NEW 
“ TO IMPROVE THE SOIL AND MIND.” 
SERIES. 
Vol. IV. 
ALBANY, NOVEMBER, 1847. 
No. 11. 
MAKING AND SAYING MANURE. 
Messrs. Editors-— In looking over the back vol¬ 
umes of the Cultivator, my attention was caught by 
the remarks of two distinguished individuals, appended 
below, and upon which you then made some valuable 
observations. As the subject is one of vital impor¬ 
tance to the farmer, and one upon which thdre should 
be “ line upon line,” I shall make a few observations, 
the result of my own individual experience. 
Authur Young said, many years ago, “he who 
is within scent of a dung-hill, smells that which his 
©rop would have eaten if he would have permitted it.” 
Sir Humphry Davy demonstrated this.—He says, 
“ I placed a quantity of fermenting manure in a retort, 
and ascertained that it gave off a liquid containing a 
large proportion of salts of ammonia. Seeing this 
result, I introduced the beak of another retort, filled 
with similar manure, under the roots of' some grass in 
the garden, and in less than a fortnight a very distinct 
effect was produced on the grass upon the spot ex¬ 
posed to the influence of the matter disengaged in fer¬ 
mentation; it grew with much more luxuriance than 
the grass in any other part of the garden.” 
There are many substances on every farm, which, 
while in themselves enriching, may be profitably mixed 
with the manure to absorb and retain.these volatile 
portions which arise from the process of fermentation. 
The first material I shall name, is swamp muck It 
may be truly said, that the farmer who owns a muck 
hole of good quality, and knows how to use it, is pos¬ 
sessed of a mine of wealth which will surely render 
his farm productive and profitable. I speak advisedly 
upon this subject, having used the article for several 
years in every variety of form. I say, without fear of 
argument or contradiction, that a compost, properly 
made, of two loads of muck to one of good, fresh ma¬ 
nure, is^g^L in its effects on gravelly or sandy soils, 
load green manure. 
In orc^^^Kianage muck to the best advantage, the 
farmer snJJRrso contrive matters as to get a year 
ahead with his manure, so as not to be obliged to use 
it until his compost is fully ripened. In my opinion,, 
formed from repeated trials, the noxious acids must be 
fully expelled from the muck by agp and fermentation, 
to reap full benefit from its application to the soil. 
August and September are generally the most favor¬ 
able months for digging muck. First, then, the swamps* 
should be thoroughly drained —there should be no half 
way work here, for the benefit to be derived from it 
will fully warrant the undertaking, even if considera¬ 
ble expense is necessary. When: drained, commence 
earting the muck to a suitable and dry spot on the field 
where it is to be used. Lay the,cart loads of it in two 
rows, as long as the heap is to be when finished, with 
a space say of six or eight feet between. First spread 
down of the muck on each side, into the space between, 
a layer, ten or twelve inches thick, and then haul on 
the manure from the windows, driving up to the ends 
of this bed, and throwing in from the cart on to it a 
layer, say eight inches thick, of manure—the work¬ 
men should not drive on to the bed and tip up the cart, 
to save labor, for reasons presently to be given—ano¬ 
ther layer of muck, shovelled on from each side, and 
then manure, using two loads of muck tQ one of ma¬ 
nure, and so on until the heap reaches about five feet in 
height, the last covering being of muck. Care should 
be taken to lay the compost up as lightly as possible, 
in order to secure perfect fermentation. The team 
should not be driven up on to it, as - we have seen far¬ 
mers do, nor should even the workmen tr$ad on it.— 
For the same reason the heap should not be built too 
high, as the pressure upon the bottom courses will be 
so great as to prevent their rotting dov£& thoroughly. 
The compost gets into a general heat sooner or later, 
after it is made up, according to the weather or sea¬ 
son of the year. It is proper here to remark that the 
summer months are most favorable for making up the 
heaps, although they may be made up as late as No¬ 
vember. In this case, however, a greater proportion 
of manure must be used, and the heaps will need to be 
shovelled over the next April to fit them for spring 
crops. I have also composted muck both with lime 
and ashes, when the quantity of dressing for my land 
was not sufficient from my muck and manure compost. 
Last season I made a compost of sixty one-half cords 
of muck, and six casks of lime, seven bushels to the 
cask, and applied it to a field of ten acres of corn, 
using the manure compost as far as it would go, and 
then the lime and muck. The corn compared favora¬ 
bly, on the part of the field dressed with the lime and 
muck, to that where manure and muck was used; the 
whole field averaging a little better than sixty bushels 
per acre. I have also found that five or six bushels of 
ashes to a, half cord of muck, makes a compost equal 
to either of the others. A load of leached ashes to 
six loads of muck, is also a good compost for sandy 
land.. 
In applying these composts to the soil, I have found, 
after trying it by spreading on to the grass ground, be¬ 
fore breaking up and turning it qjidpr the whole depth 
of the furrow, and also by spreading on top of the fur¬ 
row, and harrowing it in, that neither way was best. 
It is difficult to bury thirty or forty loads per acre suffi¬ 
ciently with the harrow, and turning it down to the 
bpttom is too deep. I therefore do my breaking up 
late in the fall—say in November. The frosts of win¬ 
ter completely pulverise the surface, and kill the grass 
