AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
77 
occupant, and no one of any spirit or judg¬ 
ment will submit to the keeping of one 
where a better can be found. We have seen 
such,' and could name them if we would; 
but we trust our hints above given will be 
sufficient to secure better things in the fu¬ 
ture. 
The cow disposed of, the oxen, when they 
are required, come next under observation. 
The bright, high-headed, well-matched 
Devon ox, is the beau ideal of bovine excel¬ 
lence for the yoke, and nothing else will 
compare with him for activity and docility 
in harness—that is, in the yoke, at the pole, 
or the chain. We have seen capital Short- 
Horns in the yoke ; so we have some splen¬ 
did Herefords, but as a whole they do not 
compare with the Devons, even when no 
higher than half-breed ; and for all purposes 
of the working ox, the latter have our decid¬ 
ed preference. 
We will talk of other things hereafter. 
MANURES—CHAPTER IV, 
In the preceding chapters it has been 
shown that all growing plants derive most of 
‘their food from the air; that a large amount 
■of sap, and consequently of sap-gatherers, 
t(roots,) are necessary to convey this food 
from the leaves ; that a fine-grained, well- 
pulverized soil for the minute roots to grow 
in, is of the first importance ; that the growth 
"f these roots, and of the plant itself, may 
ne increased by supplying the soil or roots 
wiih organic (animal or vegetable) matter; 
i tint this organic matter must be in a state 
uf decay in order to give up its elements to 
new plants ; that animal matters, which de¬ 
cay more readily, are more immediately 
beneficial as manures ; that the alkalies— 
lime, potash, ashes, &c.—hasten the decom¬ 
position of vegetable matter in the soil, and 
fender it more rapidly available to plants ; 
‘that aside from the alkalies and plaster of 
Paris, (sulphate of lime,) for particular soils, 
the most profitable manures to be purchased 
are those which contain the largest amount 
of animal matter, such as unburned bones, 
guano, &c. 
The chief resources of manures for every 
cultivator must, however, be upon his own 
‘domains. All fertilizers brought from out¬ 
ride the farm are so much detracted from 
‘the legitimate profits of soil culture. What 
are the home resources 1 
In general terms, every organic substance , 
every particle of animal or vegetable matter 
upon the farm is a manure. Among these 
may be naftied all solid and liquid excre¬ 
ments of animals, of which the human ex¬ 
crements, and those of poultry, are the most 
valuable, bulk for bulk ; the decaying vege¬ 
tables, such as straw and stalks of all kinds ; 
the turf of grass lands ; the mud and peat of 
■swamps and low grounds ; the fallen leaves 
of trees, the bodies of dead animals ; the 
slops from the house, &c., &c. All of these 
are substances which no prudent man will 
neglect or suffer to be lost. The particular 
; method of treating each of these kinds of 
.manures, is to be discussed in future chap¬ 
ters of this series. 
.Except where swamp muck abounds, the 
most abundant source of farm manure is the 
farm-yard or stables. This is the great mine 
of wealth to every cultivator whose soil is 
not already so fertile as to render the appli¬ 
cation of manures superfluous. How im¬ 
portant, then, that we should well under¬ 
stand how to treat these materials to render 
them most effective. The principles of ma¬ 
nuring, derived from experience and the sug¬ 
gestions of science, should be understood by 
every practical man. We have not time 
now, however, nor space at this season, re¬ 
quiring so much to be said upon work to be 
done, to dwell long upon principles only. 
Taking it for granted that every reader has 
secured an ample stock of yard manure, or 
other organic matter, let us see what is to 
be done with it now. The first thing of im¬ 
portance is to see that no unnecessary over¬ 
heating or decay is allowed. The word 
composting has been sadly abused during a 
few years past. Though composting is val¬ 
uable, under certain conditions, we suspect 
more manure has been lost than saved by 
this operation. A mass of animal droppings 
is, in nine cases out of ten, depreciated by 
heaping it together to ferment and heat and 
rot. So far as decay takes place, there is a 
loss of material which has escaped in the 
gaseous form, and what makes the matter 
worse, the elements first lost are those 
most valuable as food or stimulants to the 
roots of plants. 
As a general rule, we would say : First , 
preserve all the materials of the barn-yard, 
the hog-pen, the poultry-roosts, the privies, 
&c., as nearly unchanged by heating in a 
mass, as possible ; and second, let them be 
kept under cover, exempt from washing by 
rains, or water from other sources. Since, 
under the best circumstances, there will be 
some loss by decay, all kinds of manure will 
be improved by adding to them more or less 
of muck, or plaster, or even ordinary soil. 
This is particularly the case with horse ma¬ 
nure, solid and liquid, and with the urine of 
all animals. 
As previously hinted, muck, swamp mud 
and bogs, are organic matters not in a state 
of decay, and these may, indeed they should 
be composted, that is, be placed in heaps to 
undergo partial fermentation. This may be 
effected by mixing with them either a small 
proportion of easily fermenting yard ma¬ 
nure, or in place of this a greater or less 
proportion of alkaline material, such as ash¬ 
es, lime or potash. The quantity needed 
will depend upon the haste required, and the 
state of the material to be prepared. The 
more pitchy the muck has become, the 
greater will be the amount of alkali or “ heat¬ 
ing manure ” required, and the same will be 
the case if a speedy preparation for use is 
desired. When practicable, we prefer com¬ 
posting muck or swamp mud with yard ma¬ 
nures in preference to alkalies, for in this 
way the manure itself is preserved; the muck 
acting as a retainer of the otherwise esca¬ 
ping gases. • 
Most persons believe that the long straw 
of the barn-yard should be rotted before its 
use in the field. Where the immediate 
benefit of the whole application is the chief 
aim, regardless of the previous waste of 
a portion of the material, this plan is ad¬ 
visable, but where the greatest effect of a 
given weight of straw, or refuse hay is 
sought, it should be put directly into the 
earth, there to rot, as it almost always will 
do, and yield all its elements to the soil. In 
this manner we save the whole of its ele¬ 
ments, and, moreover, straw mingled with 
the soil has a deciedly beneficial mechanical 
effect. But in the yard treatment of ma¬ 
nures, it is generally advisable to mingle 
straw and coarse materials with the animal 
excrements to absorb urine, and prevent 
loss of the more solid droppings by decay. 
The point we would impress is, that no ef¬ 
fort should be made to rot these coarse ma¬ 
terials by composting them with animal ex¬ 
crements in large fermenting heaps. 
We cannot too often, nor too strongly pro¬ 
test against the wasteful practice every¬ 
where pursued of allowing or procuring the 
fermentation and inevitable loss of manure 
in the yards arising from such fermentation. 
As far as possible, let all decaying of mano¬ 
rial substances take place in the soil. Where 
high manuring is desired, as in the garden, 
and in special cultivation requiring the im¬ 
mediate effect of fertilizers, manures well 
rotted are needed. TJiese are exceptions, 
however, to a general rule. 
TIME AND MODE OF APPLYING MANURES. 
Manures already in a forward state 
of decay should usually be incorporated 
with the soil immediately preceding the 
seeding of the crop which they are to bene¬ 
fit, and where this has been neglected, or 
impracticable^such manures may be applied 
afterwards as a top-dressing. There is al¬ 
ways a great loss, however, in this mode of 
application, except in the case of soluble 
manures used upon a dry soil immediately 
before a rain, where the material will he 
speedily washed below the surface. Ground 
bones, dissolved bones, and other acid prep¬ 
arations which do not evaporate readily, aie 
exceptions to this rule. They may be used 
as a top-dressing at any period, and upon 
any soil where there is no running surface 
water to carry them into drains, or concen¬ 
trate them in low spots. 
Unfermented, coarse manures may well 
be mingled with the soil for months before 
their effect is desired. As an illustration, 
we may state that our most successful re¬ 
sults in wheat growing, on a moderately 
heavy loam, and on clay, have been obtained 
by plowing in deeply, say from June 10th to 
July 5th, either a heavy stand of clover, or 
a thick coat of dry straw of any kind, and 
letting the ground so manured remain undis¬ 
turbed, save by harrowing to keep down 
weeds, and a thorough surface harrowing 
prior to putting in the seed in September. 
The dry straw, so long that it is necessary 
to precede the plow with a hand-rakc to pre¬ 
vent clogging at every step, is thus com¬ 
posted in the soil, and produces a visible 
effect during the whole period of tiie growth 
of the wheat crop, and afterwards. We have 
seldom, if ever, turned any of it up unde¬ 
cayed when planting subsequent to the re¬ 
moval of iho Observations of the 
