AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
261 
it is not immediately wanted, is to expose it to 
the elements for a year. In this case, it is a 
good plan to fork it over at least twice in the 
course of the year, and break the lumps as fine as 
possible. The rain and frost will thus have bet¬ 
ter access to every particle in the mass. The 
freezings and thawings of Winter will be more 
numerous, and the whole will be more perfectly 
eomminuted, and charged with the ammonia which 
the snow and rain furnish in small quantities. 
A better way still, is to draw the muck to the 
field wheie you wish to use it the next season, 
«and there thoroughly mix it with quick lime, at the 
rate of a barrel to every two cords of muck, 
fork the heaps over at the beginning and close of 
he freezing weather, and the compost will be fit 
for a top dressing, or for plowing in at the usual 
time of planting. Either common stone lime, or 
that made from oyster shells may be used. 
A still better article for curing muck, is wood 
ashes. These contain not only lime, but large 
quantities of potash, which is very active in de¬ 
stroying the vegetable fiber of the muck, and in 
correcting its acids. It will be well to use a bar¬ 
rel of fresh or unleached ashes to the cord of 
muck, and fork over, as in the case of the lime. 
By using a still larger quantity of ashes, say ten 
bushels to the cord, the compost may be prepared 
in three months. 
But the most thorough preparation the muck 
can have is to mix it with stable manure, or with 
animal matter. This may be done by putting it 
in the stables and yards, or by drawing both muck 
and manure to the fields where they will be wanted 
next Spring and mixing them there, in alternate 
layers of two parts muck to one of manure. 
They should be forked over at least twice, in the 
course of the Winter. If fish, night soil, or butch¬ 
er’s offal is used, four or five parts of the muck 
may be taken to one of the manure. A cord of 
muck to 1000 white or bony fish, is a good pro¬ 
portion. If a farmer prepares muck in any of 
these ways he will not be disappointed in the re¬ 
sults. 
How the Chinese Make Manures. 
In connection with our remarks, last month, 
about poudrette, we wish to state how the Chi¬ 
nese manage the manure-heap. It has often been 
the wonder of farmers in this part of the world, 
how the Chinese, with but few domestic animals, 
have been able to keep their lands in a high state 
of fertility, and to sustain such an immense popu¬ 
lation. We do not now wonder so much, when 
we know what pains they take in the saving and 
manufacture of manures. 
Having very few horses or cattle, and therefore 
little bam yard manure, they save all the human 
excrements. And not only the solid parts, but 
the liquid, which, being diluted with water, they 
apply to the roots of all growing plants. The 
country people visit the cities and large towns 
regularly,‘and carry off the contents of privies 
and urinals at a stipulated price, which they make 
into poudrette, somewhat in the manner we have 
formerly specified. The publicity of “ necessa¬ 
ries,” and the unblushing display of chamber ves¬ 
sels everywhere, at first shock Occidental sensi¬ 
bilities ; but custom and the usefulness of the fer¬ 
tilizing materials thus saved, soon reconcile one 
to the singular usage. 
Oil-cake is another of their manures, made from 
a bean. This bean is crushed, then steamed, and 
an oil pressed from it, and the cake which remains 
becomes an excellent fertilizer. It is often used 
a liquid form, having been broken up, and steep¬ 
ed and then reduced by the addition of consider¬ 
able water. \ 
The Chinese use the sediment collected from 
the bottom of their canals, for manure. They 
dig large pits, into which they throw successive 
layers of canal mud, weeds, straw, garbage and 
all corruptable matters. When a pit has become 
full, it is cleaned out, and filled again in the same 
way, so that, in the course of a year a large quan¬ 
tity of compost is secured. Nor is this all. Ash¬ 
es of all kinds are preserved, and used with the 
greatest economy. The hair from the barbers’ 
shops is saved, and sold at so much a pound Boys 
go about the streets, with rake and basket, gath¬ 
ering up everything which can be converted into 
manure, certain of finding ready sale for it. 
Manuring in the Hill. 
A Sausage Storv. —An old friend of ours — 
one sick and tired of the care and bustle of 
a city life, has retired into the country, and “ gone 
to farming,” as the saying is. His land, albeit 
well situated and commanding sundry fine pros¬ 
pects, is not so particularly fertile as some we 
have seen—requiring scientific culture and a 
liberal system of manuring to induce an abundant 
yield. So far by way of explanation. 
Once upon a time our friend being upon a short 
visit to New Orleans, was attending an auction 
sale down town, and as it so happened, they were 
selling damaged sausages at the time. There 
were some eight or ten barrels of them, and they 
were “just going at 50 cents a barrel,” when the 
auctioneer, with all apparent seriousness, re¬ 
marked that they were worth more than that to 
manure land with. Here was an idea. “ Sixty- 
two and a half cents — third and last call — gone !” 
retorted the auctioneer. “ Cash takes them at 
sixty-two and a half cents per barrel!” 
To have them shipped to his country seat was 
the immediate work of our friend, and as it was 
then planting time, and the sausages, to use a 
common phrase, “were getting no better very 
fast,” to have them safe underground and out of 
the way was his next movement. He was about 
to plant a field of several acres of corn — the soil 
of the piny woods species — so here was just the 
spot for this new experiment in agriculture, this 
new wrinkle in the science of geoponics. One 
“ link” of sausage being deemed amply sufficient, 
that amount was placed in each hill, accompanied 
by the usual number of kernels of corn and an 
occasional pumpkin seed, and all were nicely 
covered over in the usual style. Now, after pre¬ 
mising that several days have occurred since the 
corn was planted, the sequel of the story shall be 
told in a dialogue, between our friend and one of 
his neighbors. 
Neighbor — Well, friend, have you planted your 
corn 1 
Friend. — Yes, several days since. 
N. Is it up yet 1 
F. Up ! yes : and gone ; the most of it 
N. How is that 1 
F. Well, you see, I bought a lot of damaged 
sausages the other day in New Orleans, a smooth 
tongue of an auctioneer saying they would make 
excellent manure if nothing else. I brought the 
lot over, commenced planting my corn at once, as 
it was time, planted a sausage in each hill, and — 
N. Well, and what 1 
F. And felt satisfied that I had made a good 
job of it. Some days afterwards I went out to 
see how the corn was coming on, and a pretty 
piece of business I have made of trying agricul¬ 
tural experiments. 
N. Why, what was the matter ? 
F. Matter! The first thing I saw beto.e 
reaching the field was the greatest lot of dogs 
digging and stratching all over it! There were 
my dogs, and your dogs, and all the neighbors’ 
dogs, besides about three hundred strange dogs 
I never set my eyes on before, and every one was 
hard at it mining after the buried sausages. 
Somehow or other, the rascally whelps had scent¬ 
ed out the business, and they have dug up every 
hill by this time. If I could set every dog of 
them on that auctioneer, I’d be satisfied. [Writer 
unknown.] 
--- 
A Substitute for Barn Yard Manure. 
We say, a substitute, though we are not certain 
that it is a full equivalent. It will, however, an¬ 
swer nearly as well, and should be used by farm¬ 
ers to make up the lack of ordinary manure. It 
is this ; a compost of muck and lime, or of muck 
and ashes. Dissolve a bushel of salt in water 
enough to slake five or six bushels of fresh lime 
to a fine, dry powder. It is not well to slake the 
lime faster than it is wanted for use, because it 
is much more efficacious if applied while hot, and 
covered at once with a layer of muck. The best 
rule for preparing the compost heap is, a bushel 
of lime to one load of muck, intimately mixed; 
though three bushels to five loads makes a very 
good manure. In laying up the heap, let the lay¬ 
ers of muck and lime be thin, so that the sour¬ 
ness of the muck may be neutralized, and decom¬ 
position be more rapid and complete. After the 
heap is finished, and has lain a month or six weeks, 
it should be overhauled, and shoveled into a pro¬ 
miscuous mass, ready for use. 
Where lime is expensive, or difficult to com¬ 
mand, unleached ashes may be used, at the rale 
of three or four bushels to a cord of muck. After 
lying a month or two, it should be turned over and 
mixed again, as recommended in the other case. 
Lime or ashes mixed with sods and weeds and 
other refuse will make a good bank for the farmer 
to draw upon, when the institution under the 
port-hole of the barn has ceased to make anything 
like satisfactory dividends. 
- «►-. - —>©«——- — - — 
Water Proof Cement. 
Is one of the adjuncts of good husbandry, and 
is every year working its way into notice upon 
the farm. It is known in various parts of the 
country, under the names of water lime , hydraulic 
lime, and Roman cement. It has the property of 
drying rapidly; and hardens under water. It was 
formerly imported, and was consequently very 
little used on account of the expense ; but since 
it was discovered that we have the rock from 
which it is made, in inexhaustible quantities, its 
manufacture has been commenced in this country, 
and it is now furnished almost as cheap as the 
common lime. 
Its most important uses to the farmer is in the 
preparation of manure and house cellars. Every 
farmer wants a cellar under his bam, and needs 
to have the bottom made water tight. Without 
this provision much of the liquid manure will soak 
into the earth. It is nearly impossible to furnish 
absorbents in sufficiently large quantity to pre¬ 
vent all loss. The cementing of the bottoms and 
sides of the manure cellar is so simple, that any 
farmer can do it himself, if the mason is not con¬ 
venient. If the bottom is a hard gravel, he may 
put the cement directly upon it. If it is not, it 
should be filled in with small stones to the depth 
of several inches, and the cement be laid upon 
