THE CULTIVATOR. 
211 
performed on all my calves, and every year afterwards 
when about two months old, and from that time to the 
present I never lost one from the “ black leg.” I will 
here add, that I never heard as yet of a case of the 
“black leg” in calves in this country; but if such a 
disease ever makes its appearance, you may rest satisfied 
that the above is a sovereign remedy. Grazier. 
Louisville,, Ky., 10 th June, 1845. 
WASTE MANURES. 
The Economy of Waste Manures; a treatise on the nature 
and use of neglected fertilizers. By John Hannah, 
8vo., pp. 114. London, 1844. 
This is a valuable practical treatise on manures that 
are generally neglected, or suffered to go to waste. Al¬ 
though its application is intended for the farmers of 
England, it may nevertheless be read with advantage in 
this country. The essay was written for the Yorkshire 
Agricultural Society, by Mr. John Hannam, who is the 
author of two prize essays, “On the use of hand til¬ 
lages, ” and “ On the effects of special manures.” 
The work before us on “Waste Manures,” maybe 
had of Wiley & Putnam, in New-York. It has less of 
scientific detail, and more of practical utility, than most 
of the late chemico-agricultural publications, and is ac¬ 
cordingly better adapted for perusal by the plain home- 
spun farmer. 
That the reader may judge for himself of its value, 
and of the subjects treated, we will state its contents. It 
is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1, Introductory— 
the importance of an inquiry into the economy of waste 
manures. Chapter 2, The general nature of waste ma¬ 
nures, and the source from which they may be obtained. 
Chapter 3, The particular nature, value, and economy of 
waste manures. 
The third chapter is divided info three parts—the first 
designating the waste manures of the farm; the second, 
waste manures of towns; the third, local waste. By 
enumerating these the American farmer will see at once 
what part is applicable to this country. 
“ 1. Waste manures of the farm. 
e ‘ Draining from cattle sheds, draining from manure 
heaps, drainings from houses and offices—gaseous waste 
from manure heaps—refuse, and vegetable.” 
“ 2. Waste manures of towns. 
“ Sewerage waste-—waste of manufactures, viz; shaddy, 
croppings, sweepings, singeing dust—flax waste, soap 
liquid, gas waste, viz: coaltar, gas lime, ammoniacal 
liquid—sugar waste, soap boiler’s refuse, tanner's bark.” 
“ 3. Local waste. 
“ Peat, sea-weed, ashes, fish, clay, marl, chalk, sand, 
water.” 
The neglected and waste manures of the farm, as above 
stated, are applicable to this country as well as to Great 
Britain. The drainings from cattle sheds, and barn yards 
are very common here. We often see a barn-yard on a 
slope, permitting all the liquid portions of the manure to 
run to waste, and the remainder to be soaked and leached 
by the rains so as to render it of little value. Nay, some 
old fashioned farmers among us are so averse to wet and 
moisture, that they dig trenches that their barn-yards 
may be perfectly dry. 
Drainings from manure heaps are also to be avoided. 
Hannam recommends trenches to be dug around a com¬ 
post or manure heap, and a pit at one end to receive the 
liquid, which is to be returned upon the heap. This 
may be rendered unnecessary with us by heaping the 
compost on one side of the barn-yard, which, if hol¬ 
lowed, will receive the liquid, or soakings from rain, 
and will not be lost. It has been my practice to remove 
the manure from the stable, hog pens, and barn-yards, 
spring and fall, anil to make a compost with these and 
other materials, on the side of the yard, or in the field 
where they were to be applied. After fermentation, the 
heap was turned, the materials broken and well mixed 
before application. In two instances my heaps had be¬ 
gun to ferment, when the fermentation was arrested by 
repeated anil soaking rains, one instance in the spring 
and one in the fall. The manure was consequently cold 
and heavy, and depreciated when carted out. To remedy 
this inconvenience, a shed was built adjoining the barn¬ 
yard capable of holding 150 to 200 ox-cart loads of 
manure. Under this shed it is now heaped and ferment¬ 
ed, free from exposure to the weather, and two trials of 
its utility have been very satisfactory. Some farmers, 
particularly those among the Friends, in the western part 
of New-Jersey, protect their compost heaps by the same 
method. 
The drainings from houses and offices are universally 
neglected, and in some cases might be easily preserved 
and conveyed to the compost heaps or barn-yards, to add 
to their fertilizing properties; but in this country it is 
difficult to recommend a course that would be universally 
applicable. 
Gaseous waste from manure heaps should by all means 
be avoided, as a mass of compost in a state of fermenta¬ 
tion, exposed and unprotected, loses a rich and valuable 
portion of its substance. The author of the work under 
consideration says, (p. 26)— 
| “ The loss of gaseous manure arises from the escape 
jof the carbonic acid, and the ammonia of the vegetable 
and animal matters in the manure heap, during the pro¬ 
cess of fermentation and putrefaction; both of which 
gases are essential in the nutrition of vegetables.” 
To prevent the loss of those gases which escape into 
the air, Mr. Hannum recommends what he calls a fixer. 
He informs us (p. 41) as follows:- 
“ There are many kinds of fixers—oil of vitrol, green 
vitrol, blue vitrol, salt and lime, gypsum, &c., may be 
used; but some of them at all times, and in some cases 
all of them, have the fault of costing money. A substi- 
i tute which costs nothing except labor, is therefore to be 
sought for. Such exists in cinder siftings, charcoal dust, 
good black earth, peat or bog mould, rotten saw dust, 
leaf mould, black mud from ponds, bottoms of wood 
stacks, soot, brick dust, burnt clay, &c. Some or all ot 
these may be had in most places.” 
Under the head of Waste manures of towns, there is 
very little applicable to this country. The waste from 
sugar-houses has not been collected as far as I know for 
manure, but the spent ashes of soap boilers in the city of 
New-York, is a saleable article, and is sought for by 
farmers of the surrounding country. Tanner’s bark is 
abundant in some parts of the country, and is generally 
neglected, because by itself it will not decompose or rot. 
But when mixed with animal and vegetable substances 
which will ferment, tanners’ bark will undergo the same 
process and become soluble, and be converted into a fer¬ 
tilizer. 
Under the head of Local waste, Mr. Hannam treats of 
peat, sea-weed, ashes, fish, clay, marl, chalk, sand, &c. 
None of these are entirely neglected in this country, 
though some of them might be used more extensively, 
or to more advantage. Peat has been sparingly used, 
but its application as a fertilizer in compost is becoming 
more general. The value of sea-weed, ashes, and fish, 
is well known on the sea-coast, and these articles are by 
no means neglected. Clay also is used to render sandy 
soils more retentive, and sand to make stiff clays more 
friable. We have marl, but no chalk to add to soils de¬ 
ficient in lime. The shell marl of the Southern States 
has been neglected, but the experiments of Mr. Ruffin 
*havc brought it into notice, and it is producing utility in 
restoring some of the worn out lands of Virginia. The 
marl of New-Jersey, found in the green-sand formation 
of that State, is extensively used there, and has been the 
means of greatly increasing the value of land. The 
white calcareous marl found in Ulster and Orange coun¬ 
ties, of New-York, has not been brought into use, pro¬ 
bably from the difficulty of raising it from the places of 
deposit in low and wet bogs; or because fertility in those 
grazing counties was so much easier and so much more 
cheaply produced by gypsum. A substance called marl 
has recently been employed in Rockland county, of this 
State, derived from the debris of the sand-stone rock at 
Nyac, (geologically the old red sand-stone.) What the 
ingredient is, which in this sandy marl causes fertility, 
has not been chemically ascertained. But in the green¬ 
sand or Jersey marl it arises from potash, which exists 
in it to the amount of ten and twelve per cent. 
There is much in this treatise on waste manures, to 
