The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-02-14 00:00:00

ON THE SEWAGE OF TOWNS AS IT
AFFECTS BRITISH AGRICULTURE.

We extract the following from a vea7 able paper
read before the Central Farmers' Club, London, by
Mr. Alderman Maori on the 6th inst. :
Mow Farmers would berajle by Tows Sewaye.—U
farmers depended entirely on the sewage of towns for
the supply of manure, it is quite clear that they might
be permitted by their landlords to sell off, without
damage to the land, their hay, straw, root, and green
crops, provided they could find a market for them, or
provided it was wore advantageous to them than feeding
cattle. _

They might also grow hemp, flax, rips for seed, pota-
toes, intuited, and other crops, which would be son-
sidered, under our present system, scourging, or ex-
hausting.
Provided an abundant supply of town sewage were
annually used, it would be impossible to exhaust the
soil by any cropping; and our farm Liam m4,ht be a
great deal shorter than they are at preemet. The gene-
rality of farms are now only inimumi sue in 4 peas.
Such a system would suit fannies of a Suited espitaL
The only excuse for treading our straw under foot, and
consuming our hay, straw, and green crops on the farm,
is to produce manure to groe the cereals. It is quite
clear that as sewage manure contains oath. elements of
every crop that can be grown, we need no longer feed
out oil cake at a loss, or pay away our mousy for gum,
bones, blood, and other manures,
Those who will read Fortune's, and Oliphant's
recent books on China, will see that it ix almost entirely
by the use of human excreta that the 412 minium ef
Chinese can obtain their food. flow much is their
example in this respect needed by u, under oar um
sanitary arrangements!
The Towne will derive a large Revenue from CUSP
=—But that can be only when agriculturists ban
its value. In order to induce them to do this,
every temptation and encouragement must be offered to
them, and to those companies who 'propose to supply
them.

Indigence of Sewage Manure on my Pant Pro
I am much indebted to the sewage system on my farm
in this respect- for the last six years my gain es land-
lord and tenant on my little farm of 170 acres has been
nearly £7OO per annum. Even this last year, with
wheat at 425. per quarter, I have gained MOO after pay-
ing every expense. Of coarse, much of this benefit has
arisen from steam-power, drainage, deep cultivation, and
other improveuienta, but the liquid manure system has
greatly contributed to this result.
The Condition in which Selvage should be Applied.—
Thii qutetien I consider finally settled 119? Proteseor
Way, in his admirable paper 'On the Use of Town
Sewage as Manur-," published in 1853, in the Journal
of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, voL XV.,
page 135. Every one interested in this question should
carefully study that comprehensive and convincing
paper. Ile says—" I feel that no other than the liquid
method can finally satisfy all the necessities of the case
and he says, "but there are always two parties to a
bargain; and until the agricultural community is pre;
pared to use liquid sewage, it is of no avail to offer it.
Again he says -" Each individual of • population
will, in the course of 24 hours, contribute to the sewage
of a town 11b. of solid, and Zilbs. of liquid exerenstrn."
In addition to the valuable human and animal exam
ment, the rains wash trout our granite and other pave.
menta salts of potash, magnesia, lime, and soda, also sul-
phuric acid in the form of sulphates—all exceedingly
valuable to vegetation.
Professor Way continues, "The appearance of London
sewage water, as it issues from the mouths of the sewers
into the Thames, is very different from what most
people imagine, and by no means so repulsive. The
great distance which it has, on the average, to flow
over • rough surface, the angles it has to turn, and the
, immense friction and agitation derived from these Mr-
cunistamces, form together the most perfect means of IN
disintegration; so that on its arrival at the month of
the sewers no risible trace of its origin is to be detected.
" A glass jar of London sewage at the mitten is only
a slightly turbid liquid, with • flocculent, slimy, fibrous
matter floating through it. It has a putrid smell, but
by no means so bad as would be expected, the chief
odour being that of sulphurated hydrogen. The great
nuisance of all sewage, when thrown into rivers and
water courses, is the accumulation of the solid matter
which takes place on the banks of such streams, and
which, in its decomposition, is always giving out noxious
exhalations • the liquid itself, when mixed with as=
body of wank Is No dllneed tegbegmlfsgellpent
The important soluble manures are oenviped to every
portion of the soil and subsoil, mid becomes condensed
on the surface of each granule of soil ready for the root-
lets of plants. (See Lieb:g'4 recent discovery.) In
grass lands the excretions from the growing plants are
reinoved or decomposed by sewage irrigation, much to
the advantage of the growing plants. (See Liebig
on modern tanning.) There is no waiting for •
shower, thus avoiding loss of growth at Um
critical season. As • ram-tall of 1 inch is 100
tons per acre, the London sewage would add consider-
ably to the annual supply of moisture. Everybody can
see the effect of a rainfall of even a quarter of an inch,
or 25 tuns per acre, on a warm day in the growing
season. _

I have seen farm-yard manure undiasolved in the soil
even 12 months a ter its application.
Row Many Acres would the London Sewage Ferti-
lize l—Coal of Application.—Prospeci of Remuneration
to a Conipassy.—Before this question can be answered,
we must settle whether we are to manure for a rotation
of ordinary fanning crops, or to produce enormous crops
of Italian rye grass, pasture, root, and other green crops
for the production of meat and dairy produce.
These green and root crops would absorb an enormous
supply of sewage—probably as much as 1,000 to 3,000
tons per acre ; but in preparation for the alternate mode
of ordinary cropping, 300 to 300 tons would be • more
suitable dressing. 2,000 tons would probably be equal
in value, for green crops, to one ton of gums); anC
one penny per ton, would cost only half its price. lam
aware that Mr. Lewes and Dr. Gilbert have estimated It
at slower value than this, but they took no amount of
the bulk as rain.fall. Now 2,000 tons per acre are
equal to an additional rain-fall of twenty inches (nearly
• year's supply); and we all know the value of moistar•
for green and too:. crops, and we also know that guano,
or any other manure, is valueless without water.
It would be, doubtless, much to the advantage of the
company to supply large quantities on a limited area, ac
demanding a shorter length of mains and
although they must be of • larger diameter. If
on the rotation principle, one million of acres would not
be too large an area, as only the half not in corn, or
500,000 acres, would require annually an irrigation
of 300 tons; but, on the forcing green crop prima*,
about 30,000 acres, at 2,000 tons per acre annually.
would take the whole London sewage of 500,000 tone
per day.
Mr. Teller, of Cumming Park, Ayr, tells OM that be
applies 500 tons of water per Scotch acre, at Ave dregs.
I lug., to his Italian rye grass, with 5 cwt.a(gusnoal
each dressing, making a total annual applleatlon of 211
cwt, of guano per Scotch acre (one-fourth larger thaw
the English acre.) In addition to the guano, the meets
of his forty cowe are mixed with the 500 tons of water.
This is high farming, but then, with only 60 Scotch
acres, Mr. Teller keeps 40 dairy cows and grows ample
Produce besides—and makes it pay well. What a man
proportion his vent must bear to his produce!
In considering where the sewage should be applied,
should select poor and barren districts, which under Its
influence, would, like the once barren
meadows, soon become fertile districts; and itikruat
well to chase places beyond the reach of the
dung carts. But it is to be remembered that math
our grass land, in the vicinity of the metropolis, would
be enormously advantaged by liberal supplies of flui-
dized manure, during the spring and summer, parties.
larly where cows are grazed.