The Portland daily press., 1867-12-11
Making Manure.

Making manure is making money. The
wealth of farmer is the deposit in his ma.
nure heap. Within that are the golden ele-
ments which enrich his fields, his granaries
and his purse. His first care, therefore, should
be to increase his manuria lstores to the great
est extent, and at the least cost Cultivators
of the land, whether farmers, gardeners or or
chardists, who. live within convenient distanc-
es OF our three hundred miles of sea coast, or
upon nayigable waters that connect with the
ocean, have it in their power to collect and
prepare any amount of fertllizing material
which they may desire. The sea weed that
drifts on the shore, the crustaceous rock we,d
are thrown up from the ocean beds, the shell
fish that inhabit the flats-such as muscles,
CLAIMS, quoahogs, razor fish, cookies, &C., and
which contain animal substance, and even, in
some cases, the mud washed down and depos-
tied from the interior soils,-all are rich in
the elements of manure. Our farming friends
back In the country, that do not have access
to these marine treasures, would be exceed
ingly glad, if such resources were anywhere
within carting distances of their lands. We
have thought, sometimes, thst our people up
on the sea board hardly know, and therefore
do not suitably prize the privilege which ma
ture has bestowed upon them. All however,
are not thus unmindfnl of their opportunity
We noticed last week, whilst in Harpswell
Neck, that every farmer had near his barn
huge piles of sea weed which were ON hand
to be thrown from time to time into the cat
tie yards and hog pens, where, before spring
they are worked up into most excellent dress
ing for grass or ploughed lands. Their fields,
gardens and orchards give ample evidence of
this work Of economy and good husbandry on
their parts. We hardly know town in the
State where farms look better or pay better
than in old HarpsweI. And what is said of
this town might be said, and ought to be said
of nearly every town that has ihe marine
riches of our exterior sea coast. '..ts.
Not long ago we enjoyed the opportunity Of
witnessing the operations of a friend in one
of our commercial towns, who having no
cOnnexion with shipbuilding or shipowning,
has made himself rich simply by farming.
We visited his place in the summer season,
when the menhaden were plenty. His farm
was on a small river into which the tide flow
ell and ebbed twice day, and which at high
water swarmed with schools of that kind OF
fish. On his farm he had a bog of deep
muck. The previous winter, when the ground
was frozen, he had entered the bog with
teams, and breaking the crust with the proper
instruments, he had dug out large guam
titles of the muck and deposited it on the
were there it was the fish season. He owned
large seine, which was long enough to span
the river, at a narrow passage. AT high wa
ter, before the menhaden had begun to retire
to the salt bay at its mouth, lie spread his
seine, and thus imprisoned all the fish that
were above it; sometimes there were acres OF
them. At low water the stream was almost
dry, SO that with dip net he could load his
carts in its very bed, and convey them to the
ground whereon his muck heap lay. Hehad
several teams thus employed. Also he had
severrl men at work laying his manure range
First they spread layer OF muck, perhaps
one foot thick, ten feet wide and as long as
his ingredients would allow. The carts as
they arrived from the river were unloaded and
spread upon the rising bed. When this was
distributed another stratum of muck was ap-
piled as before; then again another layer oil
menhaden, and SO on as long as the muck OF
the fish held out. We should think his range
when completed would measure-we don,t
dare say how much--I erhaps five hundred
solid cords. In very few days the fermenta.
ton melted the oil in the fish, and il pene-
trated and ran down the sides of the whole
heap. The flesh and bones, too, of the fish,
were totally dissolved in few days more.
Then it was ready for use-a solid body of the
very richest manure, without the seeds ol
weeds or any foul stuff, all decomposed and
pulverized, ready for application to the soil
He had followed this practice for some years.