The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1847-01-27
AGRICULTURAL, 4 {
APPLICATION or N ANITR'E.I 2

II bus long been pnin, 81 discussion,
among farners, whether manure cnn be
most SUCCESSFULLY, applied By plS uIghing in,
or by narrowing, IN on, Lie snrface. I0or-
der 70 gain g right apprehension oftl.is
subject, il is Indispensable, in The ifrslplacp.
that we acquaint ourselves With thc coiisli.
tucnts Of manures, aud Their specific modes
Of action on ,lie soil and CROPS. 'rlicse
topics huye been ably Investigated by some
Of The most eminent chemists lie world
has ever produced. Davy and ChaptaI did
not deem. !! beneath their dignity IL inquire
into the nature Of those substances which
The farmer, applies 10 his lands ID o.,lcr 10
maintain Or increase tl.cir fertility; On tie
contrary, they entered, upon The iii,vcstis "a
ZION with b zeal and industry which has
happily been productive of The best results,
and which, 50 long as The science of neri-
culture shall find q votary, will hand their
names down to future generations as tile
authors. under muniticient Providence, OF
the blessings they enjoy. TO them we are
principally indebted for the knowledge tha,
manure consists principally Of woody fib.
re, soluble salts aud waller, and That the
products, eliminated from the mass hy fer
mentation, are curbonic acid, ammonia,
carburelscd hydrogen and wnter. or
these elements curbonic acid and carburet-
ted hydrogen are supposed To be OF lille
value to The growing crop. They are found
much more sparingIy than the other ele-
menls, all ofwhich arc Of eaiimportancc,
especially the carbonic acid, which is all
sorbcd BY the foliage, and taken up by the
roots in state Of solution OF which water
is the medium. Ammonia is ia gaseous pro.
duct, and, in Its pure slute, is probably Of
lille Importance, but in its union With
some OF The salts, particularly the nsulu,
Die salts, rs for instance, with sulpla,e of
'ne, or plaster Of pnris, which is insolu-
bic, thus forming the important product
known as sulphalc Of ammonia, which is
soluble, and highly salutory in It's influenza
on vegetable life. Every farmer who cx-
ercises his mind in the production Of his
agrestic duties, is awure lha, as soon as the
process Of decomposition commences in
dung, II begins TO throw of its volatile pa-
seous product. These, und the influences
they are calculated TO exert on the physic-
ally ydevelopmcnto Of the vegetable system, il
IS important 10 examine; for il may be their
liberation is not simply all cscape, bnl all
actual loss Of what constitutes The most inn
porlant ingredients in the nutriment of
plants. The queslionis. whether nanu:cs
should be applied in such n manner us 10
yield their nutrilivc properties Immediate
~ 10 Tie crop, or III some way calculated
10 secure gradual aud constant suppiv
throuS hout The year, or, SO lang as the
plants are III growing state md capable
.! absorbing nutrimcnt from the soil
through the medium Of their roots.
PUMPKINS AND APPLES FOR SWINE.
TIE English editor OF Boussinganl,'s
Rural Economy, asserts, that Americans
say, "a hog will die upon pumpkins and np-
pies alone, but he Will live aud faltcn on
mixture of the two" This is the only
place we ever me, with the above observa.
lion; yet SO far us our experience extends,
we knoY il 10 be incorrect. We have
kept swine Of various ages for weeks, cx-
clusively on pumpkins, and never knew
them TO do better; and lhat they vii. not
live and thrive on apples alone: is nolori-
Gus the country over.
We once shut up lot Of Bcrkshircs Of
various ages, in a tight pen, with plank
floor and commenced feeding them on rnw
pumpkins. AS our neighbors dropped in
grnners, shake their heads and declare if
W e'h NV tuhC tilC oECuS VI lIlc pumpkins
away. they would cause The swine to stale
SO exceedingly, as TO make them skeleton
poor in three weeks. We haR greul faith
in our creed, and SO let them continue 10
eat The seeds and all for upwards Of six
weeks. During this time they had nolL.
ing else that we recolIect but water, Of
which they drank very spurngly. They
'hrove finely during this lime, nor did they
stale much more than common. Indeed,
so well were we satisfied with their conhi-
ton at he end Of this period, that we should
have continued them on the same food MS
much longer, had no, the pumpkins been
all consumed.
Witha poor breed Of hugs we hive no
doubt but pumpkin seeds may be the i'm.
mediate cause Of diabetes. Yc, even fur
these, if the pumpkins be boiled or steam
ed, we do not believe any harm will come
from their eating the seeds; on the contrary,
We have no doubt they wonld prove highly
nutritious. Agricu!turist.
COLD WATER FOR STOCK.