laws (vii.-xi.) have purposely been separated from the general duties contained in the first half of the work. These for the most part are of a religious character, being engrafted on the most rigid distinction of caste, and therefore totally dependent upon the hierarchical rules of the first order, by which even the minutest actions of the inferior classes are invariably to be regulated. Without entering into the mass of formalities and customs by which the main structure of the Brahminical, and in fact of every hierarchy is largely cemented, and into those generally absurd and often ridiculous ceremonies inculcated upon the different branches of society, it will be sufficient to remark that they were evidently congenial to the religious prejudices, and to the habits and disposition of the Hindus, and that most of them had long been sanctioned when the sacred code was promulgated. This is expressly asserted by the author himself, who professes to give the system of law in its full extent, and the immemorial customs of the four classes, adding that immemorial custom is transcendent law, approved in sacred scripture, and that holy sages have embraced good usages long established. The principal duties of the four classes in general are stated as follows: To the first, or sacerdotal order, the supreme ruler assigned the duty of reading the Veda, and of teaching it; of giving advice to kings, of sacrificing and of assisting others to sacrifice, of giving alms and of receiving gifts, of promoting justice on earth, and of procuring happiness hereafter; in short, a Brahmin must ever be intent on divine worship, devotion, austerity, and abstinence. It is only in case of need that he is allowed to support himself by tillage or traffic, but never by service for hire. Although he is by right the chief of the whole creation, and, whether learned or ignorant, must be revered as a powerful divinity, nevertheless he should constantly shun worldly honour, and rather seek disrespect and poverty. The Kshatriya, or military class, is bound to defend the people, to read the Veda, to sacrifice and to give alms; the Vaisya caste to culti-persons as by crimes or mental or corporal defects are legally excluded vate land, to keep herds and flocks of cattle, to carry on trade, to lend at interest, to sacrifice, to read the scriptures, and to bestow presents. The business of the fourth, or Sudra class, is only to serve the three upper orders, and chiefly the Brahmins. Now in these four classes, which may be called the pillars of Hindu society, those only who are born of wives equal in caste are to be considered as of the same class with their fathers. But by intermixture and marriage with women who ought not to be married, and by the omission of prescribed duties, a great number of impure classes have been formed, which in their turn are obliged to perform strictly the special rules and obligations enjoined on their caste, or else they will sink to a still lower degree in the scale of human society. These mixed classes are enumerated at large in the tenth chapter, and prove a far advanced state of civilisation by the very great variety of professions which they exhibit. But as even the aboriginal tribes and the inhabitants of adjacent countries are asserted to have gradually sprung from the same source, we need scarcely remark that the institution of caste carried to this extent must be altogether imaginary; and moreover that a system of law founded on these vague and fanciful principles must be a partial and degrading one. Hence the punishments, consisting of pecuniary fines and confiscation of property, of mutilation of the body, and death, of exile and loss of caste (which is deemed moral death), are inflicted according to the privileges of the different classes; in general these punishments are slight and trifling for the highest order, but dreadfully severe and cruel for the same crimes when committed by an individual of inferior caste. Thus a soldier who defames a priest shall be fined a hundred panas, a merchant a hundred and fifty, but a mechanic or servile man shall be whipped; and while the slaying of a Sudra by a man of the sacerdotal class is exactly equivalent to the killing of a cat or dog, the murder of a Brahmin is an inexpiable crime, and he who barely assaults a priest with intention to hurt him shall be whirled about for a century in a place of future punishment, which is described as 66 a dark hell." With regard to the penal provisions of the criminal law we shall only observe that in most of them the principle of retaliation has been sanctioned; for instance, whoever breaks a dam or sluice, by which an inundation would be caused (Buchanan, Mysore,' i., 4), shall be drowned; an adulterer shall be burned on an iron bed; a cut-purse is to lose two fingers, and "with whatever limb a thief commits the offence, even that limb shall the king amputate "(viii. 334; ix. 273, ff.). Nevertheless most of the punishments may be commuted for pecuniary fines; and in case a temporal chastisement proves unavailing, threats of future pain are often held out. A priest may by muttering imprecations and holy charms chastise those who injure him, without complaining to the king. In short, the first part of the sacred code is entirely what we should call hieratical. This character is apparent not only in its inflexible severity where religion and its ministers are concerned, and the well-calculated distinction of castes, by which a free intercourse between the members of society would be prevented, and consequently a more close dependence on the priesthood ensured, but also in the spirit of sublime devotion, of benevolence and tenderness to all sentient creatures, by which sacerdotal institutes are generally distinguished. The second part of the code, containing the monarchical and civil laws, is more congenial to social order, and although the same spirit of hierarchy prevails, it is often checked by rules of a sound policy and of regular administration. The king, born in the military class, is formed of particles drawn from the substance of the guardian deities; surpassing all mortals in glory, he is himself a divinity in a human shape, and consequently he must be the protector of all classes who discharge their duty (7, 4. 9, 301 ff). "He must invariably speak truth and never transgress the rule of strict justice; but as just punishment cannot be inflicted by an ignorant and covetous king, he has to learn the science of criminal justice and of policy, the system of logic and metaphysics and sublime theological truth from learned priests, and from the people the theory of agriculture, commerce, and other practical arts." Nothing is so often and so strongly inculcated by Manu as the equity and justice of kings in protecting the property of their subjects against fraud and violence. For this purpose the prince shall appoint a governor of one town with its district, another of ten towns, of twenty, of a hundred, and above all these inferior authorities, a high officer, whom we may perhaps call a lord-lieutenant, over each thousand towns. Also, to prevent the people being oppressed, a superintendent of all affairs shall be established in every large town to inspect the inferior officers. A large number of laws for the mercantile tribe, with rigorous regulations about the sale and purchase of marketable things, about weights and measures, tolls and freights for boats passing up and down rivers: the severe punishment of robbers and of those who will not restore loans and deposits, and the most subtle definitions of the law of inheritance-all tend to show that, however restricted by the rules of caste the social and personal condition of an individual might be, his property at least was respected and held inviolable. As to the laws of succession, it is laid down as a fundamental rule, probably derived from ancient patriarchal manners, that, if possible, the whole property of the family should be kept together. Accordingly after the death of his father, the eldest son may take entire possession of the patrimony, and the others may live under him, unless they choose to separate. In this case, the widow and such from participation, being provided for, the heritage is divided into portions according to the minute and almost endless variety of regulations by which, owing to the real or imaginary intermarriage and mixture of classes, this part of Hindu law has become extremely abstruse and intricate. Property belonging to a sacerdotal student and a minor must be guarded by the king, until the owner shall have concluded his studentship, or until his infancy shall have ceased in his sixteenth year. No tax is levied or charge made for this trusteeship nor for any tuition whatsoever; and except custom-duties and market-taxes, the only legal tax or annual revenue which a sovereign may receive from his whole dominion through his collectors is imposed on the mercantile and agricultural classes. He may take either a twelfth part of the crops, or an eighth, and in time of distress even a fourth part, but in every respect he must act like a father to his people. (7, 80, 10, 118 ff.) Serving men, artisans, and mechanics never pay taxes, but they must occasionally assist by their labour when needed. According to a theory most rigorously supported in a rude state of feudal and despotic government, by several Hindu lawgivers of modern times, and even by a passage in Strabo, the king has been declared sole possessor of the soil (Digest of Hindu Law,' 1, 460; Strabo, p. 1030, čσti dè ý xúpa Bagiλikỳ nãσa). But although the sovereign's right to an annual ground-rent, and his gifts of land, so often recorded in inscriptions and written documents, may originally have been founded on such a doctrine, its practical application would have proved ineffectual, and in fact it is nowhere adopted nor even mentioned by the sacred code. On the contrary, it is expressly stated as a rule laid down by ancient sages, that cultivated land shall be the property of him who has cut away the wood, or who has cleared and tilled it (9, 44). To prove the inviolability of the tenure of land, in which the proprietor is rather protected than limited by government, many special laws might be produced, such as those concerning landmarks and boundaries, the common ponds by which the fields are watered, the punishment inflicted on herdsmen and owners for injuring cattle; and so far is the agricultural tenant from being disturbed in his possession, that even if land be injured by his neglect, he shall only be punished by a heavier tax. The most striking feature by which, on the whole, and notwithstanding its many glaring defects, this code is distinguished, is the rigour and purity of its morals. A complete system of ethics might be gathered from the scattered moral sentences, of which we subjoin the following few examples. "Let not a man be querulous, even though in pain; let him not injure another in deed or in thought, let him not even utter a word by which his fellow-creature may suffer uneasiness (2, 161). Let him bear a reproachful speech with patience; let him speak reproachfully to no man; with an angry man let him not in return be angry; abused, let him speak mildly (6, 47). Let him say what is true, but let him say what is pleasing; let him speak no disagreeable truth, nor let him speak agreeable falsehood (4, 138 ff.). Though oppressed by penury, in consequence of his righteous dealings, let him never give his mind to unrighteousness (4, 171); let him be firm in his contentment and check all desire of acquiring more than he possesses, for happiness has its root in content, and discontent is the root of misery (4, 12). A wise man should constantly discharge all the moral duties, though he perform not constantly the ceremonies of religion (4, 204); he should act without any view of reward, and constantly shun religious hypocrisy, for he who describes himself to men. worthy men in a manner contrary to truth is the most sinful wretch in the world; he is the worst of thieves, a stealer of minds (4, 255). Even here below an unjust man attains no felicity, nor he whose wealth proceeds from giving false evidence; for the soul itself is its own witness offend not thy soul, the supreme internal witness of The sinful have said in their hearts No one sees us.' Yes, the gods distinctly see them, and so does the spirit within their breasts (4, 170; 8, 84). He who perseveres in good actions, in subduing his passions, in bestowing gifts, in gentleness of manners, who bears hardships patiently, who associates not with the malignant, who gives pain to no sentient being, obtains final beatitude (4, 246; 12, 10). Single is each man born, single he dies, single he receives the reward of his good, and single the punishment of his evil deeds. When he leaves his corpse, like a log or lump of clay on the ground, his kindred retire with averted faces, but his virtue accompanies his soul" (4, 240). The principal moral duties in general are summed up in the following passage: "The avoiding of all injury to animated beings, veracity, the abstaining from theft and from unjust seizure of property, cleanliness and command over the bodily organs, form the compendious system of duty which Manu has ordained for the four classes" (10, 63). To conclude with the words of Sir William Jones: "The work contains abundance of curious matter, extremely interesting both to speculative lawyers and to antiquaries, with many beauties which need not be pointed out, and with many blemishes which cannot be justified or palliated; it is a system of despotisma and priestcraft, both indeed limited by law, but artfully conspiring to give mutual support." The time at which the laws of Manu were composed is wholly uncertain, and it was only from conjecture that the eminent Sanscrit scholar whom we have just named fixed the 12th century B.C. as the probable epoch of their composition. Generally speaking we may safely pronounce it the code of an already refined and enlightened people, and the work itself bears ample testimony that a very advancing degree of civilisation had been acquired by the Hindus when these laws were promulgated. But what is most important, is that the burning of widows is totally unknown on the contrary, a widow is legally bound to devote herself to pious austerity, and may even be lawfully married to the brother of her deceased husband, as she could marry any other man during the reign of king Vena (3, 173; 5, 157). Now the duties of a Satti, so minutely detailed in works of later date, could not possibly be omitted in a sacred code of law, and therefore the work seems at least anterior to the invasion of India by the Macedonians, who were fully acquainted with these horrid sacrifices. The learned Hindus agree that many laws enacted by Manu were confined to the first three ages of the world, and have no force in the present age; some of them have been abolished or modified by subsequent Hindu lawgivers, according to whom the work is rather to be honoured than to be strictly followed. In fact for a long time it has formed only a very small part of the juridical system, and may be considered as the oldest text-book of law extant, or as the Hindu Institutes,' preparatory to the copious Digests,' 'Pandects,' and other legal works now in use among the different juridical schools in India. (Ellis, in 'Madras Transactions,' vol. i., and Sir Thomas Strange, Hindu Law, principally with reference to such portions of it as concern the Administration of Justice in the King's Courts in India,' Lond., 1830.) The Institutes' of Hindu law, or the Ordinances of Manu,' were verbally translated from the original by Sir William Jones, 1794. The Sanscrit text with the gloss of Kullukabhatta was published at Calcutta in 1813, and a new edition of the metrical text, together with Sir William Jones's translation, carefully collated with the original, was prepared by Sir Graves Haughton, 1822, 1825. Another valuable edition was published in Sanscrit, with select notes and various readings, at Paris, in 1830, and a French translation with notes and explanations, both by Loiseleur des Longchamps, at Paris in 1833. MANUMISSION. [LIBERTINUS; SLAVE.] MANURE. Every substance which has been used to improve the natural soil, or to restore to it the fertility which is diminished by the crops annually carried away, has been included in the name of manure. Thus chalk, marl, clay, and even sand, when added to the soil for the purpose of improving its texture, have been called manures; and some confusion has arisen in our ideas in consequence of applying the same word to signify things which are essentially different. The French have a term by which they distinguish the substances which merely improve the mechanical texture of the soil from those which act more directly in nourishing the plants which grow in it. The former of these they call amendements, and the latter engrais. It is well known to all practical agriculturists that the texture of the soil and the proportions of the earths of which it is composed are the first and most important conditions of its productive powers. When there is a good natural loam which retains moisture without becoming wet or overcharged with it, and permits the influence of the atmospheric air to pervade it, the crops cannot fail to be more certain and remunerating than in loose sands or tenacious clays, however rich they may be in those substances which are supposed to supply the elements from which the juices of plants are chiefly composed. But, at the same time, it is equally true that the best texture of soil will not pro ARTS AND SOI. DIV. VOL. V. duce good crops for any length of time without the help of some other rich manure to recruit the loss produced by vegetation. The various means of improving the texture, such as tillage and the mixture of earths, are treated of separately. [LOAM; MARL; SOIL; TILLAGE.] We shall here confine our observations to that class of manures which stimulate or enrich the soil. There are some substances which evidently belong to both classes of manure. Of these, lime, either in its caustic state of quick-lime or its milder form of a carbonate or chalk, is the principal. Lime, being an earth less porous than sand, and more so than clay, has an improving effect on soils in which either sand or clay prevails; but it has also a chemical effect as an alkaline earth; and, considered in this light, it acts on the soil in a peculiar manner, and greatly assists the effect of enriching manures, which are all of animal or vegetable origin. Lime as a manure acts most powerfully in its caustic state-that is, when deprived of the carbonic acid which is generally united with it. The carbonic acid is expelled by the heat of the kiln, and limestone is by this means reduced to the state of quick-lime, in which it has so strong an attraction for moisture and carbonic acid, that, if it be left exposed to the atmosphere for any length of time, it absorbs both from it, and gradually returns to the state of hydrate and carbonate, or lime united with water and carbonic acid, with this difference, that it is now a fine impalpable powder, instead of a hard stone. Among the purposes it serves, and besides its use as a direct food of plants, are those comprised in its relations to the dormant and mischievous ingredients of soils; its power to detach serviceable alkaline matters from useless positions in the soil; its power to induce the decomposition of vegetable matter there; its power to decompose and render harmless mineral and metallic salts of a mischievous character; its uses in detaching ammonia from comparatively insoluble compounds of it, and so presenting portions ready for immediate use by the plant; its influence in possibly increasing the power of soils to absorb ammonia from the air. Besides all this, its influence on the texture of the soil, on the growth of weeds, on the general fertility of the land, on the growth especially of particular crops, on the health and soundness more especially of the turnip crop, should be also named. The use of frequent limings in small doses, as compared with larger dressings at longer intervals, depends on the quantity of vegetable matter in the soil, but the larger dressings are generally to be preferred, on the grounds that in practice the full influence of a liming is not seen until after several years, and that the abundant fertility which, when lime is properly used, is consequent upon its use, may, when rightly managed, be made to reproduce itself, and so become permanent. The abuses to which it is liable are, chiefly, its application to soils deficient in vegetable matter, and its application along with manure rich in ammoniacal matters. But a distinction may be drawn between rotten dung and recent farm manure in this respect, the application of hot lime along with the former being wasteful, but along with the latter by no means uneconomical. There are many modes of applying lime, as slaked or unslaked,-in compost with vegetable matter of any kind, or directly to the land, ploughed in deep or shallow, in quantities of 40 or of 240 bushels per acre,-previously to a corn crop or a green crop,-on a corn or clover stubble, &c. One of the best rules of practice is, to apply it where there is the greatest quantity of undecomposed vegetable fibre in the soil; and, acting on this rule, the best time in the rotation for the application of lime is on the clover stubble or the grass layer previous to ploughing it up for a grain crop. The use of quick-lime in rendering inert vegetable fibres soluble, and hastening the decomposition of animal substances, is of the greatest importance in agriculture. Substances may be rendered highly enriching in a short time, which, without it, would have lain long dormant in the soil or the dung-heap. Its effects in this way will be more particularly noticed when we treat of composts. Wherever there is peaty matter in the soil-which, owing to the tannin principle which it contains, is, by itself, perfectly incapable of putrefaction-lime is the true remedy. On the other hand, in a very stiff clay, chalk or lime will render it much more porous, and admit the influence of the atmosphere; it will correct acidity, and assist the nutritious effects of animal and vegetable manures. Quick-lime spread on a soil abounding in vegetable matter will make it active by dissolving the half-decomposed fibres and converting them into a soluble mucilage: being extremely minutely divided by its property of attracting moisture rapidly, a very small quantity produces an immediate effect. Hence it is generally spread over fallows or clover-leys, which are preparing for wheat-sowing. If it were put on the land long before the seed is sown, it would have lost its chief and immediate power by attracting carbonic acid and returning to the state of carbonate or chalk, and all the expense of burning would be thrown away, except as far as it has thoroughly pulverised it. But frost does this with chalk spread before winter at a much cheaper rate; and a good dressing with chalk will last in the soil, and its effects be preserved, many years after all the lime would have disappeared. It is therefore a matter of mere experiment and calculation whether it be more profitable to put ten waggon-loads of chalk on an acre of stiff clay, or one or two waggon-loads of quicklime. If the soil be very tenacious, the chalk will probably be the most profitable in the end as well as the cheapest; but for a few crops HH MANURE. the lime may appear to have the advantage. Everything depends on It may however be mentioned here, that experience in the use of 7. 8. 13.7 8.4 Sulphate of magnesia 3.0 Chloride of sodium. 2.0 Potash 2.0 44.0 74.3 But apart from the general influence of lime on the soil, there is to be considered the relation in which it stands to the several crops the farmer cultivates. MANURE. 469 dead carcasses of animals are the most numerous and obvious. It lead us to bury putrid animal substances, of which the excrements and for burying dung than merely to get rid of a disagreeable substance. would require nó length of experience to show that wherever this is done vegetation is more vigorous. There is therefore another motive dunging of a field has been an important part of cultivation. The preparing of the dung of animals, so as to render it more efficacious, is a From the most ancient times of which there are any records, the later improvement, and has not yet attained the perfection of which it accounts. The fresh dung dropped on the ground, far from improving the herbage where it has fallen, appears to injure it, and render it is capable, unless it be so in China, of which we read wonderful unfit for cattle to eat; when it gradually disappears, and not till then, the spot is restored to its former verdure. But if the dung be dug into the ground and covered with earth, the fertilising effect will be immediately perceived. This is a sufficient lesson to the husbandman to make him bury the dung as soon as possible. But this not being always practicable, it is collected in heaps until it can be carried to the land prepared for its reception by ploughing or digging. By mixing the straw, which has served as litter to cattle, with their dung, the quantity is increased, and by allowing this mixture to heat and putrefy, a greater quantity of manure is produced. This is probably the history of the dunghill. In the making of a dunghill, experience has taught methods which accord well with what science might have taught. The manure must be soluble before it can be effective; this solubility can only be produced in the more solid portions, such as the straw, by putrefaction, which the dung promotes when duly moistened. The exact moment when it is most advantageous to bury it in the ground, in order to its greatest immediate effect, seems not yet fully decided. Some let the decomposition go on until a great portion of the heap is converted into a black, tough, greasy substance, which, from early association, gives the idea of richness. It is no doubt a powerful manure which acts speedily, but is it the most economical? This may be charcoal to be very efficient: and it is only the exuding juice which is disputed. A great portion of the substance must have been resolved immediately fertilising. into gases, which fly off and are lost. The remainder, evidently carwhenever the brown colour of a dungheap verges towards a black, the bonaceous from its colour, has acquired too much of the appearance of dung has lost something of its value, besides the diminution in its bulk by dissipation. The best state in which dung can be carried to The most experienced farmers agree, that having entirely lost its form: it should then be of a brown or mahogany colour, uniform throughout the mass. the land, for an immediate as well as permanent effect, is when the mentioned by foreign agricultural writers, it is generally understood to straw is so rotten that it readily breaks into short pieces, without be in this state, which in English is called short dung. It must howWhenever dung is ever be admitted that farm practice is more and more sanctioning the doctrine of the chemist, that it is true economy to bury manure as soon as we have it. It is plain that differences of this kind must produce very great differences indeed in the fertilising influence of the lime we apply. A limestone containing only 68 per cent. of lime, such as sotne of them near Dublin, will be of less value than a Durham limestone containing 94 per cent. (just as 68 is less than 94) in respect merely of the effect of the caustic calcareous matters on the soil; but if, apart from this mere carbonate there be present a phosphate in any quantity, an effect of an altogether different and valuable kind must follow its application. The mineral phosphate which, while in the masses of the rock, would be comparatively useless, must, when broken down to powder as by burning and slaking the limestone rock, it becomes, be so laid open to the influence of the solvents of the rain and air, as to act upon the plants like a dressing of bones. Then again, consider the effect of a large quantity of magnesia, which when caustic acts more slowly but more persistently-and you cannot doubt that the composition of the limestone you employ must be looked to for much of the explana-mical in the long run than the ordinary wasteful management of the tion of the results of its application. different seasons, it is of consequence that the dung from the yards and Autumn application of fresh dung is found more efficient and econostables should be collected in such heaps, and managed so as to be in dung in heaps. Nevertheless, as manure is wanted for the land at Immense differences exist among our agricultural crops as regards it is carted on the land. the quantity of lime which they contain. Thus the ash of wheat-straw The oldest portion must have its putrefaction retarded, and the newest contains 6 per cent. of lime, of barley-straw 8 per cent., of rye-straw 9 accelerated, to bring them both to the same state. This is easily the exact state which is thought most advantageous at the time when per cent., and these crops accordingly do not take more than 10 to done. If a certain thickness of dung is kept trodden down by the 15 lbs. of lime out of an acre by the growth of an ordinary bulk. cattle, it will be a long time before it decomposes, nor will it do this To effect this some attention is required. Bean-straw on the other hand, or rather the ash of bean-straw, contains without being turned over to expose the under portions to the air. 21 per cent. of lime, the ash of the pea 55 per cent., of the vetch 38 If, on the contrary, it be carried out into a heap in a loose state, and per cent.-much larger quantities, and so an ordinary crop of beans and occasionally turned over and moistened when it appears dry, it will peas respectively will take by means of the one 38 lbs., and by the heat and be ready in a very short time. When a sufficient quantity of means of the other 190 lbs. of lime from the acre. therefore, on the ground of direct use of the lime for food, require a diately ploughed in with a shallow furrow, it will soon incorporate larger quantity of calcareous matter in the soil. Both of these crops short dung can be carried to a field prepared to receive it, and immeregular nourishment to the plants. has a texture favourable to the crops raised upon it. In poor sands with the soil, and afford a succession of soluble matters, which will give necessary. that the soil is in that state when it only requires replenishment, and This is said on the supposition or wet clays some modification in the state of the dung may be Take now the case of some of the root crops: we have in turnips, bulb and top respectively, lime to the extent of 11 and 23 per cent. of their ash respectively; in the case of mangold a smaller quantity, namely, 8 and 8 respectively; in the case of the potato, 2 and 17 per cent. respectively; in the case of the carrot, 8 and 32 per cent. respectively; in the case of lucern again, which especially prospers on calcareous soils, one-half of its ash is lime. the ash analyses of plants shows the composition of the crops which they indicate to tally with agricultural experience as to the character An examination of of the soil they prefer. Thus the ash of the lucern contains 50 per cent. of lime, and that of sainfoin 29 per cent. These figures accordingly prove that the influence of lime as a manure does to some extent depend upon its power to supply plants with direct food. We turn now to the more direct manures-those which really contribute the bulk of those materials towards the growth of plants in which the natural soil and air, the only other sources of nourishment open to them, are deficient. The first and most important class of manures are the excrements of animals. The peculiar property of earth in absorbing putrid effluvia and removing disagreeable smells, appears an indication of nature to dung of cows from that of horses; of cattle feeding on oil-cakes or farmers, but not always strictly attended to. It is better to manure There is some appearance of certainty and regularity in this mode of making a dunghill, which there scarcely is in the common practice of accumulating straw, dung, and urine without any regularity in a farm-yard, turning it over when the cattle leave it for the pastures, and carrying so many cart-loads per acre on the land to be manured, without any measure of its comparative strength. One portion is often almost burnt black, and another appears like the fresh litter of the stables, not being even thoroughly soaked with moisture. It is true that good farmers pay more attention to their dung-heaps, and endeavour to carry out the manure in a proper state; but how much more readily would this be accomplished by the help of a large cistern full of the richest animal matter in a state of partial putrefaction. In situations where straw bears a high price, it may be doubtful whether a cistern might not permit a considerable profit to be made by the sale of a portion of the straw, without any diminution of the manure required for the farm, since for light soils the liquid might be used alone, and for stiffer soils it might be mixed into a compost with earth, chalk, and any kind of refuse vegetable matter of less value than straw. It was an opinion expressed by a celebrated agriculturist to the late Mr. Rham, that he considered the use of straw in dung to be merely as a sponge to hold the liquid animal matter in its pores or tubes. In fact, straw or old thatch merely rotten by long exposure to air and moisture is of little or no value as a manure, although it will sometimes produce good potatoes, by rendering a stiff soil pervious and porous; but, in a light soil, a gallon of urine is worth ten times its weight of rotten straw. This doctrine may appear strange to some agriculturists, but it will bear the test of experiment. It is well to add here the conclusion to which Dr. Völcker's researches into the composition and management of yard manure have led him. We extract them in an abridged form from his papers in the Journal of the Agricultural Society.' Perfectly fresh farm-yard manure contains but a small proportion of free ammonia. "The nitrogen in fresh dung exists principally in the state of insoluble nitrogenised matters. "The soluble organic and mineral constituents of dung are much more valuable fertilisers than the insoluble. Particular care, therefore, should be bestowed upon the preservation of the liquid excrements of animals, and for the same reason, the manure should be kept in perfectly waterproof pits, of sufficient capacity to render the setting up of dung-heaps in the corner of fields, as much as it is possible, unnecessary. Farm-yard manure, even in quite a fresh state, contains phosphate of lime, which is much more soluble than bas hitherto been suspected. The urine of the horse, cow, and pig, does not contain any appreciable quantity of phosphate of lime, whilst the drainings of dung-heaps contain considerable quantities of this valuable fertiliser. The drainings of dung-heaps, partly for this reason, are more valuable than the urine of our domestic animals, and therefore ought to be prevented by all available means from running to waste. "The most effectual means of preventing loss in fertilising matters is to cart the manure directly on the field whenever circumstances allow this to be done. "On all soils with a moderate proportion of clay, no fear need be entertained of valuable fertilising substances becoming wasted if the manure cannot be ploughed in at once. Fresh, and even wellrotten dung contains very little free ammonia; and since active fermentation, and with it the further evolution of free ammonia, is stopped by spreading out the manure on the field, valuable volatile manuring matters cannot escape into the air by adopting this plan. As all soils with a moderate proportion of clay possess in a remarkable degree the power of absorbing and retaining manuring matters, none of the saline and soluble organic constituents are thus wasted, even by a heavy fall of rain. It may, indeed, be questioned, whether it is more advisable to plough in the manure at once, or to let it lie for some time on the surface, and so give the rain full opportunity to wash it into the soil. Notwithstanding some apparently contradictory opinions, it is pretty generally acknowledged by those who have had long experience of its use, that urine and similar animal substances have a more powerful effect on the soil, when they have undergone a certain degree of putrefaction, than when they are used in a fresh state, and that this is produced with the least loss of substance when the liquid has been confined in close vaulted cisterns which admit the external air only partially. On light soils this liquid has a most fertilising effect, if it is used frequently in small portions at a time. On very heavy soils this effect not so apparent, and for such soils the liquid is accordingly mixed with sand or any light earth before it is applied; or, instead of using it at once upon the land, it is poured over the litter, which has been collected in a heap or in a yard, after having served for the cattle. This litter, having been deprived of the urine which would otherwise have mixed with it, would rot very slowly and produce a very inferior kind of manure, unless it were moistened, and fermentation were excited by pouring the half-putrefied urine over it. It may be objected that if the urine is only collected to moisten the straw which has served as litter, it would be as well to let it be mixed at first, without the trouble of pumping it up and the expense of a cistern to hold it. But we shall soon see that there is a very wide difference. In the common mode of collecting farm-yard dung, the straw is very unequally impregnated with animal matter: at one time it will contain a large portion and run rapidly into fermentation; at another, there will be so little, that it is with difficulty that heat is excited in it. By separating the urine and litter, the straw will go much further, and can be mixed with the urine at the most advantageous time; thus it forms a much richer manure in a smaller compass, from not being so much diluted with water. Should there be a deficiency of straw, earth or sand will supply its place, in as far as soaking up the rich juices; for the addition to the manure from the decomposition of the straw itself is very small in proportion to that which animal juices afford. If the liquid is collected from a stable or a yard where cattle are kept as soon as it is produced, and is carried off into a cistern, there will be a much better and drier bed left for the cattle, especially if the rain be kept off by light shades. When the litter is soiled to a certain degree, it may be removed to a heap in a proper place, where Ammonia is not given off from the surface of well compressed dung. its conversion into rich dung may be effected by the addition of putre-heaps, but on turning manure-heaps it is wasted in appreciable quantifying urine, than which nothing will so soon rot vegetable fibres, if the ties. Dung-heaps, for this reason, should not be turned more freair be admitted to the heap. The portion which is not wanted for quently than absolutely necessary. some time may be left to decompose more slowly; and as the time approaches when it is wanted for the land, it may be managed so as to be in that state which experience has shown to be most effective in the improvement of the crops. "It appears to me a matter of the greatest importance to regulate the application of manure to our fields, so that its constituents may become properly diluted and uniformly distributed amongst a large mass of soil. By ploughing in the manure at once, it appears to me, this desirable end cannot be reached so perfectly as by allowing the rain to wash in gradually the manure evenly spread on the surface of the field." Among other conclusions regarding the common management of dung heaps to which Dr. Völcker leads us, are the following: During the fermentation of dung, the phosphate of lime which it contains is rendered more soluble than in fresh manure. In the interior and heated portions of manure-heaps, ammonia is given off; but, on passing into the external and colder layers of dung-heaps, the free ammonia is retained in the heap. If rain is excluded from dung-heaps, or little rain falls at a time, the loss in ammonia is trifling, and no saline matters of course are re * Mr. De Fellenberg, of Hofwyl, near Bern, in Switzerland. MANURE. moved; but if much rain falls, especially if in heavy showers, upon the The worst method of making manure is to produce it by animals out. The great use of liquid manure on light soils is to impregnate them with soluble matter, which being diffused through their substance, supplies nourishment to the roots of plants, wherever they may shoot It may be applied to the land at any time before the seed is sown, and soon after, when the blade springs up or the seed begins to form; in short, whenever the plant requires fresh nourishment, or when that which existed in the soil is diminished. Without liquid manure, the poor silicious sands of Flanders could never be cultivated, much less produce crops which vie in quantity and quality with those on the best soils. The quantity of farm-yard dung, in a very rotten state, which this soil would require according to the common system of manuring, could never be produced by all the straw which can be raised upon it in its first state of cultivation. But cattle produce urine, and this produces roots for cattle. The great effect of liquid manure has set the farmers on finding some artificial substitute for the simple urine and diluted dung of cattle. Such substitutes are obtained by mixing all kinds of refuse animal matter with water, and inducing putrefaction. The emptyings of privies from towns is scarcely a substitute; for it is the same as the liquid from the stables in a more concentrated form; but the refuse of oil-mills and various manufactures, when diluted and mixed with a portion of putrid urine, soon become assimilated to it. This becomes a branch of trade in those countries where nothing will grow without manure, and is a resource where an increasing population demands the cultivation of inferior soils to supply the necessary increase of food, as well as an increase of produce from those which are naturally fertile. The increase of manure by the formation of composts is well known in many parts of Britain, and by their means the land has in many districts being rendered much more productive. principle upon which composts have been made, is that of impregnating portions of earth with those parts of the dung of cattle, which, from want The fundamental of management in the common dunghills, would have been dissipated and lost; and also accelerating or retarding the decomposition of animal and vegetable substances by the addition of earths, such as chalk, marl, clay, and even sand, according to the nature of the soil on which the compost is to be used. All solid manure which is to be ploughed into the ground should contain certain parts already soluble in water, which promote vegetation: while other portions should be in a progressive state, so as to afford a succession of soluble matter by a gradual and slow decomposition. Liquid manure, however active and immediately effective, soon loses its power; whereas solid dung, well prepared and ploughed into the ground, will last for several crops. It is the judicious use of both these manures, conjointly, which has the best and most permanent effect. The dung or compost, having been ploughed in well, requires some time before it can have any direct effect on the germination of the seed or the nourishment of the plant. The liquid, on the contrary, acts from the moment it is poured on the surface. It is the milk of the young plant, which thrives upon it and stretches out its fibres through the earth, till it reaches the dung, which is now in a proper state to supply the more vigorous roots with sufficient nourishment. It is evident that the growth must be more rapid and regular, and not so liable to be checked from want of proper nourishment, nor are the young roots in danger of perishing by being too soon exposed to the immediate contact of rank dung. Every exertion should therefore be made by the industrious husbandman to increase the quantity and improve the quality of every species of manure both solid and liquid and here careful experiment can alone be depended upon. In the formation of composts the principal objects are, to regulate the decomposition of the organic substances, and to increase the bulk of the manure by means of less expensive materials than straw. For these purposes lime or chalk is generally used: the former, in its caustic state, to accelerate the decomposition of fibrous matter; the latter to add to the mass, and absorb any portion of acid, which is always produced in a certain stage of the fermentation. The mode of doing this is so generally known, that it is needless to describe it: we shall only observe that the stiffest clay may be used with advantage in composts, where better soil is not at hand; and for light lands, the stiffer the clay the better, provided it be thoroughly incorporated with vegetable soil or turf. This may be laid in layers with quick-lime and The most useful material, under proper management, is earth; the whole being well soaked with liquid manure. of vegetable matter, such as fern, pond-weeds, &c., can be added, it will If any kind the manure. MANURE. 472 be so much the richer. The lime and urine acting decompose and may be proper to mention here, that if some easy means of dissolving instruction should be given in extreme detail on the source and supply It is hardly consistent with the character of this Cyclopædia that on well-managed land, cultivated on the alternate system of cropping where at least one-half the land grows grain, there will be a supply of of the manures of the farm, but the conclusion may be named, tha+ from 3 to 4 tons of dung per acre, according to the rotation adopted and certainly not more than 5 tons, even under good management, and heavy crops. it to be a six years course of cropping, namely,-1, wheat; 2, beans; 3, wheat; 4, swedes; 5, barley; 6, clover. There are at any rate two crops to which dressings of farm-yard dung are desirable,namely, beans and swedes; and in England, the clover, also, either before it has yielded its crop or after it, for the wheat often then quantity equal to 1000 tons is all that can be expected, and the 10 tons receives a dressing. In the former case 100 acres, and in the other 150 acres, on a farm of 300, have to receive a dressing of manure. system-the 7 or 8 tons per acre, which is all that it provides in the other case-are a very imperfect dressing indeed. What is wanted, in of dung, which is all that can be given per acre, according to the one A order to a thoroughly liberal treatment of the land? On 50 acres of clover, 500 tons of yard manure are wanted; on 50 acres of beans, 750 tons of yard manure are wanted, besides at least 74 tons of guano. Over the 50 acres of turnips we want 750 to 1000 tons of farm-yard dung. These quantities amount to 2000 tons of dung,-a quantity which it is useless to expect, seeing that it is double what good management supplies. But what is wanted under such a rotation? Suppose the domestic supplies provide. |