58 
MANURES. 
These are all the results, reader, of actual practice. 
The explanation of the principle has only come in 
since the practice, and showed the how and the why 
of this action. But the merit of explaining this action 
would be, is nothing, if it had not conducted one step 
further. 
The explanation of the principle of action of animal 
matters, animal manures of all kinds, whether solid or 
liquid, on muck or peat, has led chemistry to propose, 
where these cheap and common forms of quickening 
power are not to be had, to mix ashes, or potash, or 
soda ash with swamp muck. Now, reader, this is not 
an idle, visionary, book-farming scheme. It is perhaps 
one of the few successful, direct applications of chem¬ 
istry to farming, which speaks out in defence of such 
book-farming, in tones and terms which bespeak your 
favorable consideration for the attempt which science 
is making to lend you, reader, a helping hand. This 
proposal, the offspring of science, has been carried out 
successfully by practical men in our own country, and 
has made its way abroad. Though this is not the place 
to give you the details of their results, you may rely 
upon the fact, that alkali and swamp muck do form 
a manure, cord for cord, in all soils, equal to stable 
dung. 
Well now, after your patience in going over these 
pages, I hope you will find your reward in this state¬ 
ment. To be sure, it might have been said at once, 
and so have done with it, but I hoped, reader, and \ 
am sure I have not been disappointed, that you liked 
to dive a little into the reason of things, and felt that 
you had farmed too long by the rule of thumb, to be 
satisfied that it was the road either to improvement 
or profit. And so among your first attempts at im¬ 
proving your worn-out lands, always supposing that 
you have a barn cellar, hogs, and swamp muck, so 
aptly called by one of your own self-made practical 
men, the “farmer’s locomotive,” I presume you may 
like to know the proportions in which you may mix 
