284 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 6, IS 



DANA'S PRIZE ESSAY ON MANURES. 



[Continued.] 



THE QUALIIT OF DUNG. 



It is alTocted first, by tlie season ; second, by 



the age ; third, by the sex ; fourth, by the condl- 



tion ; fifth, by the .node of employ.nunt ; si.xth, by }^^ ^ ^^^^ .^^ ,^^j,^_ ^^^^ ^^^ 



the natnre of the beast ; seventh, the kind of food, j ^^^^ ^ j^^^_ ^^ fattening animals, contains 



1st. The season. It is because digestion is r n .1 1 . r r j r 1 . .1 



lou i lie oco.iMi. lu " , ^ more of all the elements of food for plants, than at 



worse in summer than in winter, a general tact, ,. , , ■ 1 1 t ■ . 



wuiBc = iiiiiici , g \ any other period, and is peculiarly rich in nitrogen. 



I trust, reader, it is not so long since you have met 



warnrith, requires but little of his breathing food, to 

 keep up his heat. All the starcli, gum, sugar, &c. 

 go to form fat. Having little use for his muscles 

 or flesh, that sufters little waste, and the nitrogen 

 which should go to form flesh, is voided in dung. 

 If it is a she, no milk is given during this period, 



tire summer soiled, it is said the manure is worth 

 double that from stall-led winter cattle. I do not 

 think much is to he attributed to the worse diges- 

 tion in summer, but the cause of this great diffe- 

 rence in value, is to be found in the fact, that soil- 

 ed cattle generally get a large proportion of blood- 

 forming food. 



The wear and tear of their flesh is little, ami 

 hence, requiring little of their food to keep up 

 their flesh, a greater portion goes off in dung, 

 which thus becomes rich in ammonia. The green 

 plants, rich in nitrogen, afliVird abundance for milk, 

 ■which, being rich in all the elements of cream, 

 should nfi"ord Inrge returns of butter. 



2d. Age. From the fact, that young and grow- 

 ing animals require not only food to form flesh and 

 blood, to repair the incessant waste and change 

 taking pl.ice in their bodies, as in older animals, 

 but also a further supply to increase the bulk of 

 their frame, it is evident, that their food will be 

 more completely exhausted of all its principles, and 

 that also less will be returned as dung. All expe- 

 rience confirms this reasoning, and decides that 

 the manure of young animals is ever the weakest 

 and poorest. 



3d. The se.\'. This is one of the most powerful 

 of the causes which affect the strength of dung. 

 From the remarks which have been already made, 

 and which 1 trust, reader, are now fresh in your 

 memory, of the important part acted by nitrogen in 

 dung, it must be plain why sex should exercise 

 such influence. Ist. In all food, as we have ex- 

 plained, that only which contains nitrogen, can 

 form flesh and blood, or substances of similar con- 

 stitution, that is, requiring a large proportion of 

 nitrogen, as milk. Hence an animal with young, 

 that is, a cow before calving, requires not only ma- 

 terials for its own repair, but to build up and per- 

 fect its young. Hence the food will be most com- 

 pletely exhausted of its nitrogen, and consequently 

 the dung become proportionably weaker. 2d. The 

 young having been formed, then milk is required 

 for its sustenance. Milk contains a large propor- 

 tion of nitrogenous or blood-forming elements, and 

 so tlie cause which originally made the dung weak. 



the word ammonia, that you have forgotten that its 

 source and origin are due to this nitrogen. Now 

 the source of this nitrogen is in the food, and as, 

 during fattening, grain, is supplied for its starch, 

 &c., to make fat, and very little waste of the body 

 taking place, the extra nitrogen of the blood-form- 

 ing materials of grain, is nearly all voided in dung. 



.')th. The mode of employment. Your working 

 beasts suffer great wearnnd tear of flesh and blood, 

 bone and muscle, thews and sinews. Hence their 

 daily food supplies only this daily waste : the food 

 is very thoroughly exhausted, and of course the 

 dung is weak. It derives its chief value from the 

 excretions of those parts of the body which are 

 voided as waste materials, among the excrements. 

 There is a distinction to be noted here: excretions 

 are the worn-out flesh and blood elements — excre- 

 ments, the undigested and unused food : dung in- 

 cludes both excretions and excrements. Now the 

 chief value of the dung of working cattle depends 

 upon the excretions. 



Cth. The nature of the beast. If his coat is 

 wool, he requires more sulphur and phosphorus, the 

 natural yolk or sweat of his wool, more lime and 

 ammonia, than does the hairy-coated animal. Hence 

 sheep produce manure less rich in many of the 

 elements of plants, than cattle ; but as at the same 

 lime it contains a larger portion of nitrogen, and 

 is very finely chewed, it runs quicker into fermen- 

 tation. It is a hotter manure, quick to eat, quick 

 to work, and is soon done. 



7th. The kind of food. We have already spok- 

 en of this as aflecting the quantity of dung. Its 

 effects are no less marked on its quality. Now all 

 that requires to be said on this subject, is to re- 

 mind you, reader, of the two divisions of food, the 

 fat-formers, and the flesh and blood-formers. It 

 must be evident, that the more of this last the food 

 contains, that is, the more nitrogenous is the food, 

 the richer the dung. Hence, grains of all sorts, 

 peas, beans, &c., will always give a richer dung 

 than fruits, as apples, &c. The more nitrogenous 

 the hay, the richer the dung. Meadow cats-tail 

 and rye grass are nearly six times stronger in am- 

 monia than oat straw. Red clover is twice as rich 



very great value of clover in enriching land is 

 made evidi^nt. But to return to the quality of 

 dung, as atfected by the food, it has been pr 

 that animals fattening on oil cake, give manu 

 value double tliat of common stock. Here t 

 dance of nitrogen is supplied where but very 

 is required, and consequently much is void 

 dung. 



The point to which we have arrived is a br 

 ing place : the remarks which have been ol 

 upon the action of salts, have prepared the wo 

 our entering upon the next section — the S( 

 class of manures. 



(To be continued.) 



continues to operate during all the lime the animal I •„„:,,„„„„„„ I,, • u . u 1 1 



. . .,,„,■■■, „. ' '" nitrogen as herds-grass: wheat, barley, and rye 



is in milk. Sex, then it is evident, affects mate- i _,,.,„. „,„„„ „„,i ,,. .■, .. 



_._,,_, _i.... _f .i._ J __ straw, green cirrotsand potatoes contain only about 



one-third to one-fifth the ammonia of herds-grass. 



rially the quality of the dung. 



4lh. The condition. If the animal is in good ! and tarnips only about one-sixth. The quantity 

 condition, aud full grown, it requires only food | of ammonia contained in these different difl^erent 

 enough to supply materials to renew its waste. j grasses and straws, shows at once the efl^ect they 



Hence, the food, (supposing that always in suffi. , must have in the compost heap. The kind of lit- 

 cient quantity,) is leas exhausted of its elements, tor must have no small effect upon the value of 

 than when the animal is in poor condition. In manure. And while we are upon this subject, it 

 the last case, not only waste, but new materials may not be out of place to mention, that the kind 

 must be supplied. If the animal is improving in of a green crop turned in, materially affects the 

 fesh, (and here, reader, 1 would have you boar in value of the process. While the straws of the 

 mind the distinction between flesh and fat,) if the grain-bearing plants afford for every ton of green 

 animal is improving in flesh, then the manure is al- crop turned in, about three-quarters of a pound of 

 ways less strong, than when he is gained fat. ammonia, green corn-stalks and herds-grass, about 

 There is no manure so strong as that of fattening five pounds of ammonia per ton ; red clover'affords 

 animals. An animal stall-fed, kept in proper about seventeen pounds of ammonia per ton. The 



For the New England Farmer. 



ROOT CROPS— NEW METHOD OF PL/ 

 ING POTATOES. 



Mr Editor — At the sixth agricultural me 

 at your State House, the Hon. Mr Allen made 

 very judicious remarks, as 1 think, upon the 

 vation of the various kinds of root crops for fe 

 stock. He says " the turnip family can be i 

 with less expense than any other roots with 

 knowledge." But he objects to the cultivati 

 the turnip and ruta baga, upon account of the 

 ing great exhausters of the soil. Mr 15. V. F 

 is of the same opinion. Now there is frequ 

 a crop of bagas of from 800 to 1000 bushels i 

 upon an acre — and we should expect that 

 would exhaust the soil ; but it is now a rec 

 opinion that a large portion of the food of pla 

 derived from the air, in an especial mann 

 those having large leaves, like the English 1 

 and baga ; and it is also a settled fact, that if 

 return to the land the crop that has grown 

 it, you add to the fertility of the soil, becaus 

 return to it all that has been abstracted I 

 growing crop, with the addition ot that dc 

 from the air. From the above reasoning, th 

 the crop is consumed by the farm stock, ar 

 manure, solid and liquid, be returned to the I 

 ground, it would be enriched ; or if appli 

 some othar part of the farm, that is enrichec 

 haps in a greater ratio than the turnip groi 

 impoverished. From some few trials in fe 

 cattle tlirough our long winters upon a port 

 roots, I am satisfied that their value is not 

 appreciated by farmers in the country, even i 

 they never sell a quart of milk. The ances 

 oijr race of cattle were formed to feed thf 

 round upon green forage — and a peck or two 

 of roots, with their dry meadow hay, must bt 

 ducive to their health and comfort, during w 

 and to the profit of the farmer. 



With the highest respect for Mr Allen's opi 

 on all matters appertaining to the farm, I s 

 not have ventured to make any comments upi 

 remarks, had I not thought they were rather t 

 lated to deter farmers from cultivating the I 

 family of roots, on account of their exhai 

 qualities, notwithstanding he thought they 

 be raised cheaper than any other routs. If I 

 taken a right view of the subject, his objei 

 are not of a very serious nature. 



In the N. E. Farmer of Feb. 21, p. 207, you 

 copied from the Farmer's Cabinet, an ortit 

 the cultivation of potatoes. The writer of tl 

 tide says: " The object of this essay is par 

 give publicity to a method by which the wri 

 induced to believe more potatoes could be i 

 to the acre than by any other method tha 



