more evenly. 

 Geese dung is unobjectionable when used in a 

 compost. 



INQUIRY. 

 Does the Scio7i or the >^lock determine the Bearing 

 Habits of the jlpple Tree ? 

 Mr Editor — Will you or some of your nume- 

 rous readers inform me through your paper, wheth- 

 er the scion of the apple tree follows the tree 

 from which it is taken, or the tree into which it is 

 set, in respect to iis habit of bearing every year or 

 every other year ? I suppose some one has set- 

 tled the question by facts. 



A LovKR OF Good Fruit. 



