ELEMENTS OP AGRICULTURE. 
87 
LESSON XV. 
VARIETIES OF MANURE. 
96. There is very little distinction made m farming 
Detween the different kinds of manure; the employment 
of special manures is not as yet practised on a large scale 
m this country. The value of manures depends upon the 
quality of the food that the stock consumes, and upon the 
care that is taken of them. It may be useful, however, 
to say a few words upon each particular kind. 
97. Manures may he divided into five principal classes . 
that from horses, that from sheep, that from cattle, that 
from hogs, and that from poultry. 
98. Horse-manure is very active and ferments very 
readily. It is used by gardeners for hot-beds. It acts best 
upon clay soils; but its effects are not permanent. 
99. Sheep-manure, when kept moist, ferments rapidly, 
and is of more value than horse-manure. 
100. Cattle-manure does not decompose as rapidly as 
the preceding. It suits light lands better, and though less 
energetic, is more durable in its effects. 
101. Hog-manure is usually very valuable; but the 
value is dependent on the quality of their food. 
102. The sweepings of poultry-houses make a capital 
manure; dried and reduced to powder, they make a good 
top-dressing to all crops. 
103. It is important that manures should undergo a de¬ 
gree of fermentation before being hauled out, as the seeds 
of weeds contained in it are thereby destroyed. As a gen¬ 
eral rule, barn-yard manure is given to the hoed crops that 
precede the small grains ; the quantity depends upon a 
variety of circumstances — the nature of the soil, the crop 
A o be planted, etc. 
104. There are tour modes of applying manures; in the 
