On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
741 
if  it  flows  into  his  pond  it  will  sooner  or  later  find  its  way  over 
his  water  meadows.  It  is  true  that  ammonia  is  freely  taken  up  by 
water  ; but  there  may  be  much  waste  in  the  yard  from  the  action 
of  the  sun  and  air  before  it  reaches  the  pond  ; and  it  is  not  at  all 
clear  that  all  the  valuable  salts  held  in  solution  by  the  pond-water 
are  left  by  it  on  the  ground  as  it  trickles  over  the  meadow.  Tanks 
are  very  uncommon,  and,  except  as  a means  of  preserving  dung, 
their  utility  is  very  questionable.  I know  but  one  practical 
farmer  in  the  west  of  England  (and  he  is  a bit  of  a theorist)  who 
thinks  that  it  pays  to  carry  out  diluted  urine,  except  on  a small 
farm,  or  that  it  is  safe  to  carry  it  undiluted,  although  several 
have  tried  it.  A better  arrangement  will  be  mentioned  under 
the  head  of  Buildings. 
One  of  the  manures  of  most  interest  in  Somersetshire  is  the 
deposits  of  its  rivers.  The  form  in  which  this  can  be  used  with 
most  advantage,  is  the  flooding  of  the  lands  with  thick  water.  It 
may,  however,  be  used  as  Mr.  Graburn  has  used  it  at  Butleigh, 
as  a vehicle  for  a compost,  especially  when  the  manure  is 
dibbled. 
The  following  are  the  analyses  of  three  specimens  : — No.  1 is 
from  the  Parret  at  Bridgewater,  taken  from  a silt  bank  of  recent 
deposit,  on  Messrs.  Seeley’s  brick-yard  (Bath-brick  is  made  of 
it)  ; No.  2 is  the  clay  taken  from  the  banks  of  the  Brue,  in 
Westhay  Moor,  and  laid  by  Mr.  Galton  on  his  peat  land.  The 
sample  was  taken  from  one  of  his  clay-boats  ; it  had  a number  of 
minute  shells  in  it.  No.  3 is  taken  from  the  banks  of  the  Brue, 
at  Butleigh,  about  ten  miles  higher  up,  and  is  the  earth  used  by 
Mr.  Graburn. 
Parret 
Brue 
Brue 
at 
at 
at 
Bridgewater. 
Westhay. 
Butleigh. 
Water 
1*21 
3-72 
2-64 
Organic  Matter 
202 
5-52 
4-06 
Sulphate  of  Lime 
6-61 
•41 
0-86 
Carbonate  of  Lime  .... 
13-98 
14-43 
17-18 
Phosphate  of  Lime  .... 
0-39 
. • 
0-20 
Magnesia  ....... 
trace 
trace 
trace 
Potash 
0-33 
0-36 
0-51 
Soda 
0-28 
0-30 
0-31 
Sand  and  Clay 
67  11 
62-37 
64-22 
Oxide  of  Iron,  Alumina,  and  Loss 
8-07 
12-86 
10  02 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
Underground  Draining. — The  progress  of  draining  may  be  in 
some  degree  estimated  by  the  number  and  situation  of  the  tileries 
which  have  been  called  into  existence  of  late  years.  I have  met 
