PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS* CLUB. 149 



too large, but of such sizes as will enable the farmer to turn them expedi- 

 tiousl}^, and cart to the fields one at a time, without injuring the others by 

 any delay that may occur from causes unseen. Every barn j'ard should be 

 supplied with light, movable covers, to place over the compost heaps, and 

 effectually screen them from the action of the sun in summer, and heavy 

 rains and snows in winter, as the manures thus sheltered have invariably 

 been found by agriculturists to be far more efficacious in promoting the 

 growth of vegetation than under other circumstances. 



Different plans have been pursued by farmers, to procure manure from 

 the articles of food and other substances produced on the farm; by some it 

 has been contended strenuously, that the best plan is to, have the whole of 

 the straw, hay, &c., consumed by farm stock, without employing any of 

 them in the way of litter, the stall floors being so constructed that the ani- 

 mals can be kept clean and dry, without being littered, with straw, or 

 other similar materials; wliile other farmers declare, on the ground of long 

 experience, that the method of eating the hay by the stock, and employing 

 the whole of the straw, as well as other similar substances, in the way of 

 litter, is, by far, the most effectual in promoting the increase of manure. 

 It is probable, however, that a judicious combination of both may be the 

 most beneficial. 



In my opinion, the soiling of horses, cows, and cattle generally, with rich 

 green food, cut fresh every day during the sunmrer season, and placed in 

 foddering yards, the bottoms of which have been prepared and covered to 

 the depth of five or six inches, with earthy materials and litter, is a prac- 

 tice by which great additions may be made to the compost heaps, as the 

 evacuations of stock fed in this way is very great. Farmers cannot be 

 made to believe, without trying the experiment, how few acres of land, 

 under the culture of artificial grasses, when cut green and daily fed to 

 working horses and farm stock, will answer the purpose. The quantity of 

 manure that may be made in this way, is far greater than can be supposed 

 by those who have not actually made a trial of the method. Four hundred 

 sheep soiled in this way will make manure ampl^' sufficient to enrich au 

 acre of land daily. 



When we form our compost heaps, changes continually take place in 

 them from the instant the heaps are thrown together, to the period in 

 which they are reduced to a black carbonic earthy matter, and in nearly 

 all the different stages through which they pass in the process of decom 

 position ; such substances are formed as are capable of contributing to 

 the support and nutrition of vegetable growth. Science alone can truly 

 explain the mode in which certain substances exert their beneficial agency, 

 consequently the practical agriculturist must be directed rationally by 

 science, all besides is mere experiment, conjectural, hazardous, and exceed- 

 ingly expensive. The manures that are left upon the barn-yard become 

 only comparatively decomposed, and may be used advantageously on 

 crops that require a supply of nourishment for a considerable length of 

 time, therefore their gradual decomposition, near the surface of the 

 ground, affords a regular and durable supply of nutrient materials, which 

 contribute effectually to the growth of crops, particularly potatoes which 



