of its offensive odor?]

_The refuse lime of gas works_, where it can be cheaply obtained, may be
advantageously used as a manure. It consists, chiefly, of various
compounds of sulphur and lime. It should be composted with earth or
refuse matter, so as to expose it to the action of air. It should never
be used fresh from the gas house. In a few months the sulphur will have
united with the oxygen of the air, and become sulphuric acid, which
unites with the lime and makes sulphate of lime (plaster), which form it
must assume, before it is of much value. Having been used to purify gas
made from coal, it contains a small quantity of ammonia, which adds to
its value. It is considered a profitable manure in England, at the price
there paid for it (forty cents a cartload), and, if of good quality, it
may be worth double that sum, especially for soils deficient in plaster,
or for such crops as are much benefited by plaster. Its price must, of
course, be regulated somewhat by the price of lime, which constitutes a
large proportion of its fertilizing parts. The offensive odor of this
compound renders it a good protection against many insects.

The refuse _liquor of gas works_ contains enough ammonia to make it a
valuable manure.

SOAPERS' LEY AND BLEACHERS' LEY.

[What use may be made of the refuse ley of soap-makers and
bleachers?

What peculiar qualities does soapers' ley possess?]

The refuse ley of soap factories and bleaching establishments contains
greater or less quantities of soluble silicates and alkalies (especially
soda and potash), and is a good addition to the tank of the compost
heap, or it may be used directly as a liquid application to the soil.
The soapers' ley, especially, will be found a good manure for lands on
which grain lodges.

Much of the benefit of this manure arises from the soluble silicates it
contains, while its nitrogenous matter,[AJ] obtained from those parts of
the fatty matters which cannot be converted into soap, and consequently
remains in this solution, forms a valuable addition. Heaps of soil
saturated with this liquid in autumn, and subjected to the freezings of
winter, form an admirable manure for spring use. Mr. Crane, near Newark
(N. J.), has long used a mixture of spent ley and stable manure, applied
in the fall to trenches plowed in the soil, and has been most successful
in obtaining large crops.

IRRIGATION.

[On what does the benefit arising from irrigation chiefly
de