563 
HUSBANDRY. 
two, to drain off the fuperfluous moifture. It may then 
be put into large heaps of three or four cart-loads each 
till the fermentation 4 s over; each heap (hould then have 
three times the quantity of earth or mud mixed with it. 
Incorporate them well, and let them remain for a week 
or ten days; turn them, adding at the fame time a quan¬ 
tity of hot new-flacked lime. This compolt will be ready 
for ufe in a month. 
A conliderable quantity of river-weed, being laid on 
the bank to drain and ferment, lhrunk to one-third of 
its firft bulk, and underwent a high putrefadion, breed¬ 
ing an amazing variety and multitude of infefts. In this 
ltate it was carted on two fmall pieces, together about 
two acres and a half, that had been folded for wheat. 
The crop on that ground had evidently the fuperiority 
in groffnefs and colour. Cattle were fond of eating it. 
River-weeds being put in to every furrow that was at the 
next turn filled up by the plough, on one acre of a piece 
defigned for turnips ; by the moifture and fermentation 
of the weeds the feeds vegetated much fooner than on 
the reft of the field, which was manured in the common 
way. They alfo grew quicker, and were fuperior both 
in the fize of the roots and luxuriance of the leaves, fo as 
to render the fpot very confpicuous in the field. But in 
the 1‘ucceeding crop of barley there was a manifeft inferi¬ 
ority in this piece to the reft of the land. River-weeds 
being ploughed in at the end of October on part of a 
peafe ftubble, and wheat fet by hand upon it, the whole 
field was a good crop, and the part on which the weeds 
were laid not at all inferior to the reft, on which ftable- 
dung had been fpread in the ufual mode. 
Mud, whether from the lea, rivers, or ponds, is an ex¬ 
cellent manure on any foil, both alone, and with lime, 
&c. Its greateft value is upon thin foils, the fertility of 
which it increafes amazingly, at the fame time adding 
to the ftaple of the land. 
All manure of lea-oufe, or oufie mud, fays Mortimer, 
and the mud of rivers, lakes, or the bottom of ditches, 
the walh of paftures, fields, commons, roads, ftreets, or 
back-iides, in any place where water meets with relt, or 
that rain-water has a long time fettled, or that finks run 
into, are of very great advantage to all forts of land, ef- 
pecially dry gravels or land, and are mixed with dung. 
The fcouring of old ditches, the mud of ponds, and the 
fediment of all ftagnant waters, are particularly excellent 
upon grafs-land. Maiden-earth, with one-feventh of lime, 
and another feventh of rotten dung, added to it, will make 
it very proper manure for molt kinds of pafture. 
Mud Ihould not be laid on frelh, or as loon as it is 
dry, but it Ihould be well turned over and fermented 
with dung, or mixed with lime, to make the feeds in it 
vegetate, or to deltroy their vegetation. Innumerable 
feeds fall or are carried into the water, fink to the bot¬ 
tom, and, not being aquatics, if they have much oil in 
them, are embalmed in the mud for years or ages, to ve¬ 
getate whenever they lhall happen to come within reach 
of the atmofphere in a proper matrix. It may be dug 
between hay-time and harveft, and either made into a 
compolt when dry, or, being turned over and levelled, 
and expofed to a winter’s frolt, may be dug in fpring and 
planted with potatoes. When this crop is cleared, it 
may be carted upon pafture, and will produce a luxu¬ 
riant crop of gral's. 
In Yorklhire and Lincolnlhire they have what is called 
Warp-land, or land enriched with the fediments of rivers 
or arms of the fea, when the banks are overflowed. This 
generally takes place in the winter or early in the fpring ; 
they cannot therefore fow wheat, but great crops of fpring- 
corn are railed. In Chelhire, the foil depofited at the ex¬ 
tremity of falt-marlhes, commonly known there under the 
name of fea-Jludge, after it has been grafted over for a few 
years, is fai'd to be the molt produftive and lafting of any 
fort of manure, containing all the ftrength of marl and 
the richnefs of black dung. 
Many of our rivers'-mouths would doubtlefs fupplv, in 
an inexhauftible abundance, a faponaceous filt impreg¬ 
nated in 1'ome degree with lalt, which would be an admi- 
ble manure. 
Sweeping of Jlreets is a mixture of moft fubftances valu¬ 
able in agriculture, and needs the afliftance of fermenta¬ 
tion lefs than any of them to render it fit for ufe ; being 
made up principally of the offal of houfes, dung of horles 
and cattle, alhes, &c. It may be either ploughed in as 
dung, or ufed in the fpring to invigorate wheat that is 
weak from not having been fufficiently manured or from 
any other caufe. It may be employed in general as a top- 
drefling, or put into the furrow with drilled-crops. 
The dung and fand fwept-up, or dirt (liovelled-up on 
turnpike-roads, would make an excellent manure, and at 
the fame time remove a great annoyance to travellers. 
Where roads are made with limeftone, this manure will 
be particularly valuable; and, where they are made with 
flints, it anfvvers for grafs-land. 
The backs of ditch-banks, the borders of fences in ge¬ 
neral, the fides of lanes, and the nooks of yards, See. &c. 
which are fullered to remain from generation to genera¬ 
tion the nurl'ery of weeds, turned up into ridges, to rot the 
roots, &c. make an excellent manure. As does alfo the rub- 
bifti of old buildings, called in Norfolk'wrgz'rc. Sea-ltone 
walls aiforda great quantity of this valuable article ; which, 
from its immediate effedi and duration jointly, is confi- 
dered by fome as fuperior to marl, mould, or even dung 
itfelf, el'pecially upon fcaids and hot burning foils. It is 
fometimes mixed with dung, but more commonly fet on 
alone. The rubbiffi of old lath-and-plafter buildings is in¬ 
comparable manure for clover-lays or grals-lands, two 
loads to an acre. It is faid to lalt twenty years. Lime- 
rubbilh is ufe by gardeners to bottom gravel-walks, to 
mix with earth for tulips, &c. and to plant vines and figs. 
Mud or earth walls acquire conliderable fertility, and, as 
they moulder, or fall away, become ufeful in compolt 
dunghills. 
Malt-dujl, or coombs, is reckoned one of the moft effica¬ 
cious manures. It is the dull that feparates from the malt 
in the a£t of drying ; and is ufed as a top-drefling for 
barley, for clover, turnips, See. Mortimer lays it is a 
great improver of barley, allowing forty bulhels to an 
acre, but that it lalts only one crop. A piece of land be¬ 
ing manured with malt-coombs, at the rate of four quar¬ 
ters to the acre, and fowed with clover and barley; the 
barley produced near feven quarters on an acre, and the 
crop of clover was one of the fineft that ever was feen. 
About Dunftable, malt-duft colts is. a bulhel. It is fown 
by hand, from twenty-four to thirty-two bulhels on an 
acre, at the fame time with barley, and harrowed in with, 
the feed. It fuits moft foils and feafons; but quickly fpends 
itfelf, and is therefore never fown with wheat. As a top- 
dreffingto wheat in March, about thirty bulhels to an acre* 
it probably would fucceed. Black malt-duft, or fuch as 
falls through the kiln-plate in drying, is greatly preferred 
to the white, on account of the feeds of charlock, with 
which it abounds, being deftroyed by the heat. 
Oak-bark, or tanners'-bark. Oak-bark, after the tanners 
have ufed it for tanning leather, when laid in a heap and 
rotted, is an excellent manure, el'pecially for ftitf cold 
land ; in which one load of this manure wiil improve the 
ground more, and lalt longer, than two loads of the rich- 
eft dungs; yet it is very common to fee large heaps of this 
remaining in the tanners’ yards for many years, in 1‘everaL 
parts of England, where manure of other kinds is very 
fcarce, and often carried to a great diftance. Of late years 
this has been much ufed for hot-beds in fevered parts of 
England, and is found greatly to exceed horfe-dung for 
that purpofe, the fermentation being moderate add of 
long continuance; lb that a bed ot tan, when rightly- 
made, will continue in a moderate temperature of heat for 
three or four months; and when the heat begins to de¬ 
cay, if it be ftirred up with a dung-fork, and fome frelh 
i tan 
