65 
Throughout the farms in the country described there 
is the greatest waste of manures ; there is not one tank 
to collect the liquids, and very few farm buildings are 
spouted to take away rain water. So that the manure 
in wet weather becomes macerated, and in dry, the liquid 
parts are either evaporated or sink into the earth. The 
floor of farm yards ought to be impervious to water. It 
has been well said that the Belgians are a century before 
us in the preparation and preservation of manures. The 
diluvial beds on both sides of the country have been 
described as sheep soils, and an experiment on the 
soiling of sheep under cover by Mr. Childers deserves 
notice. A shed is erected, which holds eighty, the interior 
is raised two feet from the ground by wood work, and ^ 
the sheep thus sleep dry. Seventy sheep were fed on 
turnips, and allowed Is. worth per week each of extra 
food, as beans, crushed barley, salt, and hay. The net 
profit in three months was from 15s. to 20s. each, besides 
fifty loads of excellent manure. It is supposed that, 
during this year, ten acres of turnips will feed 400 sheep 
on this plan. Soiling under cover is a novel experiment, 
but Sir John Sinclair, in his Husbandry of Scotland, 
states that 308 wethers produced 800 tons of the best 
manure, folded upon an English acre. In the Complete 
Grazier there is another account of 134 ewes and 30 
Iambs 'producing in six weeks 28 loads of manure, value 
£14. It is highly probable that if the above turnips had 
been steamed the profit would have been larger ; indeed, 
it was well known, from the experiments of M. Biot on 
vegetable substances with the polarised ray of light, that 
the nutritious matter of some roots is nearly doubled. 
Schoefier, Carolini, and Swammerdam long since demon- 
strated that the farina or meal of grain consists of 
globules. Raspall and M. Biot are now enabled to state 
D 
