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the top of the earth and sand with which it is to he 

 mixed. When land is too wet to hear the carting of 

 the weed while fresh from the sea, or when the weed 

 is arriving- in such quantities on the shore, as to de- 

 mand the unceasing- labour of men and horses in col- 

 lecting it, then indeed it would be fooUsh to lose 

 time in drawing it to distant fields. In such case, it 

 is judicious to have a mass of sand or earth near the 

 beach ready to imlnbe its salts and juices ; but if it 

 be practicable to bear oif the weed directly from the 

 strand to the field, for immediate spreathng, labour 

 and time %vill be saved. Sand, or loose earth, appUed 

 separately to stiff land, will have as good an effect in 

 opening it, as if ])reviously mixed with sea-weed. 



In short, though the question of mixing or not mix- 

 ing sea- weed in compost, must be regulated liy cir- 

 cumstances, it must be laid down as a rule, that this 

 valuable substance should be applied icliile fresh to 

 the fields which it is destined to manure. 



Sea-sand is another manure well known to you, 

 the value of ivhich depends on the quantiti/ of shells, 

 i. e. of lime which is contained in if ; ])ut even when 

 sand (like that on our coast) contains little calcareous 

 matter, it has the effect of rendering stiff clays loose 

 and friable. In many parts of Ireland, as at Bantry 

 in the County of Cork, and on the Galway coast, 

 there is coraline sand which has the properties of 

 coral hme — it is full of shells. I have known it to 

 l)e carried in bags ten or fifteen miles from the coast, 

 on the l)acks of mules. 



Limestone Gravel also changes the nature of raoory 

 or clay lands immediately ; it acts in a two-fold way, 

 manuring and opening the soil — excellent for M'heat. 



Common Salt has been frequently tried with suc- 

 cess on grass lands as a manure. When used in very 

 •great qxiantities, however, it renders land barren, at 

 least for a considerable time. The virtue of it, as a 

 tillage manure, is I think a very doubtful point, it 

 is mwn with the hand, like corn, on fiiUows, at the 



