PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 145 



Soot is an admirable substance to add to tlie compost heap, because it 

 contains a considerable proportion of alkaline salt, and forms in union with 

 an alkali, a better oleaginous liquid, with which it impregnates the com- 

 post heap, which in turn imparts it to the plants, and causes them to be 

 rejected by insects, besides promoting a rapid vegetation, and thereby ren- 

 dering the texture of the plants, very rapidly, too firm to be preyed upon 

 by those not disliking the acrid taste. If this composition is sown over a 

 wheat crop, that has turned yellow, and presents a sickly appearance, it 

 will immediately assume a healthy green, and grow vigorously, besides all 

 this, it will eradicate moss. Its great state of fineness and tenuity is ser- 

 viceable, as by that means it becomes capable of being more extensively 

 and more regularly mixed with the compost heap. In fact, the good effects 

 derivable from most substances employed in composts for top dressings, 

 depend in a great measure, upon this circumstance. AVhere soot, ashes, 

 or in fact any material that contains saline matters, intended to be em- 

 ployed as manures, should alwa'ys be preserved under cover, free from any 

 accidental application of water to them, as where this practice is neglected, 

 the saline substances are dissolved and carried away in a liquid form. It 

 is from this cause that farmers have complained to me that they have de- 

 rived no sensible advantage by the application of salt, soot, &c., to their 

 compost heaps, made up in exposed situations, and freely watered. On 

 this account such composted materials should not be used as top dressing 

 very early in the spring, as then valuable properties are carried away by 

 the rains, particularly if the ground is not underdrained, and sub-soil 

 ploughed; if it is, there is not so much to be apprehended on this account. 

 I once offered to cut all the mullens, thistles, weeds, flags, &c., on a 

 neighboring farm, and to carry off' what the farmer considered a great 

 nuisance, the hair left after scalding his hogs, for several years in the same 

 place; he agreed gladly to let me have them, but asked what use I intended 

 to convert them to, and on informing him that they would make, when com- 

 posted, a rich and highly fertilizing manure, he refused to let me take them, 

 though he neither cut the weeds or used the thistles himself. They should 

 all be gathered with much care, and placed upon the compost heap, and in 

 fifteen or sixteen days thereafter, if properly managed, every 1000 lbs. will 

 yield 3500 lbs. of manure. And the bulk may be wonderfully increased by 

 the addition of muck or earth from the head-lands. If your muck swamp 

 is a good one, you should always dig one year in advance, and when used 

 in the compost heap, one part of straw, weeds, or anj/ other similar sub- 

 stance, will be equal to two parts of muck, if mixed with a small portion 

 of horse manure, the fermentation will destroy the seeds of any weeds that 

 may be used. If the heat rises higher than is desirable, a portion of water 

 will arrest it. 



An admirable mixture for the compost heap is as follows : to every hogs- 

 head of liquid add 16 lbs. of slaked lime, 16 lbs. of wood ashes, 10 lbs. of 

 salt, 10 lbs. of potash, 1 lb. of saltpetre, 80 lbs. of plaster of Paris, 40 lbs. 

 of excrement, 100 lbs. of urine, and 80 lbs. of horse dung. When the heap 

 has been raised fifteen inches high, stir the liquid and pour it on until the 

 mass is saturated, and place another layer, and continue thus until the 

 heap is nine feet high. When completed cover it with charcoal dust. After 



[Am. Ins.] K 



