110 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
work-shops; and the harvest of corn and fodder which 
it produces, are astonishing. 
It is well known, that the hairs of wool transpire a 
fluid which hardens upon their surface, but which pos¬ 
sesses the property of being easily soluble in water.— 
This substance has received the name of animal sweat; 
the water in which wool has been washed contains so 
much of it, as to make it very valuable as a manure. 
I saw, thirty years since, a wool merchant in Mont¬ 
pelier, who had placed his wash-house for wool in the 
midst of a field, a great part of which he had transform¬ 
ed into a garden. In watering his vegetables, he had 
used no other water than that of the washings ; and the 
beauty of his productions was so great, as to render his 
garden a place of general resort. The Genoese collect 
with care, in the south of France, all they can find of 
shreds and rags of woollen fabrics, to place at the foot 
of their olive trees. 
According to the analysis of M. Yauquelin, this ani¬ 
mal sweat is a soapy substance, consisting of a base of 
potash, with an excess of oily matter, and containing, 
besides, some acetate of potash, a little of carbonate and 
of the muriate of the same base, and a scented animal 
matter. 
The dung of birds is another very valuble manure ; 
differing from that of quadrupeds in the food’s being 
better digested; in containing more animal matter, be¬ 
ing richer in sails, and affording some of the principles 
which are found in the urine of four-footed animals. 
The dung of those sea-fowls, which are so numerous 
in the islands of the Pacific ocean, and of which the ex¬ 
crement furnishes an important srticle of commerce 
with South America, as, according to the accounts of M. 
Humboldt, they import into Peru fifty shiploads of it 
annually, contains, besides a great quantity of uric acid 
partly saturated by ammonia and potash, some phos¬ 
phate of lime, of ammonia and of potash, as well as 
some oily matter. Davy found the dung of a coromant 
to contain some uric acid. 
The good effects resulting from the use of pigeons’ 
dung, in our country, has caused it to be carefully col¬ 
lected. One hundred parts of this, when fresh, yielded 
to Davy twenty-five parts of matter soluble in water, 
whilst the same, after having undergone putrefaction, 
gave but eight; whence this able chemist concluded with 
reason, that it was necessary to employ it before being 
fermented. This is a warm manure, and may be scat¬ 
tered by the hand before covering the seed; or it may 
be used in the spring upon strong lands, when vegeta¬ 
tion appears languid. 
The excrement of the domestic fowl approaches 
nearly in its qualities to that of the pigeon, without, 
however, possessing the same degree of power. It con¬ 
tains also some uric acid, and may be applied to the 
same purposes as pigeons’ dung. 
In the south of France, where they raise many silk¬ 
worms, they make great use of thelarvas, after the silk 
has been spun from the cocoons. They are spread at 
the foot of the mulberry and other trees, of which the 
vegetation is in a languishing condition; and this small 
quantity of manure reanimates them surprisingly. Up¬ 
on distilling some of these iarvas, I found more ammo¬ 
nia than I have ever met with in any other animal mat¬ 
ter. 
Night soil forms an excellent manure; but farmers 
allow it to be wasted, because it is too active to be em¬ 
ployed in its natural state, and they know not how either 
to moderate its action, or to appropriate it during diffe¬ 
rent stages of fermentation to the wants of various 
kinds of plants. 
In Belgium, which has been the cradle of enlightened 
agriculture, and where good modes of cultivation are con¬ 
tinued and constantly improved, they make astonishing 
use of this kind of manure. The first year of its de¬ 
composition, they cultivate upon the soil to which it is 
applied, oleaginous plants, such as hemp and flax; and 
the second year sow the land with corn. They likewise 
mix water with urine, and use it to water the fields in 
spring when vegetation begins to unfold. This sub¬ 
stance is likewise dried and scattered upon fields of 
cabbage. 
The Flemings value this kind of manure so much, that 
the cities set a high rate upon the pi ivilege of disposing 
of the cleansings of their privies; and there are, in each 
one of them, sworn officers for the assistance of those 
who wish to make purchases. These officers know the 
degree of fermentation suited to each kind of plant, and 
to the different periods of vegetation. 
We shall find great difficulty in bringing this branch 
of industry to the same degree of perfection amongst 
us, thatit has arrived at in Belgium, because our farmers 
do not realize its importance, and have a repugnance to 
employing this kind of manure. But could they not col¬ 
lect carefully all these matters, mix them with lime, 
plaster, or gravel, till the odor was dispelled, and then 
carry the whole upon the fields? 
Already, in most of our great cities, the contents of 
the privies are used for forming poudrette; this pulve¬ 
rulent product is sought for by our agriculturists, who 
acknowledge its sood effects; let us hope, that, becom¬ 
ing more enlightened, they will employ the fecal matter 
itself, as being more rich in nutritive principles, and 
abounding equally in salts; they can easily govern and 
moderate the too powerful action of this, by fermenta¬ 
tion, or what is still better, by mixing with it plaster, 
earth, and other absorbents, to correct the odor. 
As dunghills are the riches of the fields, a good agri¬ 
culturist will neglect no means of forming them; it 
ought to be his first and daily care; for without dung 
there is no harvest. The scarcity of dunghills, or what 
is the same thing, the bad state of the crops, sufficiently 
proves the prejudices, by which the peasant is every¬ 
where governed; and the habitual blindness with which 
he proceeds in his labors. In our country many of those 
who cultivate the land, know only the kinds of straw 
which are suitable for furnishing manure, and in a dung¬ 
hill of litter, consider them as acting the principal part, 
whereas they are only feeble accessories. 
According to the experiments of Davy, the straw of 
barley contains only two per cent of substance, soluble 
in water, and having a slight resemblance to mucilage ; 
the remainder consists entirely of fibre, which can be 
decomposed only after a long time, and under circum¬ 
stances calculated to facilitate the operation. 
I do not believe that there is in the whole vegetable 
kingdom, an aliment affording so little nutriment, either 
for plants or animals, as the dry straw of grain: serving 
only to fill the stomachs of the latter ; and furnishing to 
the former but about one hundredth part of its weight 
of soluble manure. 
Weeds, leaves of trees, and all the succulent plants 
which grow so abundantly in ditches and waste lands, 
under hedges, and by theroadside, if cut or pulled when 
in flower, and slightly fermented, furnish from twenty to 
twenty-five times more manure than straw does. These 
plants, carefully collectel, furnish to the agriculturist an 
immense resource for enriching his lands. Besides the 
advantage arising from the manure furnished by these 
plants, the agriculturist will find his account in prevent¬ 
ing the dissemination of their seeds, which, by propa¬ 
gating in the fields, deprive the crops of the nourish¬ 
ment of the soil. The turf, that borders fields and high¬ 
ways, may be made to answer the same purpose, by 
cutting it up with all the roots and the earth adhering to 
them, rotting the whole in a heap, and afterwards carry¬ 
ing the mass upon the fields, or what is still better, by 
burning it, and dressing the land with the products of 
the combustion. 
If straw did not serve as beds for animals, and did not 
contribute, at the same time, to their health and cleanli¬ 
ness, it would be better to cut the ears of corn and leave 
the stalks in the fields; since they serve only as absor¬ 
bents of the true manures. 
It is always said that barn-yard manure, besides its 
nutritive virtues, possesses the advantage of softening 
hard lands, and rendering them permeable by air and 
water. I do not deny the truth of this; I even acknow¬ 
ledge that it owes this property almost entirely to the 
straw which it contains; but the same effect would be 
produced by burying the straw upon the spot. 
[Remainder in our next.} 
Young Men’s • Department, 
SelGCulture. 
BY W. E. CHANNING, D.D. 
{Concluded.) 
Among the best people, especially among the more 
religious, there are some, who, through disgust with 
the violence and frauds of parties, withdraw themselves 
from all political action. Such, I conceive, do wrong. 
God has placed them in the relations, and imposed on 
them the duties of citizens; and they are no more au¬ 
thorized to shrink from these duties than from those of 
sons, husbands, or fathers. They owe a great debt to 
their country, and must discharge it by giving support 
to what they deem the best men and the best measures. 
Nor let them say, that they can do nothing. Every good 
man, if faithful to his convictions, benefits his country. 
All parties are kept in check by the spirit of the better 
portion of people, whom they contain. Leaders are al¬ 
ways compelled to ask what their party will bear, and 
to modify their measures, so as not to shock the men of 
principle within their ranks. A good man, not lamely 
subservient to the body with which he acts, but judging 
it impartially, criticising it freely, bearing testimony 
against its evils, and withholding his support from 
wrong, does good to those around him, and is cultivat¬ 
ing generously his own mind. 
I respectfully counsel those, whom I address, to take 
part in the politics of their country. These are the 
true discipline of a people, and do much for their edu¬ 
cation. I counsel you to labor for a clear understand¬ 
ing of the subjects which agitate the community, to 
make them your study, instead of wasting your leisure 
in vague, passionate talk about them. The time, thrown 
away by the mass of the people on the rumors of the 
day, might, if better spent, give them a good acquaint¬ 
ance with the constitution, laws, history and interests 
of their country, and thus establish them in those great 
principles by which particular measures are to be de¬ 
termined. In proportion as the people thus improve 
themselves, they will cease to be the tools of designing 
politicians. Their intelligence, not their passions and 
jealousies, will be addressed by those who seek their 
votes. They will exert, not a nominal, but a real in¬ 
fluence on the government and the destinies of the coun¬ 
try, and at the same time will forward their own growth 
in truth and virtue. 
I ought not to quit this subject of politics, considered 
as a means of self-culture, without speaking of newspa¬ 
pers ; because these form the chief reading of the bulk of 
the people. They are the literature of multitudes. Un¬ 
happily their importance is not understood; their bearing 
on the intellectual and moral cultivation of the communi¬ 
ty, little thought of. A newspaper ought to be conducted 
by one of our most gifted men, and its income should 
be such as to enable him to secure the contribution of 
men as gifted as himself. But we must take newspa¬ 
pers as they are; and a man, anxious for self-culture, 
may turn them to account, if he will select the best within' 
his reach. He should exclude from his house such as 
are venomous or scurrilous, as he would a pestilence. 
He should be swayed in his choice, not merely by the 
ability with which a paper is conducted, but still more 
by its spirit, by its justice, fairness and steady adherence 
to great principles. Especially, if he would know the 
truth, let him hear both sides. Let him read the de¬ 
fence as well as the attack. Let him not give his ear 
to one party exclusively. We condemn ourselves, when 
we listen to reproaches thrown on an individual and 
turn away from his exculpation ; and is it just to read 
continual, unsparing invective against large masses of 
men, and refuse them the opportunity of justifying 
themselves ? 
A new class of daily papers has sprung up in our 
country, sometimes called cent papers, and designed for 
circulation among those who cannot afford costlier pub¬ 
lications. My interest in the working class induced me 
sometime ago to take one of these, and I was gratified 
to find it not wanting in useful matter. Two things 
however gave me pain. The advertising columns were 
devoted very much to patentmedicines; and when I consi- 
sidered that a laboring man’s whole fortune is his health 
I could not but lament, that so much was done to seduce 
him to the use of articles, more fitted, I fear, to under¬ 
mine than to restore his constitution. I was-also shocked 
by accounts of trials in the police court. These were 
written in a style adapted to the most uncultivated minds, 
and intended to turn into matters of sport the mo-t pain¬ 
ful and humiliating events of life. Were the newspa¬ 
pers of the rich to attempt to extract amusement from 
the vices and miseries of the poor, a cry would be raised 
against them, and very justly. But is it not something 
worse, that the poorer classes themselves should seek 
occasions of laughter and merriment in the degradation, 
the crimes, the woes, the punishments of their brethren, 
of those who are doomed to bear like themselves the 
heaviest burdens of life, and who have sunk under the 
temptations of poverty? Better go to the hospital, and 
laugh over the wounds and writhings of the sick or the 
ravings of the insane, than amuse ourselves with brutal 
excesses and infernal passions, which not only expose 
the criminal to the crushing penalties of human laws, 
but incur the displeasure of Heaven, and, if not re¬ 
pented of, will be followed by the fearful retribution of 
the life to come. 
One important topic remains. That great means of^ 
self-improvement, Christianity, is yet untouched, and 
its greatness forbids me now to approach it. I will only 
say, that if you study Christianity in its original records 
and nbt in human creeds ; if you consider its clear reve¬ 
lations of God, its life-giving promises of pardon and 
spiritual strength, its correspondence to man’s reason, 
conscience and best affections, and its adaptation to his 
wants, sorrows, anxieties and fears; if you consider 
the strength of its proofs, the purity of its precepts, the 
divine greatness of the character of its author, and the 
immortality which it opens before us, you will feel your¬ 
selves bound to welcome it joyfully, gratefully, as af¬ 
fording aids and incitements to self-culture, which would 
vainly be sought in all other means. 
I have thus presented a few of the means of self-cul¬ 
ture. The topics, now discussed, will I hope suggest 
others to those who have honored me with their atten¬ 
tion, and create an interest which will extend beyond 
the present hour. I owe it however to truth to make 
one remark. I wish to raise no unreasonable hopes. I 
must say then, that the means, now recommended to 
you, though they will richly reward every man of age 
who will faithfully use them, will yet not produce their 
full and happiest effect, except in cases where early 
education has prepared the mind for future improve¬ 
ment. They, whose childhood has been neglected, 
though they may make progress in future life, can hardly 
repair the loss of their first years; and I say this, that 
we may all be excited to save our children from this loss, 
that we may prepare them, to the extent of our power, 
for an effectual use of all the means of self-culture, which 
adult age may bring with it. With these views, I ask 
you to look with favor on the recent exertions of our 
legislature and of private citizens, in behalf of our pub¬ 
lic schools, the chief hope of our country. The legis¬ 
lature has of late appointed a board of education, with 
a secretary, who is to devote his whole time to the im¬ 
provement of public schools. An individual more fitted 
to this responsible office, than the gentleman who now 
fills it,* cannot, I believe, be found in our community; 
and if his labors shall be crowned with success, he will 
earn a title to the gratitude of the good people of this 
State, unsurpassed by that of any other living citizen. 
Let me also recall to your minds a munificent individual,! 
who, by a generous donation, has encouraged the legis¬ 
lature to resolve on the establishment of one or more 
institutions called Normal Schools, the object of which 
is, to prepare accomplished teachers of youth, a work, 
on which the progress of education depends more than 
on any other measure. The efficient friends of educa¬ 
tion are the true benefactors of their country, and their 
names deserve to be handed down to that posterity, for 
whose highest wants they .are generously providing. 
There is another mode of advancing education in our 
whole country, to which I ask your particular attention. 
You are aware of the vast extent and value of the pub¬ 
lic lands of the union. By annual sales of these, large 
amounts of money are brought into the national trea- 
* Horace Mann. f Edmund Dwight, Esq. 
