PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB, 443 



of water to dissolve it, and thus little by little, it is taken up, 

 year after year, by the rain and the dew. The machinery neces- 

 sary to carry out the system of Mechi, is not available to farm- 

 ers generally. In most cases it is better, instead of having even 

 a cistern, to have the barnyard upon the slope of a hill, hollowed 

 in the centre so that it shall only overflow in the heaviest rains. 

 A few shovelfuls of plaster of Paris, or of charcoal, will pre- 

 vent the escape of ammonia, and, if the soil is not too sandy, 

 the manure Avill penetrate the earth but a few inches. 



Dr. Trimble. — All vats and cisterns for the accumulation of 

 filth about an establishment, are radically wrong. If the slops 

 from the kitchen are good, they should be put upon the garden 

 at once, instead of putting them into a cistern where they will 

 be offensive to the family and to the neighbors. Manures should 

 be taken out in the spring and should not be allowed to accumu- 

 late, and then there will be no place for flies to breed to annoy 

 your family. A cistern for the accumulation of these things, is 

 liable to become not only offensive but dangerous. There is no 

 disease so unmanageable as that sometimes produced by the ma- 

 laria from cisterns. The best management of the accumulations 

 is to permit no accumulations ; put them upon the grape vines 

 at once. 



The Chairman said that no sweeter place could be found in 

 New Jersey than around the premises of the neighbor to whom 

 he had referred. A cistern properly managed, will not become 

 offensive, and will be the source of a large amount of valuable 

 manure annually. 



Prof. Nash. — If the premises are cleared as soon as the spring 

 opens and are kept clear until the winter freezes in, that is the 

 best way; but that is something the farming community will 

 not do. 



Mr. Robinson. — Westchester county land is full of animal sub- 

 stance, living earth-worms. How can they be converted into 

 manure ? 



Mr. Lawton read an extract showing that in Great Britain the 

 use of marl is generally restricted by agreement in leases of 

 farming land. 



Dr. Trimble said that in the chalk neighborhoods, they call 

 chalk marl — in other sections, clay is called marl. The New 

 Jersey marl is an entirely different substance. By the green- 

 sand marl, Monmouth county has been raised up from one of the 



