320 nearoun-runan.

MANURE.

The manure-heap is the farmer’s gold nine, which he should constantly strive to increase and enrich, inasmush as his avo- cation cannot be followed up with any de-

ree of success without the possession, and intelligent application of its ore. Although the collection and making of manure is of primary importance, and has been rightly termed the ﬁrst step in good husbandry, yet our farmers are noted for their inat- tention to the subject; collections in trench- es by the roadside and in the barnyard are made," it is true—but the sink wash.- - ings, the accumulated richness of popds and ditches, the inexhaustible supply 0 leaves in our woods, and innumerable other sources from which they might obtain a sufﬁciency are overlooked; or if remem- bered, remembered only to be neglected. When this state of things shall have passed away, and not till then, shall we have rea- son to expect prosperous farmers and well- tilled farms; in furtherance of this event, permit me to offer a few remarks on the collection and application .of manures, (although they may have already become familiar to the agriculturist,) will still serve in a humble measure to encourage their introductioninto his practical operations.

The barn yard is the ﬁrst spot to which

- the. farmerlooks for a supply of manure, and it Certainly is the principal reservoir upon which he should depend -—and on that very account in its selection or con- -struct-ion he should'manifesf'his foresight andintglligehce. Some select a spot per- fectly.level, and others with a~considerable outward'slope, and in either case their jddgment is thoughtless and incorrect. A place should be chosen which has a natural slope towards the centre, inasmuch as it prevents all rich liquid matters from ﬁnding their way out, and wasting themselves upon ground annually which, does not re- quire their fertilizing properties, if the husbaridman cannot ﬁnd a place of this description in a situation convenient, and well sheltered for the cattle which'are to inhabit it; he should not grudge the small expense attendant upon constructing one elsewhere. Let him rectify the natural deﬁciencies of the spot, and annually, either in Spring or Autumn, cart in a sub-

' sfantial layer of loam, or meadow mud that It! may obtain in ditching; this in the course of the season becomes amazingly enriched by the rains, washings, and droppings ot' the cattle—and constitutes a strong and excellent manure when mixed with. ashes and horse dung, for com, the top dressing ofgrass lands, 6c ~

Another mine which should be dilig'ently explored and worked, is the hogstye; from this place, the farmer has an excellent 0p-

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

portunity of supplying his ﬁelds with a va- luable and fertile dressing. In its situation or construction it should be similar to the barn yard, and should also be well ﬁlled with 10am, potato vines and other refuse portitﬁis of the crops—which being rooted over and mingled together by the swine soon become a manure exceedingly preci- ous and acceptable. Their house should also be continually supplied with leaves or vines, which not only tends to make them comfortable and expedites their fattening, but being wetthrough in a few days and thrown into the outer stye contributes vastly to the increase and betterment of the ma- nure there made.

The washings of the sink are generally permitted to run without guidance where they list, or are thrown out of the kitchen door into the very path, to the no small an- noyance and objection ofevery visiter; if instead of this unproﬁtable and slovenly custom our farmers would consent to spend a little time and money, they might boast of tidy door-yards and a small addition of exceedingly rich manure. Let them dig a small square pit of four or ﬁve feet in depth under their sinkspout, stone it well as they would a cellar, and throw into it two or three loads of loam, which would absorb the washings, become fertilized by them. and at the close of the ﬁrst year would yield him a return, equivalent at least to the labor he spent in preparation of this receptacle. The same course might be advantageously pursued in regard to our vaults; it would in a slight degree lessen their unpleasant eﬁluvia, increase the quan- tity taken therefrom, and render it more ﬁt for immediate service—inasmuch as the strength of this kind of manure forbids its free usage, till it has undergone a partial decomposition— the rapidity of which, this method would in a small measure assist.

The sweeping of ditches and ponds, which are drained off, or become dry in the course of the season, form an excellent acquisition to the farmer’s stock of ma- nure. These sweepings very few who have the opportunity avail themselves of— either because they imagine that they have matters of weightier importance to° attend to. or because‘ they affect to doubt their Superior value;——-the first objection a far- mer should never huge, for he certainly has time to collect all the manure his lands can afford in any shape, and it is of vital im- portance that he should do it,—in regard to the second, I have merely to state, that these sweepings contain an immense quan- tity of the. putrid matter of decayed vege- tables, wp'gli have been gradually gather- ing arid i 'edding themselves there , and which necessarily form in their separate state,--or when mixed with other substan- cela strong and proﬁtable manure.

The l t met-bod of making manure which l'sliall h e recommend, is the collection

nut

and use of leaves. A the husbandman can

therefore lament to see them so seldom used. Twenty substantial loads would be

sufﬁcient for the daily and thorough litter Pa of a stock ofeight or ten cattle, from the clove time they were housed in the fall till the usefu were pastured in the spring, and a fez of la‘ days spent in collecting them would be no_ numl bly repaid by the extra quantity and extra grass quality of manure. Let them be put u". vent der some sheltered shed where they will estel be protected from the Winds, and dealt than out in the necessary quantity; when the the

cattle ﬂoor is cleaned, they should be rich chopped up ﬁnely with the dung, and or n thrown out upon the heap—there after sum awhile they decompose and become ﬁt to thei: carry out to the ﬁelds. The fertilizing pro. ring perties existing in this kind of manure are shat truly astonishing, and I do not hesitate to pig! afﬁrm, that a ﬁeld in which it is used will p0" produce a crop of potatoes one fourth bet greater than the crop harvested from ano- ] ther spot of the same size, which was me, planted with any other manure. In ano- a” ther respect, leaves may be made to ﬂy augment and improve the farmer‘s stock of e, 1 manure; before ﬁlling his yard, stye, or any so,“ outer deposit, he would be vastly beneﬁtted the by throwing in a heavy layer of leaves, the which being completely covered by loam 0,. or whatever else he may cast imsoon be- so, gin to decompose. and add not a little to tlie m :alue ofthe stuff when removed. ' wit

The application of diﬁhrent manures to the various soils, which has been so ably treated of by Kirwan in his admirable es- say upon Manures—is a subject too exten- sive, and requiring 'too thorougha know- ledge. to be entered upon here. The effect we look for in the application of manure is not only an abundant production of crops at the time, but a lasting fertility: and therefore it is better to manure moderately forasuccession of seasons, than to crowd an over quantity at once upon the land which may not again receive assistance for years; this should be attended totespe- cially if the subsoil is of a spongy nature— forin this case, the manure though it pro- duce a heavy crop the ﬁrst year it is ap- plied, will be gradually drawn in till it eu‘ tirely disappears; thus the only reward you reap for your liberality. is one or two copious harvests which leave the soil more barren and unproductive than before. Your arrangements should be such as to allow a thoroiigh annual dressing .to all lands under cultivation. and a gradual re- claiming of waste land by ditching and draining—~for these operations (in addi- tion to others which beneﬁt land), are includedin the general term manure. as well as substances which have the same tendency. In this way, you enter 11pm}: a system of improvement and an application

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