fOl.. XMI. NO. 37. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



293 



different latitiidee. but generally well under- 

 id at any given place ; yet we find some far- 

 3 3o negligent, and what is worse, making an 

 med tr'ust in Providence an excuse for llieir 

 less, as to be weeks behind the proper time of 

 in" in the seed. Indian corn may serve as an 

 iiple of such plants. As a general rule too, 

 no- wheat, barley, or oats, if the sowing of them 

 , "any cause, is delayed beyond the proper 

 ,, al'.hough by chance, a pretty fair crop, so far 

 egards b'uahels, may bo produced, yet the qual- 

 wiU be found inferior, the grain light, and the 

 Tcr from blight, or rust, greatly increased. 

 )o not entertain the idea that your farm work 

 go on successfully, unless you give it your 

 mnal supervision. The merchant, the lawyer, 

 doctor, must attend to thoir business personal- 

 ar all will go wrong, and it is not less so with 

 farmer. Poor Richard never drew from his 

 es of wisdom a better than that " he who by 

 plow would thrive, hims-lf must either hold or 

 •e." Laborers may be faithful and careful, but 

 y cannot enter fully into all the intentions and 

 IS of the farmer ; and he must be the guiding 

 directing head of the whole, or much ill direc- 

 effort will take place. The good farmer will 

 in the field with his laborers. He never says 

 hem go, but come ; and he knows that in the 

 nagement of a farm, example is far better than 



ccpt. . 



t would be well if every farmer would, in ar- 

 ming his business for the year, determine every 

 son'to make one or more experiments in some 

 nch of husbandry, that would lead to some im- 

 •lant result; either in determining the best me- 

 ,d of procedure in regard to some crop, or bring 

 w evidence towards selling some controverted 

 int in agriculture. When we recollect how ma- 

 points there are in husbandry about which good 

 •mers are not agreed, such as relate to the grow- 

 y of crops, times and methods of seeding, prepa- 

 'ion of soil, rearing and fattening of animals, &c. 

 c, it is not a little surprising that more careful- 

 conducted experiments are not made to throw 

 w liTht upon them. There is a farmer, who 

 ight not in this way, by well conducted e.xperi- 

 ent, and the communication of the results to some 

 -ricultural journal, do much towards introducing 

 ore correct notions, and better notions of farm- 

 g now exist. 



Th.- introduction and the propagation of good 

 uil, is one of the many things that must not be 

 .-erlooked in any estimate of the spring labors. 

 he man who neglects to plant fruit trees, when 

 . has a rod of ground to plant them on, avows his 

 itenlion of becoming a nuisance to his neighbors; 

 ,r depend upon it, the man who is too lazy to 

 lant will not be too proud to beg, or above allow- 

 icT his children to steal the fruit of his more in- 

 u'slru.us and careful neighbor. Every man who 

 as cultivated a fruit garden is well aware of this 

 tate of thin.'s ; and has found that the coming in- 

 , beariuTof a new and delicate fruit, instead of 

 ddin" to his enjoyment, as it should, has only 

 erved as a signal of gathering, to these ill omen- 

 d plunderers. The only remedy is for every far- 

 ler to endeavor to make the best fruits abundant ; 

 plant enough for himself, and some to spare. 



But whatever may be the nature of the labor to 

 .e done, there should be no haphazard work ; notli- 

 ng that has not entered into the plan oftlie (ar- 

 ner, either as principal or contingent, and been 

 irovided for accordingly. Every movemenl in 



managing a farm should be the result of reflec- 

 tion, of preconcerted arrangement, and directed to 

 a certain and definite end. Were such always the 

 case, we sliould see fewer badly cultivated farms, 

 fewer pieces of work unfinished for want of time, 

 and fewer farmers "coming out at the little end of 

 the horn," the result of bad calculations and un- 

 thriftiness. — Mhnny Cultivator. 



DANA'S PRIZE ESSAY ON MANURES. 

 Section Eighth. 

 Manures Consisting of Salts. 

 In using the termsalts here to designate a class 

 of manures, I wish to distinguish between these 

 and mlnoral manures, as they are usually termed. 

 These manures are similar in kind to the salts 

 whose action in cow dung we have already consid- 

 ered. They are truly mineral salts, derived from 

 the mineral kingdom, entering into and forming a 

 part of plants, and from this source introduced into 

 the dung of animals. Their action, whatever be 

 their name, has been explained. But the salts 

 composing the second class of manures now under 

 consideration, are not of mineral origin. They are 

 derived from the animal kingdom. The source 

 from which they are formed is the living process of 

 the animal body. They are animal salts. Here, 

 then, let us divide the second class of manures in- 

 to animal salts, which are truly manures, both their 

 base and their acid acting as nourishers of plants — 

 and into mineral salts. Hero, again, reader, you 

 will find that the few facts which wo have pointed 

 out relating to the food and nourishment of ani- 

 mals, will help us on our way in tracing the source 

 of these animal salts. 



It has been already said, that the food of animals 

 is divided into two classes — that which does and 

 that which does not contain nitrogen. All domes- 

 tic animals eat these classes together. In a few 

 words, let us trace their course after the animal 

 digested them. The one class goes to form fat, or 

 to support the natural heat of the body, and passes 

 off by the skin in sweat, or in moisture of the 

 breath, and all its excess, or undigested part, goes 

 off in dung. The excess of nitrogenous food, all 

 that not required for repairing the daily waste of 

 the body, or to increase its growth, also passes off 

 in dung, as excrement. This is a small portion, 

 and its°effect3 on the strength of dung have been 

 pointed out. But the wear and tear, as we may 

 call it, of the flesh and blood, the parts which are 

 daily and constantly thrown out of the body as ex- 

 cretions, or old materials, enter the circulation, 

 and pass out of the body in urine. This is the 

 point to which I would call your attention. The 

 undigested food, and the excrements not containing 

 nitrogen, go off in dung. The food and the spent 

 parts'^of the body containing nitrogen, go off in 

 urine. This last, too, is the course of most alka- 

 line salts taken into the body. They pass off in 

 urine. Here, then, we come to the subject, quite 

 prepared to understand it. The urine is a collec- 

 tion of sails : some are of mineral, others of animal 

 origin. But tliat which gives the urine its peculiar 

 and characteristic properties, is a substance formed 

 I from the nitrogenous food, and termed urea. Now 

 I you need hardly trouble yourself to remember this 

 I new name ; all I want you to understand about it 

 is, that when urine is exposed to air, it rots ; and 

 this peculiar substance is changed to ammonia. 

 That is the point to be remembered. In consider- 

 ing urine, therefore, as a manure, it will not be 



nectssary to point out further the mode of its ac- 

 tion, than to refer that of every animal to its salts 

 and power of forming ammimia. The quantity of 

 the last will be in proportion to the quantity of 

 urea. There arc other .salts of ammonia in urine, 

 and also mineral salts. These affect but little the 

 value of urine as a manure. It is the urta, essence 

 of urine, that substance which forms ammonia in 

 rotting urine, which alone makes this liquid more 

 valuable than dung. Hence, reader, if this is im- 

 pressed on your mind, you will perceive, that the 

 chiefest things to bo regarded in urine, are first, 

 the circuinaianccs which affect the quality and 

 quantity. Second, the best mode of promoting a 

 change of urine to ammonia. Third, the time re- 

 (juired for the process ; and fourth, the best mode 

 of preserving the ainmo'iia, when formed. You 

 will perceive, reader, that all along I haveendeav- 

 ored to point out the principles on which manures 

 act. If you go by general principles, then for a 

 plain practical farmer, like yourself, with only 

 I chemistry enough to understand a few of its terms, 

 it must be quite a thankless service to point out to 

 you in detail all the various things contained in 

 urine. All you want to know is this — does urine 

 contain, as solid dung does, water, mould, and salts ? 

 It does. The mould is so small a part, it may 

 be left out of view. The salts are like those in 

 the solid dung— mineral salts— and then we have 

 the peculiar principle, urea, which for all practical 

 purposes may be called ammonia. We may, then, 

 with this division, present in a table the composi- 

 tion of the urine of various animals atone glance: 

 Water. Salts. Ammonia. 

 Cattle urine, per 100 lbs. 02.(13 3.;i8 4. 

 Horse " " " MOO 5.03 .70 



Sheep " " " 9fi- J-20 2.80 



Hog " " « 92.60 1.76 5.64 



Human " " " 95.75 1.88 2.36 



Now cast your eye carefully over this table : the 

 figures at once tell you the value of these different 

 liquids. The last column gives the true value. 

 The other salts vary much in quantity, and this 

 affects the quality. The actual amount of ammo- 

 nia in human urine and cattle dung, is about the 

 same ; yet in actual practice it is found the effects 

 of urine are nearly double those of dung. Look, 

 now, for the reason of this. In the first place, the 

 principle which gives ammonia in urine, runs at 

 once by putrefaction into that state. It gives noth- 

 ing else; whereas in dung, the ammonia arises 

 from a slower decay, and the principle which here 

 affords ammonia, may, and without doubt does, form 

 other products. Hence we liave a quick action 

 with the liquid, a slower one with the solid. A 

 second cause of the better effects of the liquid is, 

 that it contains besides its ammonia, a far greater 

 amount of salts, and these give a more permanent 

 effect. The amount of salts in human, cow, and 

 horse dung, is about one pound in every hundred. 

 While the urine of the same animals contains 

 nearly six pounds in every hundred. A third 

 cause of the greater fertilizing action, is found in 

 the peculiar character of some of these salts, which 

 are composed of soda, potash, lime, &.C., united to 

 an acid formed from urea, in the animal body. 

 This acid is like the acid of saltpetre ; it is a nour- 

 isher of plants, as much so as is carbonic acid, 

 (To be continueil.) 



An indiscreet person is like an unsealed letter, 

 which every body can peruse. 



