36 



A DISCOURSE 



excellent for cold, wet grounds, and stiff clays, but over-burns the 

 di-ier It is the very best destroyer of moss and rushes, as quick-lime 

 does furzes, being first extirpated. 



I come next to marl, (amongst other parts of agriculture introduced by 

 the same Romans,) of excellent use to fix light sand and dry grounds ; some 



" three roods of limestone land, and carefully collected the ashes into two heaps for a 

 ''future experiment. Having so good an opportunity, I measured the ashes, and was 

 "much surprised at the quantity, being eighty cart loads, thirty bushels to the load." 

 Georgical Essays, p. 382. 



Upon this subject there is a very curious and interesting paper, written by Mr. Brown, 

 of Derby, and published in the Transactions of the Society of Arts. 



" I beg leave to communicate to the Society, and, if thought worth notice, by them 

 to the world, a composition for manure. Fearful it would not answer the purpose so fully 

 as I could wish, I deferred it from year to year ; but I now find, both by numerous trials 

 made by my friends, as well as myself, the very great utility of the composition, as well 

 as its cheapness, with the capability of its being made in any situation and in any quantity. 

 The mode of making it is as simple as, I trust, it will be found productive. It is nothing 

 more than green vegetable matter decomposed by quick, or fresh-burnt lime. A layer of 

 the vegetable matter about a foot thick, then a very thin layer of lime, beat small, and so on ; 

 first vegetable, then lime, alternately. After it has been put together a few hours, the 

 decomposition will begin to take place ; and unless prevented, either by a few sods, or a 

 forkful of the vegetables at hand, it will break out into a blaze, which must, at all events, 

 be prevented. In about twenty-four hours the process will be complete, when you will 

 have a quantity of ashes ready to lay on your land at any time you wish. Any and all sorts 

 of vegetables, if used green, will answer the purpose ; say weeds of every description. They 

 will doubly serve the farmer, as they will not only be got at a small expense, but will in 

 time render his farm more valuable, by being deprived of all noisome weeds. 



" But if this composition answers the purpose, as I flatter myself it will, a very short time 

 will see almost every weed destroyed, which supposing to be the case, I have made my 

 calculations with clover, grown for the purpose ; for instance, I wiU. take one acre of 

 clover, which at one cutting will produce from fourteen to -eighteen tons of green vege- 

 table matter, and about three tons of lime : this, when decomposed by the above process, 

 will yield ashes sufficient to manure four acres, the value of which I estimate at something 

 under four pounds ; the clover, according to the value of land here, I will say two pounds, 

 which, take the average of the kingdom, is too much. The lime I will also say two 

 pounds ; but that will vary, according to the distance it is to be fetched. Take them to- 

 gether, I think will be about the average value. Now if this is the case, and as far as I 

 have been able to try it, I find so, how valuable must it be to the community in general ! 

 If it answers the purpose, I shall feel myself much obliged by the Society making it as 

 public as they possibly can. 



"The vegetables should be used as soon after they are cut as possible, and lime as fresh 

 from the kiln as the distance will allow of; as on those two circumstances depends the 

 goodness of the composition." 



" There are two kinds of lime used in husbandry. The one is magnesian, and the other 



