Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1844-02-09
DANA'S PRIZE ESSAY ON MANURES.
SECTION SECOND.
iShouelling oUer the Compost Heap.

Shovelling over the Compost Heap.
The above remarks (Secton 1sD may be
called our compost heap 1t mus, be well
you cart it out and spread it, understand well
what this compost contains. Now Just let
me turn over few shovels full, and fork out
the main points to which l wish 10 call your
attention.
LIST. That all plants find in stable manure
every thing they want.
Cd. That stable manure consists Of water,
coal and salts.
| Sd. That these, water, coal, and salts,
consists in all plants of certain substances,
in number fourteen, which are Called.
Oxygen, 2. Hydrogen, 3. Nitrogen, 4. Car
bon, 5. Sulphur, 6. Phosphorus, z. Potash,
8. Soda, 9. Lime, 10. Magnesia, II. Alu-
nina or clay, II. Iron, ID. Manganese, ID.
Chlorine, which last, as we have said, forms
about one-half the weight of common salt.
And if you always associate with the word
chlorine, the fertiIizing properties Of COM
mon salt, you will, perhaps, have as good
an idea of this substance as farmer need
have, to understand the action Of chlorine.
4th. These fourteen substances may be
divided into four classes: LIST, the airy or
gases. oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and chic.
rine. Cd, the combusliblcs, carbon, sui
phur, and phosphorus. Sd, the earths and
metals, lime, clay, magnesia, iron and man.
gancse. 4th, the alkalies, potash and soda.
You may be surprised that l have not
turned up ammonia, but this exists in plants
as hydrogen and nitrogen.
9Th. The term salt includes a vast variety
of substances, formed of alkalies, earths
and metals, combined with acids. Fix well
the meaning Of this term in your mind, and
remember the distinction pointed out, that
some salts are volatile, and act quick in
manure, and others are fixed and act slower.
9th. When plants die or decay, they re-
turn to the earth or air these fourteen sub
stances. Those returned to the earth from
mould, which thus is composed of carbon,
salts and water, is natural manure.
9TH. Mould consists of two kinds, one Of
which may be, and the other cannot be,
dissolved by water. Akalies put it into a
state 10 be dissolved, and in proportion as it
is dissolved it becomes valuable as manure.
Sth If then manure contains only water,
carbon, and salts, any substance which af-
fords similar products, may be substituted
for it. Hence we come 10 division of ma
nures into natural and artificial. Tho COM
sideration of these is the earting out and
spreading of our compost. And we shall
first consider in detail the natural manures.
That is, those which are furnished US by the
dung and urine of animals, and the manure
or mould formed by the decay of animal
bodies or plants. These are truly the natu-
raj manures, consisting of water, mould, and
salts. This is all that is found in cattle
dung. This being promised, we may divide
nianuros, reader, for your more convenient
consideration, not by their origin. but by
their composition. We may divide manures
into these three classes: First, those consis-
ting of vegetable or animal matter, called
mould: Secondly, those consisting chiefly
of salts; and, thirdly, those consisting of
mixture of these two classes. And, begin.
ming with the last first, we will now proceed
10 their consideration.