The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-04-28
ri.n az . rers,l,ser-swamp Maels.
RrcHMoND, Va, AprIN, Ioos'

rts,, an q NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Macks,
RICHMOND, Va, April27, 1869.
Editors Richmond Dispatch
Gentlcmen,-I notice in your issue % Of
Yesterday note Of inquiry from alr' ~ 80! ~
Foster. Of Matthews, as to how our tide
water farmers may apply fish to the great
ca. advantage in the production of crops,
followed by an invitation from yourselves
TO " any gentleman who is able to answer :"
to do so through the columns Of the D'S-
patch. avail myself Of this invitation 20
offer a few remarks in reply to Mr.. rosters
inquiries. ,,.-..
The great value Of fish as a fertilizer mas
long been recognized and appreciated BY
the neonle Of most of the regions In which
Il 10 ahundart--its use being, of course,
confned TO districts bordering on the sea or
other large bodies Of water. Some years
since, Professor Way, then chemist to the
ROYAL Agricultural Society Of England, IN
the hope Of devisipg some method by which
fish might be gotten into such form as TO
admit of its transportation for long DIS
tances. made some very elaborate analyses
from which he found that the natural tlsh
contains nitrogen sufficient to yield o little
more than two per cent. of ammonia ana
a little more than two per cent. OF ASH, OF
which the leading constituents are Phos-
phoric acid, lime, and potash.
"The most striking characteristic Oh nsh
which analysis has furnished, ana Wn!cn,
indeed, is the only one that the practlcal
man of enlightened mind will require 20
enable him to form @ correct estimate OF
the Office and utility Of fish in farm Prsc-
tice. is the fact that the composition OF nsn
is in many instances nearly similar TO tina ;,
of some of our most important cultivated
CROPS. Wheat contains about two per cent.
of nitrogen, and SO does fish. On this point
Mr.. Way says: 100 pounds of wheat re-
ouire about one pound and three-quarters
Of ash, about one-hslf OF which is phos-
phoric acid and one third potash. One
hundred pounds of fish (sprats) contain
Two pounds of ash, Of which two fths Is
phosphoric acid and onefifth potash. Sup
Dosing that in the production of wheat no
loss Of manure occurs, what manure would
more fit to produce bushel of wheat than
half a hundred weight Of sprats."*
Direct applications Of the fresh flsh to the
land seems to be the most common mode.
For wheat, and the other crops of small
grain, the fish are spread broadcast and
Slowed under; for corn they are usually
put in-or rather under-the hill. AL
writers agree, however, in recommending
their use in the form Of a compost with goou
rich earth. The earth absorbs the ammo
MIA given off in the fermentation of the
fish, and in q few months the whole mass
falls down to manure which retains all
the virtues of the fish, and in which oil
trace of fish is lost. Plaster might be used
with decided advantage in such compost,
but lime should be sedulously avoided, Tor
the reason that wherever it comes IN con-
tact with the salts Of ammonia, the latter Is
set free, and, being volatile, escapes.
In some parts of New England, compoets
made of swami muck and fish are found to be
of great value as fertilizers; ana call az,
tention to this fact in the hope that some OF
our tide-water farmers may be induced to
make available in this way some OF the
inexhaustible stores Of fertility now lying
dormant in the numerous sWamps and
marshes of this region. Experience de-
monstrates that applications of muck are
of little value, and sometimes are posi-
lively hurtful, without having first been
long exposed to the ameliorating effects of
the air, or made into composts with stable
manure, animal refuse, fish, &c. When
com posted, the animal matter, for example
fish, the latter enters into decomposition or
fermentation at once. The muck absorbs
such elements of fertility, as ammonia, that
might otherwise be lost, and OF the same
commences itself to ferment, by which lts
nitrogen is transformed into ammonia, and
other changes take place whereby 1t be.
comes valuable fertilizer, independent OF
the fish and other matters that may have
been used to quicken TIM process OF amello-
ration.
The following, taken from Professor
Johnson's essays on peat, muck, &c., may
not be out of place in this connection. Ono
of his correspondence who uses fish ana
muck extensively for composing, says:
We vary the proportions somewhat &C.
cording to the crop the compost is intended
for. For rye, we apply twenty to twenty
five loads (of twenty-five bushels) per acre
of o compost made with one load Of fish Z;
and with this manuring, no matter how poor
the soil, the rye will be as large as man
can cradle. For oats we use less fish, as
this crop IS apt to lodge. for corn' one
part fish to ten or twelve muck is about
right, while for grasses or any top'dressing
the proportion of fish may be increased.
eve find it best to mix the fish in sum-
mer, and not use the compost until the next
spring and summer. We usually compost
our first arrivals of fish in June for our
winter grain. After the pile has stood
three or four weeks it is worked over tho
roughly. As the pile is worked over, q
sprinklipg Of muck or plaster is given to
retain any escaping ammonia. By Septem-
Der the fish. have completely disappeared.
The effect on the muck is to blacken it, and
make it more loose and crumbly. AS to
the results Of the use of this compost, we
find them in the highest degree satisfac-
tory. We have raised thirty to thirty five
bushels Of rye per acre on land that with
out it could have yielded six or eight
bushels at the utmost. This year we have
corn that will give sixty to seventy bushels
per acre that otherwise would yield but
twenty to twenty-five bushels. 1t makes
large potatoes, excellent turnips aud car
rots.'
Yours, very truly,
WILLIAM GILLIAN.