riches ni:iv not be available to plants, Asbes or potasli may be liif,'lily important to 

 brinij voiir peat, turf, meadow mud, raw coarse manure, sod heaps, tire, into efficient 

 action. Lime is useful in small quantities, and so is salt; but I consider large 

 quantities of lime danji^erous for many reasons beside that mentioned above. Potash 

 is worth its cost as a manure independent of its power as a decomposing agent, and 

 in rrard(Mi wmk it is indispensable. Applied in solution, in free quantities of water, 

 it will brinsj a sod heap into a better state in sixty days than two years of rotting and 

 turning will effect by the old methods without it. 



[This question concerning the management of composts is one in wliich we have 

 personally a very great interest, some thousands of loads being made annually on our 

 premises. It is a question, too, full of importance to every cultivator; for no matter 

 what our soil be, or where we live, or what we cultivate — whether it be wheat, or 

 corn, or potatoes, or trees, or shrubs, or flowers — fertilizing composts we must have, 

 and that in abundance, as we hope for successful and profitable results. 



We have never used potash, but we have not a doubt of its efficacy or of its value, 

 especially where fresh materials are to be brought speedily into a fit condition for use. 



We always aim at having our composts at least a year old. They are made up of 

 alternate layers of stable manure, fresh sods from end lands, swamp muck, leaves, 

 street cleanings, weeds, an occasional sprinkling of lime, and everything, we believe, 

 but stones. The heap is subjected to several turnings and mixings during the season, 

 so that when we haul it out for use it is a soft pasty mold. 



We shall be glad to have this subject thoroughly discussed in our columns, both 

 by practical and scientific men. 



