Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/369

Rh MANURES.] AGRICULTURE 343 it is reduced to a dark-coloured, moist, homogeneous mass, in which state it is usually applied to the land. It is thus the residuum of the whole products of the farm, minus the exported grain, and that portion of the other crops which, being first assimilated in the bodies of the live stock, is sold in the form of butcher-meat, dairy-produce, or wool. In applying farm-yard dung to land there is thus a returning to it of what it had previously produced, less the above exceptions, and such waste as may occur during the process of decay by gaseous exhalation or liquid drainage. It is obvious that the value of such dung as a fertilising agent must depend much on two circumstances, viz., 1st, The nature of the food consumed by the animals whose excre ments arc mingled with it; and, 2d, The success with which waste from drainage and exhalation has been prevented. When cattle used during the winter months to be barely kept alive on straw and water, and were confined in an open yard, which, in addition to its own share of rain, re ceived also the drip from the eaves of the surrounding build ings which, after percolating the litter, flowed unchecked into the neighbouring ditch it is needless to say that the dung resulting from such a process was all but worthless. It is much to be regretted that, from the faulty construction of farm-buildings, farmers still find it impossible to guard their dung-stores from injury and waste. When cattle- yards arc slightly hollowed towards their centre, and the surrounding eaves are spouted, the litter absorbs the whole of the urine and the rain which falls upon the uncovered area, while the treading of the cattle goes far to prevent undue fermentation and escape of gases. The same remark applies still more strongly to covered boxes, the dung re sulting from this mode of housing fattening cattle being of the best quality. In the case of byres and stables it is certainly desirable to have a covered depot, into which the litter and solid excrements may be wheeled daily, and to have the urine conveyed by proper drains and distributed over this mass of solid matter. As there is usually more liquid than these can at once absorb, it is well to have a tank at the lowest part of this depot in which to store the surplus, that it may from time to time be returned upon the adjoining mass, or conveyed to heaps in the fields. Advantage is usually taken of frosty weather to cart out to the fallow division of the farm the dung that has accumulated in yards and boxes. It is formed into large square heaps about four feet deep, in situations most convenient for ready application to the land when the season for sowing the crops arrives. It is desirable to prepare a site for these heaps by carting together and spreading down a quantity of earth (or peat, when that can be got), for the purpose of absorbing the ooze from the fermenting mass laid upon it. At the beginning of winter, the loaded dung-carts are driven on to the heaps, and their contents are spread evenly over it, layer above layer, both to equalise the quality of the dung- heap as a whole, and, by the compression thus applied, to prevent a too rapid fermentation. When the heap has attained the requisite bulk, a covering of earth or peat is spread over it to keep it moist and to prevent the escape of its ammonia. When this home-made manure was the only kind statedly at the command of the farmer, it was con sidered necessary, and we believe truly, to have it in an advanced state of decomposition before applying it to a turnip crop. There was a waste of manure by this practice, but unless it was in a state to supply instant nourishment and stimulus to the young turnip plants, the crop was certain to be a deficient one. The application, along with farm-yard dung, of guano, superphosphate of lime, and other portable manures, quite does away with the necessity of having the former much rotted. These concentrated manures stimulate the growth of the plants during their early stage, and put them jn the best condition for making gradual use of the slowly dissolving aung. Excessive decomposition of farm yard dung is now therefore avoided, and pains rather be stowed to improve its quality by protecting it from the weather, and retaining its ammonia and natural juice. The cheapest, and perhaps also the best, way of doing this is to cart the dung direct from the cattle-yard to the fields, and at once to plough it in. /Section 2. Liquid Manures. We have spoken of the importance of carefully retaining the urine of the housed live stock, by having it absorbed in the solid matter of the dung-heap, and of collecting the surplus into a suitable tank, where it may be available for moistening the heap from time to time, and especially when about to be applied to the land. A system has, however, lately attracted much notice, by which pains are taken not only to preserve every drop of urine and ooze from dung- heaps, but, as far as practicable, to apply the whole manure produced on the farm in a liquid form. It is in Ayrshire, and especially on the farm of Myremill, that this system has been carried out most fully. Our reference will be best explained by quoting at length from the Minutes of Infor mation issued by the General Board of Health regarding sewage manure. &quot;The next farm visited was in the .immediate vicinity of Glas gow, where the supply of liquid manure is derived from another source, and distributed in a different manner. The supply is from a dairy of 700 cows, attached to a large distillery ; the entire drain age from the former flows in a full continuous stream into a tank containing 30,000 or 40,000 gallons, whence it is pumped up immediately by a 12-horse power engine, and forced through 4-inch iron pipes, laid about 18 inches under ground, into large vats or cisterns placed on the highest points of the land to be irrigated. From these it descends by gravitation through another system of pipes laid along the ridges of the hills, finding an outlet through stand-cocks placed at intervals, from which it is distributed through movable iron pipes fitting into each other, and laid along the surface in whatever direction the supply is required. The land thus irrigated consists of three farms lying at some distance apart, the farthest point to which the liquid is conveyed being about two miles, and the highest elevation 80 feet above the site of the tank and engine. The principal use to which the irrigation has been applied has been to preserve the fertility of the pastures, the general appearance of which was at first rather disappointing, but this was explained by the fact that they are fully stocked, and that the cows rush with avidity to those parts that have been last irrigated, and eat them down quite bare. As is the case in other instances, however, by far the most profitable application has been found to be Italian rye- grass, of which 15 (Scotch) acres were under cultivation, some with seed supplied by Mr Dickinson, whose successful cultivation of it by similar means near London has long been known. The first cut ting of this had yielded about ten tons the acre, the second nine, and the third, which was ready for cutting, was estimated at eight or nine more. Some crops of turnips and cabbages were pointed out to us in a state of vigorous growth, and with more than common promise of abundance ; these were raised by a dressing of ashes ar.d refuse (of little fertilising value, having been purchased at 2s. 6d. a ton), conjoined with four doses of liquid, one after the preceding crop of oats had been carried, one prior to sowing, and two more at different stages of growth. The enterprising gentleman who has carried out these works at his own expense, and in spite of the dis couragement arising from partial failure in his earlier attempts, though speaking cautiously, as was natural in a tenant on a nine teen years lease, of the pecuniary results of this undertaking, imparted some facts which leave little doubt that it nmst have been largely remunerative. Besides maintaining, if not increasing, the fertility of the pastures, to which the solid manure from the byres was formerly devoted, at a heavy expense of cartage (the whole of which is now saved), he is enabled to sell all this manure, of which we estimated the quantity at about 3000 tons a year, at 6s. a load. For a good deal of the Italian rye-grass not required for his own con sumption, he obtained upwards of 13s. a ton, the profit on which, taking into account the yield before stated, may easily be imagined. Thirteen carts, each containing six barrels of ten gallons each, are used to convey the milk to market, where it is sold at 5d. the Scotch pint, equal to- six pints imperial measure. The income from milk would, therefore, be not less than 43, 6s. 8d. per day, or 15,816, 13s. 4d. per annum. &quot; The next place visited was the farm of Myremill, near llaybole, in Ayrshire, the property of Mr Kennedy, who adopted and improved on the method of distribution just described. On this