, 1860-01-09

.MEaH'l, IA1rSGfTs any. 41. l5I3-
DEAR SIR: Your letter Of the 7th Of Noseu,-
ber to the 7itAa.s furnishes me an occasion to
express to you my sincere thanks for the views
to which YOU there glve u:terance, and which
hive laborcd many years to impress. AM
sorry not TO he nbfe to say that my efforts hare
l regard it rs fortunate event that man Of
20 eini1ently practical T. character as yourself
;las now for the first time, in the interest Of
agriculture and the national welfare, taken up
tlic question Of tie "sewtrage Of towns with
warmth. and in langyase adapted TO produce
# il % nv ardent wish that YOU may succeed in
awakening the English people to our own con-
victions Tor iu that case the wavs and means
for setting aside the difficulties which stand i'll
tile WAY 1f procuring manure from the - sewer
age Of towns" will certainly be found, and i
future generation will look upon those men who
hayc devoted their energies to the attainment
OF this end, as the greatest benetactors OF their
country.
The rrouuti Of n1y small success lics clearly
in illc iact that the majority Of farmers do not
know the extent to which thcir own interests
are concerned III this matter, aud because the
views aud conceptions of most men in regard 10
the circuit of life and the laws Of the preser.a
ison Ut our race, do not generally risc abe7e
ti,v.c Of e. Fourier, the inventor OF the phat-
,,nstcry. tic proposed, as you know, to supply
tile wants Of ttc occupants Of bis pda!aus'ery
by means Of eggs. lie supposed it was only
necessary ~ procure couple Of haholeu thou-
sand hens each Of Which wonli lay thirty-six
eggs year, making ns many millions OF eggs,
which, sold in England, would produce an i'm
neusc income. Foutler knew very well 1!'at
hens lay eggs, but he seemed not to know that
in order lay m egg they must eat an amount 81
corn its e1ual in weight. Aud so most men do
not know that the fields, in order pernuacntly
to yicsdAtlleir harycsts, must either contain, or
Use receive from the hands Of nun, certain con-
ditions whicl stand in tie sane relation 10 tic
products Of the field as the hens fond does TO
ile egg sle lays. Thry think that tl:ilgent til
Ia;e and soosl weather are sufficient to produce
harvest; they theTcfo"e e regard this question
rs one IN which they are wholly uuconccrncd,
aud look t;,rward carclcsslr and with indsasr-
cnce to the future.
As physicians, who in the apparent signs of y
young mans blooming health, discern the fatas
worm which threatens to undermine h!s organic
frame, 50 in this case should those discerning
men who arc capable Of comprehcnding the
range Of tue question, raise earlier TIC volca OF
It is true that the dilligent tillase Of the
fields, sunshine. and timely ruin, are t! out.
ward conditions, perceptibie to ail men, Of good
harveste, but these are perfectly without Effect
nron the prodnctivencsS OF the field, unless
etrtain things not SO easy Of perception bT the
SENSES are pTcscnt in the soil, and these are tue
elements which serve for nourishment-for the
production Of roots, leaves and sccds-and
which are present in the soil always in very
small quantity in proportion to the mass Of tho
xoil itself.
These clements ure taken from. the soil in The
products oft tield in the corn. or iu the flesh
Of the animals nourishel by these products,
| and daily experience shows, that even tic most
fruitful field ceases after series Of harEests to
produce these crops.
i child can comprehend that, under these cir
| cumstarces, very productive leld. IN order to
| remain rtry productive. or even simply produc-
| tire, must hare the elements which had been
| withdrawn in the harvests perfectly RESTORED ;
that the aggregate Of The conditions muss re-
i.ain, m order to produce the aggregate re-
sult., and that well, however deep il may be,
which receives no supply Of water. must 10 ile
pumped out. Our fields are Like this well Of
| water. !.
| In The United States the population increases
| ut still greate1 ratio than in other countries,
| while the corn productions from the laud under
cultivation has constantly fallen of:
History teaches that not one Of ail those coun-
tries which have produced corn for other lands
have remained corp markets, and England has
contributed her full share towards rendering
urproductiye The best lands Of the United States
which have supplied her with corn precisely
as Old Rome robbed Sarlinia. Sicily md the
| J.. ~. 4 - If hair fnT+ =