32 PEEPAEATION OF THE SOIL. 



square, and on this a layer of old leather shavings, 

 three to four inches, and an inch of refuse lime were 

 placed. These layers were repeated until the heap 

 was five or six feet in height. To every second layer 

 of sods or peat was added one inch of bone-meal, 

 amounting to one hundred bushels in the aggregate, 

 and twice on the top of the sods a layer of six inches 

 of horse manure, that aided in starting the fermenta- 

 tion. The whole was encased and topped off with sods. 

 A narrow rim was turned upon the edge, forming a 

 basin, and five hundi^ed pounds of potash, dissolved 

 in water, poured upon the heap. If ashes had beeji 

 obtainable, one hundred bushels of unleached, or three 

 hundred to five hundred of leached ashes would have 

 been applied. The heap contained one hundred cubic 

 yards, was turned twice before spreading on the soil, 

 and was intended more as a medium of distributing 

 the potash, lime, and five hundred pounds each of 

 guano, and superphosphate of lime, afterwards added, 

 and for forming with the peat and leather shavings a 

 good retainer of ammonia in the soil. 



Let every fruit-raiser, each sj)ring and fall, prepare 

 such a compost as the following, and the results of its 

 application to trees will astonish and delight him. 



A heap of leaves, leaf or swamp muck, peat, or 

 rubbish of any organic matter, should be placed at a 

 convenient distance from the house (for no offensive 

 smell need be apprehended, if properly treated), to 

 receive the wood-ashes, the soapsuds, the kitchen and 

 chamber slops. 



Another heap should be formed at the stables, or 

 rather, a pit should be dug, and half filled with the 



