VoL. I. AUGUSTA, Ga., MAY :i, 1813. AO. 0. 
MR. FOOTE’S PRIZE ESSAY. 
[Coutinued from page 58. J 
MANAGE.MENT OF OUK STABLES. 
From facts like the above, we should be quick 
to gjtiier lessons of wi.sdoin; not lessons ol 
knowledge merely, (for they may be profitless,) 
but lessons of that })ractical wisdom, which not 
only comprehends and appreciates what is good, 
but employs the best means ol its attainment. — 
Let our smoIcs receive a just snare of attention; 
let the ground beneath them be si'aped astoco-u 
duct the u ine which falls upon it, directly to 
the common reservoir in the yard; or let it be 
excavated in a proper form and supplied with 
suitable ab.sorbents; or let the floors be made 
tight, so that the urine can be taken up by the 
liuer, or conveyed by gutters to the yard, and 
there can be no question that at least one-third 
will be annually added to the value of our stock 
manures. 
Where any of the improved machines for 
that purpo.se are in u.se, the expense of ciUting 
ihe.iUaw intended for litter will be more than re- 
paid, by the greater ea.se with which the tloois 
may be cleaned, especially in winter, by the 
greater amount of liquid it will absorb, and by 
the greater facility and evenne.ss with which the 
m..nure may be spread in the spring. Dry pow- 
dered muck and loam, stored under cover for 
the purpo.se, may also be highly recommended 
for free use in the stables, as being well adapted 
to prevent the waste of the liquids there, and al- 
so to the escape ol the juice.s and ga.ses from 
the heaps as they are formed without. And 
last, not least, an occasional sprinklingol plaster 
over floors will not only preserve such salts as 
would otherwise be lost by exhalation, but at 
the same time greatly contribute to the sweetness 
of the stables. 
MERITS or THIS SYSTEM. 
It is not imagined that the system now indi- 
cated for the preservation of our bam yard ma- 
nures is a jierfect one, securing all advantages 
desirable to be secured. It does not wholly pro-: 
tect the m.anures from the wa-'ting action of the 
atmosphere, nor from liability to loss by infiltra- 
tion and drainage. But, perhaps, considering | 
the universality of its application, and the com- I 
parativeease and cheapness with which it may j 
be adopteil, it is the best that can be recommen- 
ded for general practice. In situations where it i 
is practicable, additional advantages may be un- j 
questionably secuied by the u.se of ^barncellar, 
into which any or all ol the manures of the es- 
tablishment may be thrown, with suitable ab- 
sorbants, and the whole wrought together into 
the ric le.st of all composts by the voluntary la- 
bors of the swine. No doubt farmers will find 
their account also in housing their manures as 
much as possible, since by being thus protected, 
their most valuable portions (their juices and 
salts) will be pre.servcd to a much greater ex- 
tent than it is possible lor them to be in the 
•pen air. 
comparative value op manure. 
The barnyard being the common receptacle 
of the excrements of the horse, the cow and the 
sheep, and the great object having been, thus 
far, to point out the be-st mode of saving the 
vfholr of them, the amparaJivc wine ol these dif- 
ferent substances has pas.sed unnoticed. In or- 
der, however, that the fanner may direct his 
labors lor the pre.servalion of his manures to the 
greatest profit, he should certainly have the be- 
nefit of ail known facts oa this point. 
'‘The quantity ol vegetable and animal mat- 
ter in horse dung is considerably larger than in 
cow dung. It is as ‘27 to 1 1, or nearly double; 
and of course the quantity ol nitrogen which it 
is capable ol yielding is nearly double that of 
cow dung. Sheep dung is similar to hor.se 
dung, but contains a greater quantity ol vegeta- 
ble matter in a soluble .state. It is also richer in 
salts; and the quantity of nitrogen which it is 
capable of yielding is greater than in either of 
the preceding .substances. Hog manure con- 
tains still larger quantities ol .soluble matter, 
and is capable of yiel..ing a large quantity of 
nitrogen in th * form of ammonia. It ranks 
next in value to night soil, which has ever been 
celebrated as the most valuable substances used 
lor manure.” — Gray's Agriculture, p. 286. 
“Experiments undertaken by order ol the 
Saxon and Prussian authorities, varied in everx’ 
form, and continued for a long period, prove that 
if a soil without manure yield a crop of three 
for one sown, then the sama land dre.s.sed with 
cow dung yields seven for one sown — with 
horse dung ten for one sown — with human 
manure lourteen for one sown.” — I)ano, p. 143. 
THE PIGGERY. 
Still greater care will here be requisite to ‘see 
that ihe commonwealth receives no detriment,’ 
inasmuch as the tieasure.s at stake are ol high- 
er value, and from two circumstances more lia- 
ble to waste, viz; there being a greater propor- 
tion of liquid excrements, and the solid portions 
being more exposed, from the fact of their being 
con.stantly upturned by the rooting of the swine, 
and thus prc.'icnting ever}’ hour in the day fresh 
surfaces to the action of the sun and winds. 
The former ot the.se circum.siances will be 
judiciously met by supph’ing the pens with an 
abundance of straw, leaves, .saw dust and the 
like; the latter by fiirni.shing the yard with an 
occasional load of muck, and almost any quan- 
ti yof weeds, pea and buckwheat straw, potato 
vine.s, &.c . — all of which will be rapidly con- 
verted into the most eflicient supports of vege- 
table life. 
It is sugge.sied wfiether ii would not be an im- 
provement on the pre.sent system, were the yard 
and pen but one enclosure, consisting of an 
open area under cover, (with floors for eating 
only,) where the same use might be made of 
muck and litter as at pre.sent, and the whole 
completely shielded from the atmosphere. 
THE PRIVY VAULT. 
This, in proportion to the volume of iu con- 
tents, should command a greater share of our 
.solicitude than any other of the depmsifories of 
the farm manures. Consider simply the nature 
of ttu; food from which the substances under con- 
sideration result, w’c might well suppose them 
to posse.ss a superior efficacy in promoting the 
growth of the finer plants and grain.s; a suppo- 
sition which agricultural chemistry unites with 
all experience in fully justifying. So far, there- 
fore, as the simple preservation of manure is 
concerned, it is doubtless fr im this quarter that 
the farmer can derive the greatest profit at the 
least expen.se. 
Let the vault, then, (con.stnirted with a due 
regard to convenience, as well a.s to the exclu- 
sion of air and moisture,) be carefully supplied 
at proper intervals, with powdered charco;.! 
alone^or with dry powdered muck and gyi.sum, 
(the I^st of’ all substances for tliis purpiee, bat 
for which cut-straw, surface .soil, ashes and old 
lime may be substituted,^ and ihe object will be 
fully accornplisdicd. 'I ne liquid portions will 
be ab.sorbed, and the volatile pifiduelii ns eon- 
verted into fixed salts; the whole mass will be- 
come inodorous and inolfensivc, (no small ad- 
vantage to the family avcII a.s to the faim.) 
and a goodly quantity ol the richest of marmres 
will be prepared for convenient application to 
the cultivated crops. 
VALUE or fRM.AV EXCIIEME.N TS. 
Deeply impressed ourselves with the value of 
these excrements, and deeming it of no .‘•mall 
importance that a general intcrc.si shi'iild be 
awakened in relation to them, we cannot for- 
bear from prc.senting our fanners wiih one or 
two pertinent quotations. 
“In respect to the quantity of nitrogen con- 
tained in excrements; lUd jiarts of the mine of 
a healthy man are equal to 1300 of the f'c.vh 
dung ol a horse*, and to GOO parts of iho^c of a 
cow. Hence it is evident that it would be of 
much importance to agriculture if none of the 
human urine were lo'-t. The powerful eflects of 
urine as a manure are well known in Fl;.;idcrs, 
but they are considered invaluable by the C’hi- 
ne.se, who are the oldest agriculturaJ people we 
know. Indeed, so much value is r.Ua< r.cd to 
the influence of human excrements, that laws 
of the state forbid that any of them should be 
thrown away, and re.seivoirsarc placed in every 
house, in which they are roJlccled Avith the 
greatest care. No other kind ol iiiantire is used 
in their cornfields. The agriculture of this 
countn,- is the mo.»t perfect in the world.” 
“If we admit that the liquid and solid exere- 
ments of a man amount on an average to 1 ribs, 
daily, (.'3-4 lbs. urine and I lb. firccs,) ; r.d that 
both taken together yield 3 per cent nitrogen, 
then in one year they will amount to .‘>47 lbs., 
which contain ICj lbs. nitrogen, a quantity « uffi- 
cient to yield the nitroircn of 800 lbs. of wheat, 
rye or oafs, or of 900 lbs. of barly. This is 
much more than is nece.ssary to add to an acre 
of land, in order to obtain, with the a.ssisiance 
of the nitrogen absorbed from the atmosphere, 
the richest pxissible crop every year. Fver}- 
town and fann might thus supply itself w ith the 
manure, which besides containing the most ni- 
trogen, contains also the most phosphate.'-; and 
if an alternation of the crops were adopted, 
they would be most abundant. By using at the 
same time, bones and lixiA'ated ashe.s of wood, 
the excrements of animals might be dispensed 
with . — Liebig p. 18-1. 
“In Belgium, which has l>een the er.-’dle of 
enlightened agriculture, and wliere good r.irxles 
of cultivation arc continued and con.stantly im- 
proved, they make, astonishing use of this kind 
of manure. So great a value do the Flemings 
attach to it, that the citie.s seta high rate upon 
the privilege of disposing ol the cleansing of 
their privie.s, and there are, in each one of them, 
sworn officers for the a.ssi.stance of those who 
wish to make piircha.se.s.” 
“We shall find great difficulty in bringing this 
branch of industry to the same degree of per- 
fection amongst us, that it has arrived at in 
Belgium, because ei/r farmers do not realize its 
importance; and have a repugnance to employ- 
