322 
FERTILITY OF SEA- MUD. 
growing in the Chesapeake bay, and that other 
kinds of ducks are scarcely eatable, in consequence 
of their living almost entirely upon fish. These 
remarks will hold good to most kinds of birds, 
both of the water and land, and, indeed, of all 
animals; accordingly as their food is good or 
bad, so will be the quality of the milk, meat, or 
eggs. 
We recollect when a boy, of having occasionally 
seen geese and ducks nailed through the webs of 
their feet to planks and floors, and hens and tur¬ 
keys tied up and so closely confined to stakes, that 
they could not exercise. This was done so that 
they might fat the faster! How shockingly bar¬ 
barous, and any one guilty of such a practice in 
these days, ought to be indicted, and severely pun¬ 
ished for their cruelty and cupidity. We are to¬ 
tally opposed to the close confinement of beast or 
bird. Without exercise, the system can not be in 
a healthy state; and the meat of close confined 
animals is never as good, to say the least of it, as 
when they have plenty of fresh air, and are allow¬ 
ed to move moderately about. 
The best method of killing fowls, is to cut their 
heads off at a single blow with a sharp axe, and 
then hang them up and allow them to bleed freely. 
By this process they never know what hurts them, 
or endure pain for a second. Wringing the necks 
of poultry is almost as shocking as nailing their 
feet to planks for the purpose of fattening them, 
and follows in the same barbarous category. 
Scalding the fowl previous to picking, injures 
the feathers, and makes it troublesome to dry them, 
and we think the quality of flesh is somewhat in¬ 
jured by this process, especially if the weather be 
not pretty cold at the time. They should be pick¬ 
ed as soon as possible after being killed, and their 
offal taken from them; be clean rinsed then in 
cold water, and hung up to dry, and kept as 
separate as possible till sold; packing them to¬ 
gether in heaps injures the flesh. To be hung up 
and frozen for a few days, or even weeks before 
eating, makes the flesh more tender. To keep 
them the same length of time after roasting, es¬ 
pecially if well stuffed, also adds to their delicacy 
of taste and tenderness. 
When the bird is brought on to the table, it is 
perfectly shocking to see its head, legs, and feet, 
left upon it, though we know in many places this 
is fashionable, and considered highly genteel; but 
for our own part we detest such offal, and the 
sight of them frequently destroys our appetite, for 
the time being. The process of carving also at 
the table is a dead bore. We like the French 
fashion of cutting up the bird in the kitchen or at 
a side table, and having it passed round on the 
dish, every one then helping himself to such pieces 
as he likes best. 
FERTILITY OF SEA-MUD. 
Sea-mud varies greatly in its composition, de¬ 
pendant something upon the soil of the neighbor¬ 
ing uplands. It is considered a valuable manure 
in Europe, and is sought for with avidity, and 
transported not unfrequently considerable distan¬ 
ces into the interior. We have seen it used with 
good effect in the United States, from Massachu¬ 
setts to Pennsylvania; and are told that in Dela¬ 
ware and Maryland, and even farther south, it is 
highly prized by those who have tried it. On 
Loi% Island, the past summer, we were occasion¬ 
ally shown the fertilising results, not only of sea- 
mud, but of the marsh soil also, applied to the 
uplands a little removed from the borders of the 
marshes and the seashore. Our intelligent corres¬ 
pondent, Mr. Partridge, informs us he has used 
beach-mud in various ways with good effect; and 
that the past summer, two gentlemen whose 
country seats border his mill, were allowed to 
make use of the sediment from the tide mill-pond, 
and they found it added greatly to the productive¬ 
ness of their gardens. 
Sea-mud may be applied in different ways, ac¬ 
cording to its constituents. If it abounds with 
clay, it should be taken in the fail of the year, and 
spread broad-cast upon the land, and thus lie ex¬ 
posed to the action of the frost all winter. This 
pulverises it well, and in the spring of the year 
the roller should be passed over it in dry weather, 
followed by the harrow, and if any lumps remain 
after this operation, l^t them be beaten fine with 
the dung-beater. This is considered one of the 
best top dressings for grass land which can be giv¬ 
en; it also answers well to be plowed in for either 
grain or root crops. Where the mud abounds more 
with sand, it is an excellent thing to put into bam 
yards and pig-styes, to be incorporated with the 
litter and manure; it may likewise be thrown into 
a heap until it becomes completely pulverised, and 
then spread upon the land. 
As air-slacked lime or small broken lime can be 
obtained in this city for about half the price of 
quick lime, Mr. Partridge suggests that it would 
be an excellent ingredient to mix with the sea- 
mud, for the purpose of forming a compost. A 
bushel or two of the lime, to a cart-load of the 
mud, he thinks a good mixture. When it abounds 
