Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1853-12-15

NURR.-So long as the weather may remain
open and admit Of such work, the teams on
The farm should be employed in collecting
rough materials to form into compos, heaps,
to be converted into manure. The earth and
vegetable matters from head-lands, fence
sides, fence-corners, woods mould, river
mud, creek mud, marsh-mud, peat, the sod
from fields covered with sedgegrass, the scra-
pings from road-sdes, the scrapings of ditch
es, sea-ore, weeds, cotton seed; and, in a
word, any substances having in them vege-
table and animal remains, are good 10 enter
into such compost But with every Two loads
of such matters, there should be mixed one
load of barn-yard or stable manure. As the
compos. heaps are being formed, layer and
layer about, the surface OF each layer should
be busted freely over with plaster, say in
the proportion Of one bushe Of plaster to
twenty double horse-carl loads of the rough
materials named The compost heap should
be shaped into conical form, busted over
with plaster, pa!led down, and, if possible,
kept under cover. Even a covering Of pine
or cedar brush will prove useful. The ob-
ject Of mixing the barn-yard and stable ma
nure with the rough materials, is to excite
fermentation, and bring on healshful state
of decomposition in the latter; without
which, its action will be szo,v, and bu, little
perceivable on the first crop, though it will
ultimately tell in the soil in succeeding
J ears. The list of substances we have nam
ed are mostly comparatively cold, and re-
qnire the addition Of animal or organic ma
nures TO bring about fermentation and decay,
a condition absolu,ely necessary to render
them Immediately available as manure. All
such inert, all such dormant matters, require
to have vitality previously infused into
them before application to the land, as they
will not otherwise be competent to dispense
The nourishing principle, if we may so ex-
press ourself, into growing plants-from
the decay and death Of the former, the prin-
ciple of fife Communicated to the latter.
Guano, being the s,ronges. Of all concen-
trated manures, night be very Advantageous
ly used in the compost heap instead of sta
bic and barn-yard manures-so also nigh!
Gsh-lo bring on the decomposition Of The
as these subssnces are moi available TO all,
we have called particular attention 10 the
former substances.
Alkaline substances, as wood ashes, bar
lila ashes, lime, soda, Sc, will also bring
on the desired decomposition, Of the emu
merated inert substances, but these, with the
exception of lime, rest under the objection
of incompetency of supply, while that min
e1al, if applied in quantity, would operate
to drive off the nutrisve gases as they might
be generated, and thus deleriorale the value
Of the compost as manure.
The substances we have before described,
if spread over the e.yards. hog-yards,
Sc, would, by the weddings of the animals,
especially the liquid portion Of them be
converted into manure. But whether such
substances be made into compost heaps or
spread over the catle-yards, and hog-styes,
it is necessary to either the one or The 9TH
er should be shoveled over and thoroughly
mixed together before being applied to the
land the ensuing season. This operation Of
shoveIing over, is necessary upon two &C
counts; first TO produce equality in the
strength of the manure, and, secondly, to lei
in the atmospheric air, 10 give fresh lmpe-
lus to decomposition, in order that the nu-
,rilive principle may be rendered the more
active and opera'ive.-.4merican Farmer.