The use of wood ashes as a manure, is well known. It is good for almost all crops, and is to be used as a top dressing. It is much more efficacious as a manure in some parts of the country than others, particularly on Long Island. It is most valuable on light dry soils, particularly those which are sandy. Soot, as a top dressing, is much more valuable than ashes, and is proper for almost all arable lands. It is most efficacious when well pulverised before its application.
The dung of fowls of every sort has much calcareous matter in it, and is very efficacious, applied as top dressings. Malt dust is good in the same way--40 bushels of it is a proper allowance to the acre.
_Night shade_ should be mixed with earth, say, two thirds of the latter to one of the former, and in the course of a few months it forms an excellent manure. In most European cities this excrement is carefully collected, for manure, while in this country its use has been neglected.
Many liquids are furnished from every domicile, and particularly the kitchen, which, mixed with earths, and other substances, would form valuable masses of manure. The liquids to which we principally refer, are the soap-suds, dish-water, brine of meat, urine, &c.; these should all be preserved, by being absorbed in rich earthy substances, together with the contents of the hog-sty; and in this way a large heap of good manure may be made that is commonly lost for want of attention in saving these ingredients.
No cause has more retarded the progress of education in the agricultural part of the community than a mistaken opinion, in regard to the use that can be made of it.--That the advantages of learning, in every state of society, should not be appreciated by the grossly ignorant, is not to be wondered at; but that men well informed on many subjects, should fall into the vulgar error of denying the advantages arising from extensive knowledge is really surprising.
We hear it frequently observed by farmers, who have sons to educate, that they intend such a one to follow his own occupation; and it will be necessary that he should be taught to read, write, and cypher to the "Rule of Three." Now it is believed with these _extensive_ acquirements, a farmer will be able to keep his accounts tolerably decent; to estimate the amount of any number of bushels of grain, at a given sum per bushel: but I shall forbear to mention all the advantages which this kind of knowledge may confer. The intelligent farmer well knows it has a boundary, and a very limited one too. To endeavour by force of reason to induce this class of farmers to abandon their errors, would be time spent to little purpose; their minds are not recipient for truths which lie beyond the narrow boundary of their learning.