36 
MANURES. 
[chap. II. 
from farther decay for a very long time, and 
that everjr shower will work a small portion 
of its fertilizing juices out of it, and carry 
them into the soil, where they will be thus 
presented to the plants in the best possible 
4 
state for affording wholesome food. 
Peat soils may be improved by the addition 
of quick-lime as a manure, which will absorb 
the superabundant moisture which they con¬ 
tain; or they may be mixed with sand, gravel, 
or clay to give them firmness and tenacity, 
and then with a small quantity of animal 
manure. Sandy peat or heath mould is very 
useful in gardens for growing heaths, rhodo¬ 
dendrons, kalmias, or any plants with fine 
hair-like roots; and from the quantity of 
vegetable matter that it contains naturally, 
it does not require any manure, more than 
what is furnished by the decaying leaves of 
the plants grown in it. 
Nearly the same rules apply to decaying 
leaves and other substances used as manure, 
as to stable-dung. They may be buried in 
an undecayed state in clayey soil, when it is 
the object to separate the adhesive particles 
of the clay by the process of fermentation; 
