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The Country Gcntkmaiis Magazine 



in front of the stalls. Part of it projects be- 

 yond the wall, as in fig. 2 at a, and is pro- 

 vided with a well-hole /', through which the 

 liquid is taken when required for use by 

 means of a pump, or long-handled ladle. 

 The aperture is closed at other times by a 

 wooden or stone cover c^ as shewTi. Brick is 

 used in its construction, and the bottom and 

 sides are well cemented, to make the whole 

 water-proof Sometimes the tank is divided 

 into various compartments, these being de- 

 signed to hold the liquid manure collected at 

 different periods. 



"But not only are tanks provided at the 

 steadings : in many districts, as in the flax- 

 growing district of Courtra}-, they are built at 

 the roadside, at the edges of the fields, in 

 order to facilitate its application. These are 

 usually made to contain the vidanges — by 



through the man-hole door a, shewn in the 

 tranverse section to the left : this is usually 

 kept close by means of a stone or Avooden 

 cover. But a second aperture b, is provided 

 at the end of the tank, which is always kept 

 open, to allow of the ingress of air and the 

 egress of the foul emanations. The crown of 

 the arch rises a considerable height above the 

 level of the surrounding ground, and the 

 whole is covered with earth or turf, c c, so 

 that in process of time the structure is grown 

 over with grass, presenting the appearance of 

 a verdant semicircular mound with rounded 

 ends." 



Before concluding, it is necessary to say a 

 few words relative to the loss of the valuable 

 properties of the urine in a tank by the 

 escape of the ammonia. Various methods of 

 fixing this have been proposed : thus, it has 

 been recommended to strew powdered gypsum 

 on the stables and byres, and to add it in 

 large quantities to the tank. Gypsum answers 

 very well in the dunghill, for when strewed in 

 frequent layers on the porous mass it cannot 

 fail to detain a great deal of ammonia, as it 

 rises up along with .watery vapour to the sur- 

 face of the heap ; but it is far7from being so 

 efiicient a fixer for the ammonia of the urine 

 tank, and for this reason it can fix ammonia 

 only when in a state of solution ; but gypsum 

 dissolves in very small quantity in water, 

 hence, when it is added to the tank, it sinks 



which term is meant human excretias — which 

 are collected from time to time in the tOAvns, 

 and carted out to the rural districts. In fig. 

 3 we give a transverse, and in fig. 4 a longitudi- 

 nal section of a roadside tank. The manure 

 is supplied to and taken out of the tank 



to the bottomjand gets enveloped in the thick 

 viscid layer that lies there, fennentation goes 

 on in the upper part of the tank, and ammonia 

 escapes into the air just as if no gypsum were 

 sent, unless, indeed, the contents'of the tank 

 are constantly stirred. Some farmers, especi- 



