Blubber as a manure

1272. Amongst oily substances, blubber has been employed as a manure. It is most useful when mixed with clay, sand, or any common soil, so as to expose a large surface to the air, the oxygen of which produces soluble matter from it. The carbon and hydrogen abounding in oily substances fully account for their effects; and their durability is easily explained from the gradual manner in which they change by the action of air and water.