174 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DICTIONARY OF TERMS USED IN 
Olericulture cmb its kinbrcb Scieuces.* 
NICKING.—This is the name of an operation perfor¬ 
med on the tail of a horse, to cause him to carry it in a 
more elevated position. It consists in cutting the ten¬ 
dons in several places on the underside of the tail, by the 
aid of a keen pointed knife, and then keeping the tail el¬ 
evated by means of pulleys, &c. until it has healed. As 
the practice can scarcely fail to injure the strength of the 
animal, and as besides it is cruel and barbarous as well 
as useless, the practice should be exploded by all breed¬ 
ers or owners of this noble animal. 
NIGHT SOIL.—The excrement produced in privies 
and cess-pools, a mixture of faeces and urine, has received 
this name, since its power as a fertilizer, has, under va¬ 
rious names or forms of preparation, brought it into ex¬ 
tensive use as a manure. Berzelius found 1,000 parts of 
night soil to contain 
Water,... 934 parts. 
Urea (peculiar animal matter,) 30.10 
Sulphate of potash,. 3.71 
“ soda,. 3.16 
Phosphate of soda,. 2.94 
Muriate of soda,. 4.45 
Phosphate of ammonia,. 1 .66 
Muriate of ammonia,. 1.50 
Acid matter,.1 
Acetate of ammonia,._> .. . 17.14 
Animal matter and urea,. ) 
Earthy phosphates and fluate of 
lime,. 1.00 
Mucus,. 0.32 
Silica, (earth of flint,). 0.03 
1 , 000 . 
On the continent of Europe, under the name of Fle¬ 
mish manure, from the country where it first came into 
general use, it has for many years been highly prized, 
and procured, wherever possible, without regard to ex¬ 
pense. Its disagreeable and offensive nature, directed 
the attention of scientific men to the means of disinfect¬ 
ing it; and various means have been resorted to in pre¬ 
paring it for use. In China, night soil is mixed with rich 
marls, made into thin cakes, and constitutes a regular arti¬ 
cle of traffic. Germany and France, it is mixed with 
lime, charcoal, peat, or other substances, dried thorough¬ 
ly into a dark colored powder, and under the name of 
poudrette, sold to agriculturists and gardeners. In the U. 
States, the manufacture of poudrette is carried on exten¬ 
sively in New-York and Philadelphia, and the manufac¬ 
ture will doubtless extend to all the populous cities and 
villages of the country. There is scarce a crop that is 
not materially benefited by the use of night soil as a ma¬ 
nure. It seems to be equally excellent for grain ox- 
roots ; indeed we should naturally infer from its origin, 
that it would be valuable for all plants intended as food 
for men or animals. Fi-om some experiments made in 
England, it appeared that while the simple soil gave but 
12 bushels of wheat per aci-e, when heavily dressed with 
night soil, the yield was 37 bushels per acre. Of pota¬ 
toes, where the product of the simple soil was only 120 
bushels per acre, a heavy manuring of night soil produ¬ 
ced 650 bushels per acre. Used in the same quantity, it 
fully equalled bone dust, and was far superior to any 
other. On common farms it is not to be expected that 
this manure can be prepared in as scientific a manner as 
where regular manufactories exist; but there can be no 
good reason give tf n why this source of fertility should be 
so much overlooked or neglected. Where outbuildings 
are properly constructed, there is little more difficulty in 
preparing and i*emoving this substance, than in disposing 
of any other. Charcoal, gypsum, ashes, peat, or even 
common loam, well incorporated with night soil, and 
* The publication of this Dictionary of Agricultural Terms 
was commenced in the 7th vol. of the old series of the Cultiva¬ 
tor, and continued in that and the succeeding volumes to the 
termination of the letter M. It was written by our late associ¬ 
ate, Mr. Gaylord, and the portion we now give, concludes the 
series written by him 
dried or not, as the farmer pleases, can be used with lit¬ 
tle offence to the most delicate and fastidious. Such com¬ 
posts will be found the most effective of fertilizers, and 
the result on many plants, will prove truly astonishing. 
NITRATES.—A combination of nitric acid with an al¬ 
kali, forms a salt called a nitrate. Of these, those called 
niti-ate of potash or saltpetre; and niti-ate of soda, or cubic 
petre, are the only ones worthy of notice; and these, it 
is evident, occupy a prominent place among the agents 
that influence the growth of plants. Niti-ate of potash, or 
saltpeti-e in its crude state, is principally brought from 
the East Indies, although large quantities are produced in 
Persia, Egypt, &c., and it can be manufactured in all 
countries with greater or less facility. In its pure state, 
it is composed of nitric acid 52 parts, and potash 48 parts. 
Nitrate of soda is composed of nitric acid 62.1 parts, and 
soda 37.9 parts. It is principally obtained from Peru, 
where it is found in the desert district, some 3,000 feet 
above the Pacific Ocean, in immense quantities, and of 
which, a most interesting account was given in a late 
No. of Prof. Silliman’s Journal of Science. 
The use of the nitrates for the purpose of agriculture, 
can scai-cely be claimed as a modern improvement, since 
Virgil, Fitz Herbert, Evelyn, and many later writers, have 
spoken of its use and value. It is probable that the value 
of these salts arises from the amount of niti-ogen they con¬ 
tain, since when nitrogen is evolved, it combines with 
oxygen, and thus foi-ms nitric acid, which is the base of 
these salts. When powdered, and strewn upon the soil, 
a decomposition takes place, and the nitrogen appears to 
be made available to the plants, while the alkaline mat¬ 
ter enters into new combinations in the formation of sili¬ 
cates, &c., essential to the growth of plants. There are 
indeed a few plants into which saltpetre enters as a con¬ 
stituent of the plant itself. Such is the horse radish, sun¬ 
flower, nightshade, &c., but with the exception oS bar¬ 
ley, in which nitrate of soda exists in small quantities, 
neither of the nitrates has been detected in any of the 
cultivated crops of the farmer. It would seem then, that 
it is not as a direct article of food to plants, that the ni¬ 
trates produce their result when applied. 
The nitrates are most valuable as manures, when ap¬ 
plied to light soils of gi-avel or sand; and an amount of 
about 100 lbs. per acre is found to be the most effective 
dressing. On wet, or heavy clay soils, it produces little 
effect; in this respect, resembling the action of gypsum 
or sulphate of lime. Experience shows that it produces 
the best effect when made fine, and used in moist weath¬ 
er. On clover, wheat, and gi-asses and gi-ains generally, 
its opei-ation is admirable, but in this country, where 
gypsum can be obtained at rates so low, compared with 
the nitrates, it is not probable they will ever come into 
use extensively. Where the nitrates are used, the grain 
or grass assumes that peculiar rich, deep green color, not 
observed, unless where manux-e containing niti-ogen or 
ammonia in considerable quantities has been used. Those 
who wish to investigate the Subject farther, will find 
abundant means of doing it in the Chemico-Agricultux-al 
works of Liebig and Johnston. 
NITROGEN.—A gas, which constitutes 79-lOOihs of 
our atmospheric air, and which is fox-med by the decom¬ 
position of a great variety of substances, is called at the 
present time, nitrogen, though formerly known as azote, 
from its destructiveness to life. In the ail-, it exists as a 
chemical compound with oxygen, but when combined 
with this substance, it forms nitric oxide, nitric acid, &c. 
Combined with hydrogen, it forms ammonia, one of the 
most essential elements of vegetation. It entei-s into the 
formation of animal matter with the exception of fat and 
bone, forms a part of most vegetable alkalies; and though 
in its gaseous state, fatal to animal life, the experiments 
of Majendie, confirmed in a most remai’kable manner by 
the chemical researches of Liebig, prove that animals 
cannot exist for any length of time on food destitute ot 
nitrogen. Niti-ogen has long been considered as one of 
the simple elements, but the experiments of Faraday 
would seem to render it probable that it is, after all, a 
compound. In the {tarts acted by various agents in the 
nutrition of plants, nitrogen exercises a most important 
one, as the action of the niti-ates when applied to soils or 
crops, demonsti-ates. Indeed, it seems to be very satis- 
