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XVII. — The Application of the Manure of the Farm. 
By Professor Tanner. 
Prize Essay. 
The judicious employment of the manure of the farm can 
scarcely be looked upon as of less importance than its economi- 
cal production ; and when we consider the influence that this 
fertilizer has upon the produce, and consequently upon the 
profits, of the farm, we have a strong inducement to give the 
matter our careful attention. For this purpose it will be ad- 
visable to treat the subject under two distinct heads, according 
as the animal excreta may or may not be intermixed with 
straw. 
Class I. — Animal Manures, intermixed with Straw. 
This includes the most expensive manures which are pro- 
duced upon our farms. We have in that heterogeneous mass so 
familiarly known as farmyard-manure the great representative of 
this class. The evidence of practice is agreed respecting its 
great value, and the improvements which have been introduced 
into agricultural practice have a powerful and direct tendency to 
increase the quantity and improA'e the quality of this product of 
the farm. Our attention has now to be directed to a subsequent 
stage — its application to the land. 
If we appeal to practice alone for an answer to the question 
before us, viz.. What is the best period of the rotation and the 
best time of the year for applying the manure of the farm ? it 
will at first sight appear almost impossible to elicit such a reply 
as will enable us to establish any definite rules, in consequence 
of the widely-varying customs of different districts. But this 
want of agreement need not cause us much surprise ; for it is 
clear that as the conditions of soil and climate vary they must 
be met by corresponding modification in our practice. I do not 
know any branch of farm management in which the truth of this 
principle is more evident than in the use of dung. There is 
scarcely any crop for which farmyard-manure has not been used 
with advantage ; and throughout every month of the year we 
have instances of its successful application. In explaining and 
justifying this diversity of usage, we must take the result of suc- 
cessful practice as our primary guide ; for science can rarely do 
more than explain the causes of a success already achieved, and 
cannot be recognised as an independent autlaority. Acting upon 
this principle, we will first notice — 
