always distributes the liquid uniformly; whereas, in a fixed distributor, the liquid is discharged with the greater force, and of course in greater quantity, on the lowest side, for the time being, of the uneven ground. The price of these carts varies considerably, partly from construction, and partly from locality. Mr Crosskill of Beverley quotes £16 as the price of the tank cart, and, with a pump and flexible tube for filling it any where, £5, 88. more, in all £21, 88. In Scotland, the average price may be stated at £18, without a pump, and, when mounted with a cask, £15 these prices, of course, including wheels and axle.

2078. I saw a new and rather curious form of liquid-manure cart exhibited by Mr Richard Stratton of Bristol, at the Show of the English Agricultural Society at York in July 1848. The barrel is made of boiler-plate, in the form of an octagon, and its axis acts as the axle of a skeleton cart, between the wheels of which the barrel, containing the liquid manure, revolves on its axis. All the apparatus of valves and distributors are dispensed with, for the Jiquid is simply distributed by means of a perforated plate, which can be taken out and replaced by another having a different size of perforation. When the barrel is not distributing liquid, the perforated plate is kept uppermost, and has only to be turned undermost to distribute the liquid. It is turned by means of a cord fastened around it. This machine is named the cylinder liquid-manure cart. When made of wood, to contain 100 gallons, its price is £14, 10s., and, when of iron, to contain 150 gallons, £17, 10s., with wrought-iron wheels. This machine appeared to me very simple, and not liable to go out of order.

2079. "The cistern for collecting liquid manure in the farm-stead," observes Mr Slight, "though apparently simple in its construction, being merely a covered pond or a well, yet serious errors are frequently committed in its formation. The first and most important consideration for the formation of the cistern, is the effect of hydrostatic pressure; inattention to this has caused the failure of many such cisterns. The liquid we have here to deal with, like all other fluids, acts on the bottom and sides of the vessel or body that contains it, with a pressure directly in proportion to the depth at which the fluid stands, without reference to either length or breadth; that is to say, suppose a cistern, whose bottom is 12 inches square, and its depth

10 feet, filled with water, every square inch in the bottom will suffer a pressure equal to the height of a column of water whose base is one

inch square and 10 feet, or 120 inches in height. The weight of such a column will be 44 lbs. nearly, and this would be exerted on every square inch on the bottom, or the whole pressure on the bottom would be 625 lbs., the weight of 10 cubic feet of water. There is a natural law

that governs the pressure of fluids, which shows us that they press equally in all directions, downward, horizontally, and even upwards, the last arising from the general statical law, that "action and reaction are equal, and in opposite directions." It follows, from these hydrostatical laws, that the lowermost portion of each side of our supposed cistern will suffer a pressure from the water equal to that which acts upon the bottomhence, taking the lowermost inch in the height of the sides of this cistern, it will be pressed with a force of 52 lbs. or thereby, or 4 lbs. on the square inch, and each of the four sides will suffer the same pressure. Suppose, now, that the cistern is elongated in one direction to any number of feet, and again filled to the depth of bottom remains the same as before, and so in 10 feet, the pressure on each square foot of the like manner does it remain the same upon the sides; for the pressure is not altered in any direction, although the proportion of the cistern has been changed. Keeping this in view, it will effect on the pressures that a fluid exerts against be seen that length and breadth produce no the vessel or body that retains it; and that, in calculating the resistance to sustain such pressures, depth is the only element requiring to be taken into account. It is also to be kept in view, that pressure on the bottom or sides is directly as the depth; thus, if our supposed cistern were reduced to 5 feet in depth, the pressure on the bottom would only be one-half, or 2 lbs. on

each square inch.

2080. The conclusion to be drawn from these remarks is, that a cistern, in the form of a pit or well, should be always avoided, unless it can be formed in a natural bed of impervious clay. When such a substratum can be attained, a pit been found, and the pit dug out, it should be may be adopted, but not otherwise. If such has lined with brick, or with stone built in mortar, the bottom being first lined with the same material. When the building approaches to the surface, the wall can be gradually reduced in diameter to a small compass, leaving only an opening of 2 to 3 feet square, which is covered in at small expense; and the saving in this last item is the only apparent advantage that seems to attend the practice of pit cisterns. Deep cisterns are liable to another inconvenience-of their becoming recipients of spring or of drainage water; and it is sometimes more difficult to keep such water out than to keep the proper liquid infor if springs and their origin lay at considerable heights, their hydrostatic pressure may be so great as to render the prevention of access to their products a process of great difficulty.

2081. A cistern of moderate depth, not exceed

ing 4 feet below the out-fall of the drains, may be constructed in any situation, whether in gravel or in clay, and its length can be extended so as to afford any required capacity; the breadth being restricted to that for which materials for covering it can be most easily obtained, which may be from 3 to 4 feet, or, if arched, it may be 6 feet. Whatever be the stratum in which such a cistern is to be formed, (unless it be perfectly impervious clay,) it should be puddled to the thickness of at least 1 foot with the best clay that can be procured. For this purpose, the earthy matters are to be dug out to a depth of 1 foot lower than the intended sole, and to a width of 4 feet more than that proposed for the cistern. Two or three thin layers of the prepared clay are then to be compactly laid over the whole breadth of the excavation, and beaten firmly together at all points, making up the depth to I foot, and the surface of it brought to a uniform level. Upon this the side-walls are to be founded, and these may be of brick 9 inches in thickness, or of flat bedded rubble stone 14 inches. The wall should be built in successive courses of about 1 foot in height, the whole being bedded in mortar ; and, as each course is completed, the puddle is to be carefully laid and beaten in behind, in layers of 6 inches or thereby, the first layer being properly incorporated with the foundation puddle, and each succeeding layer with the one immediately preceding it. Το prevent the side-walls from being pushed inward by the pressure of the puddle or of the bank, tie-walls of brick or of stone should be formed at every 5 feet of the length of the cistern. These may be 9 inches of brick, or 14 inches of stone, and they must have conduits formed at the level of the sole, to allow the liquid to run towards the pump. The sole should be laid all over with brick set on edge, or with strong pavement jointed, the whole having a slight declivity towards one end, where a small well-hole of 9 inches in depth is to be formed to receive the bottom of the pump. The brick or pavement, as the case may be, is to be bedded on the puddle, and grouted flush in the joints with mortar ; and when the walls and sole are built up, they should then be pointed in every joint with Roman cement. The covering may be effected with strong pavement, of length sufficient to rest on the side-walls, laid and jointed with mortar; or with rough found-stones, where such can be procured; and if neither can conveniently be found, a beam of sound Memel fir may be laid along the middle of the cistern resting on the tie-walls, and, with this bearer, stones of half the length will be sufficient to form a cover. A thin layer of clay may be laid over the stone covers, and upon that a coat of gravel. To prevent accident, it is always desirable to construct the cistern in a situation where it will be as little as possible exposed to the transit of carts; and this may be always obtained at a small additional expense of covered drain to convey the manure from the dunghills to the cistern. The best and most secure plan, no doubt, though the most expensive, is to cover the cistern with an arch of stone or brick.

2082. The pump for lifting the liquid from

VOL. I.

the cistern to the cart may be either of wood or cast-iron, but the latter is preferable. A common sucking-pump of 34 inches chamber is quite sufficient; the chamber should be bored out, and the pump-boxes, for durability, should be also of metal, with leathern flap-valves. The height of the pump should be such as to deliver the liquid freely into the funnel of the barrel or tank; but if this height is found to raise the pump-lever above the reach of a man's hand, it is only necessary to joint a light connecting-rod to the lever, its lower end being furnished with a cross handle, and by these means the pump-man will be able to work the pump in the same manner as the lower end of the common pit-saw.

2083. Forcing and lifting pumps have been proposed, and even employed, for the purpose we have here in view, though with questionable propriety; and here it may be proper to explain, that by the term force-pump, is to be understood a pump that raises water to any height above the point where the power is applied, by the descent of a solid piston acting in the chamber of the pump, sending the liquid into an ascending pipe, which springs from below the piston.

2084. The lifting pump differs from this in having a valved piston through which the liquid passes, as in the sucking-pump, on the descent of the piston; and, on its ascent, the valve being now closed, the liquid is lifted and forced into the ascending pipe, which, in this case, springs from above the piston, the chamber being closed at top with a water-tight stuffing-box. this brief description, the simplicity, both in construction and in management, of the sucking or common pump, as compared with the other two, will be obvious, the cost being also in favour of the first.

ON LIQUID MANURE.

From

2085. Farmers have been subjected of late years to much ridicule, and even obloquy, for permitting any leakage to escape from their dung-heaps. This leakage is represented to amount to an enormous quantity, and to be of incalculable value. The quality, I should suppose, would depend on the quantity of rain that may happen to fall after the dung-heaps have been formed in the fields, for all the leakage from a dunghill in a dry season is of very trifling amount; and as to its value if we may judge from the effect it produces-we should say that no crop received from the area of ground which had been occupied by a midden stance, would amount to double the value of the rest of the field. So that the real loss of the leakage from a dunghill amounts, at most, to the value of a crop derived from an area of ground equal to what the

2 H

dunghill occupied; and the loss does not even amount to this, since the middenstance is not manured at all, and the earth is carefully shovelled up from it and carried away to another part of the field; and, after all, no one could point out where the dunghill had stood, after the reaping of the first crop of grain.

2086. I think that much more has been said on this subject than it deserves. Doubtless it is wrong to permit any thing to go to waste, and especially so valuable a material on a farm as manure; but the particular case of the leakage from dunghills in fields has been exaggerated. Much greater waste occurs from the leakage of cattle-courts, and this arises partly from negligence and partly from necessity. It arises from negligence where the liquid manure might be conveyed to a tank; but where this cannot be done, the waste is submitted to from necessity. I have observed instances of both cases. I have seen a leakage from courts, arising not from excess of moisture of what the cattle had eaten and drunk,-for the litter would have easily absorbed all that, but from the rain deluging the courts at times from the roofs of the surrounding buildings; and this I have witnessed to the degree of being obliged to wade above the shoe-tops in water, where there was no run from the courts the courts being hollowed in the middle. I have also seen runs from courts, the floors of which were sloped at a high gradient. The tenants were not to blame, because their landlords had placed the steadings upon inclined ground, and had provided no rain-water rones. On the contrary, they deserved commiseration, and should have had tanks built, and rones provided for them. But I have seen, in some cases, steadings standing upon the inclined ground which formed the face of a rock, in which it was scarcely possible to dig a tauk. The error was in building steadings in unsuitable situations, and not in the want of tanks.

2087. It may be remarked that these are exceptional cases, but they occur very often, if the circumstances in every case were particularly examined. I have examined many of them, and found the leakage to arise from the unsuitable situations of the steadings, and the want of rain-water

rones, rather than from the want of tanks. It is true, tanks might be constructed to counteract these evils; and so they are by enterprising tenants, who take advantage of even accidental runs from steadings, and turn them to good account. I have seen the drainage of hammels, occupied by fattening cattle, directed into a small paddock instead of a tank, and, by the assistance of a small stream, made to irrigate the paddock at proper times in winter. But, to terminate all disputes on this subject, there should be a tank constructed at every steading, whether the convenience of rones be adopted or not, or whether the amount of leakage be great or not. If the tank be found to be useless, no harm will accrue, and when it does collect any liquid, it may be made useful.

2088. If the waste of liquid manure is deserving of public attention, it should be directed to that committed in every town of the kingdom, and especially in every seaport town. The drainage from towns situate in the interior of the country may be, and is in many cases, taken advantage of for irrigation, and for manuring garden ground. The environs of Edinburgh afford striking examples of the beneficial change effected on the soil by means of sewerage water, inasmuch as poor sandy soil, not worth naturally above 20s. per acre, has been converted into rich meadows, yielding at least £20 per acre of yearly rent. But in the seaport towns no use is made of this sewerage water; it is allowed to flow into the river or ocean. Now, when we consider what escapes from every human being every year in dung and urine, and add to these the washings of soap, grease, and other materials incidental to domestic purposes, we may imagine the enormous quantity of the most valuable matter, as manure, which is thus lost every year,-literally wasted. Take one instance, a striking one,-that of London. It has been ascertained by Boussingault, that man in a healthy state passes 3 lbs. of urine daily; and Liebig states that in the same state he voids 54 oz. of dung. These two quantities give a total annual quantity of 1220 lbs. of liquid and solid manure, voided by every person on the average. Now, taking 2,000,000 as the population of London, the quantity of those manures voided by the inhabitants of the metro

polis, amounts annually to 1,089,285 tons. Chemistry has ascertained that the component parts of the excrements of man are as valuable to vegetation as those of guano; and as the different sorts of guano sell from £6 to £10 per ton, we are warranted in estimating the value of nightsoil and urine at £8 per ton, which would give the entire value of this manure, in London alone, every year, at £8,714,280. The statement seems very like an exaggeration, but we can arrive at no other conclusion from the premises, which are doubtless correct. This is not all lost every year; but when we consider the many ways in which those materials are wasted by the exercise of personal delicacy alone, we can imagine the larger proportion carried into the Thames by sewerage, in comparison with what is really collected.

2089. Let us now consider the nature and properties of liquid manure. As it exists in the tanks, it consists mostly of water derived from the rain which had fallen in the courts, mixed with a proportion of the urine and dung derived from the various animals which frequent the steading. We should therefore expect to find it a very complicated substance, and on that account well fitted for the use of every species of crop. I am not aware that this particular liquid has been analysed; but M. Sprengel, who has bestowed much attention on all the subjects of manure, in speaking of ahl, or the drainings from dung - heaps, observes, "when there is much rain, and the manure-pit becomes flooded (which it never ought to be) with the rain-water from the adjoining roofs, the ahl will often scarcely contain 2 per cent of manuring matter, and is then naturally of but little use." This is just the opinion I would express, on seeing the drainings from courts through which rain-water is allowed to discharge itself.

2090. "The drainage of dung-heaps," says Professor Johnston-" the usual liquid manure of our farm-yards-differs in composition according to circumstances. When the urine of cattle is mixed with it in considerable quantity, it is found to contain a portion of the constituents, not only of the solid and liquid excretions of

This is the conclusion Professor Johnston derives from these facts, "that the liquid which flows from a dung-heap watered with urine is greatly richer in ammonia and in saline matter than that which flows from the solid excrements newly washed by the rain; that the liquid in both cases contains a considerable proportion of phosphate of lime. This does not exist in cows' urine alone. In both cases it has been washed out of the solid dung; and that both contain also an appreciable quantity of silica not existing in urine. This is derived from the straw of the fermenting farm-yard dung, or from the grass which has passed through the digestive organs of the cow; that as fermenting manure can yield in a soluble state every mineral ingredient which a plant requires, the liquid that runs from the farm-yard ought to be no less carefully preserved than the pure urine of our cattle."*

2091. In every case of farming, but the dairy, affording but a very limited supply of liquid manure, even of this diluted kind, our attention is not so excited, in consideration of this ordinary case, as in that of the dairy farm, where the genuine urine of the cow flows but little diluted with extraneous water, and to which, of

course, it is requisite to afford a tank. It is this view of the case which gives us a closer insight into Flemish farming than any other; not that the Flemings pursue the dairy system of farming in preference, generally, to any other, but as it is their practice to confine their entire number of cattle and horses constantly, summer and winter, in the steading, the providing of tanks is with them a necessary arrangement for keeping their stock in an ordinary state of cleanliness. So the construction of tanks is with them as much a matter of necessity, as it is with those farmers of this country to lose a proportion of their manure, by washings of rain, in steadings built upon inclined faces of rock, and unprovided with rain-water rones. So much is it a matter of business with the Flemish farmer to collect the urine passed by his stock, that they have either vaulted cellars under the byres and stables, or in other convenient places of the steading; and they have, besides, such vaults placed by the roadside, that the excrementary materials they collect from the towns and villages may be emptied into them. And so much do the inhabitants of the towns in Belgium make it a business to collect the liquid and solid manures of their own houses, that it is in evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, that a housemaid may be hired for a year at Bruges for £3 of money wages, with the privilege of disposing of the manure. The value of the manure derived from a house is estimated at £1, 17s. per load per annum. Dr Radcliff tells us that the Belgian load is 15 cwt.; and as each person contributes 1220 lbs. to the manure-heap, the value of the contribution of each person is at most £1, 7s. a-year.

2092. The tanks in Flanders are constructed to any given capacity. They are generally 40 feet long, 14 wide, and 7 or 8 feet deep; some so depressed in the ground, as to allow the plough to pass over them. They cost in building, including materials, 10d. per every tonneau of 38 gallons they contain. A stock of 8 horses and 36 head of cattle, housed summer and winter, will supply 3,000 tonneaux of urine alone-114,000 gallons-great care

being taken to secure it from the admission of rain or any other water. This quantity, along with dung and other materials, is fit to manure 21 acres of land, at the rate of 2480 gallons per acre.

2093. In Switzerland, the south of Germany, and in Holland, the urine is mixed with the solid excrements and water, which are allowed to putrefy before applying the compound liquid to the land; and to this manure they give the name of gülle. In Flanders, the dung of the cattle and horses is mixed with the urine in the tank, together with the night-soil collected from the towns; and from 2000 to 4000 rape cakes, of 2 lbs. each, are dissolved in every 1000 tonneaux, or 38,000 gallons, of the urine.*

2094. The solid and fluid excrements of animals form a very complicated mixture, as may be seen from the following enumeration by Sprengel; but this renders them. the more valuable a manure for vegetables. They contain these substances:

1. Vegetable or woody fibre. 2. Wax and resin.

3. Chlorophyle, or the green substance of leaves, partly decomposed. 4. Deposited humus.

5. A fatty and oily substance. 6. Mucus.

7. A peculiar brown colouring matter, in the solid excrement of oxen.

8. Vegetable albumen, (hardened.)
9. Animal gelatine.

10. Animal fibre.
11. Salivary matter.
12. Ozmazome.
13. Hippuric acid.
14. Uric acid.
15. Lactic acid.
16. Benzoic acid.
17. Urea.

18. Bilious matter.
19. Bilious resin.
20. Picromel.

Originating in the urinary passages.

21. Oxides of iron and manganese, derived from vegetables.

22. Earths, silica, lime, alumina, magnesia. 23. Salts, consisting of mineral acids and bases, derived from plants and water. 24. Common salt.

25. Carburetted hydrogen. Products of the 26. Phosphoretted hydrogen. fermentation and 27. Sulphuretted hydrogen. putrefaction of 28. Ammonia. the food in the 29. Hydrogen. bodies of animals. Numerous as these substances are, it is