242 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. XIV. 
the Chinese are perfectly right, as the manure must be 
much more efficient in this state than when a great por- 
tion of its ammonia has passed off into the air. The 
Chinese, as far as I could learn, have no mode of disin- 
fecting their manure, but they seemed to be perfectly 
aware that, if allowed free access to the air, a great loss 
must result, owing to the gases which are given out and 
dissipated. Without waiting, then, for fermentation or 
putrefaction, this manure is at once applied to the grow- 
ing crops. On the afternoons, or on cloudy days, the 
labourers are seen carrying water from the nearest pond 
or canal to the manure-tank, for the purpose of diluting 
its contents. This being done, they fill their buckets, 
attaching one to each end of their bamboo in the usual 
way, and carry them off to their destination. When 
this is reached, each man takes a small wooden ladle 
having a long bamboo handle, and with this he scatters 
the liquid over the growing crop. A strong stimulant 
like this would probably in other circumstances have an 
injurious effect ; but, by using it only when the crops 
are young and luxuriant, they assimilate its gases, and a 
most marked effect is produced upon their growth and 
productiveness. This kind of liquid manure is generally 
applied to wheat, barley, and all the cabbage tribe, and 
other garden vegetables ; but not to rice, which is always 
flooded during its growth. 
This manure is sometimes used after putrefaction and 
fermentation have taken place, and even in this state it 
is very efficient. In the gardens near Canton it is often 
dried and mixed with the soil taken from the bottom of 
