AGRICULTURE. 331 Composts are rarely known ; and different manures, that would fertilize the soil, are so much disregarded, that, generally speaking, the cultivation of the soil is conducted in so slovenly a manner, that it appears astonishing how many of the settlers raise enough to support their families. In this island, within many of the bays and rivers, numerous banks of mussel-mud \ abound, which consists of mussels, shells, and mud j composed of decayed vegetable and other substances. /P^1 ^ This forms an extremely rich manure, containing 7^*** about forty-five parts of the carbonate of lime, and imparts extraordinary fertility for ten or twelve i years to the soil. Sea-weed, or ware, which is thrown on the shores, especially on the north side of the island, in great quantities, is another excellent manure, particularly for barley crops; and even the common mud, which abounds in the creeks, may be applied as a manure with advantage.