CANE—TRASH. 55 
it may be burned by setting fire to the stack which, not to 
speak of the risk of destroying other property, is by no 
' means an economical plan. 
‘ A much better manner of disposing of it would be to 
convert it into manure in the barn-yard. This will be all 
the more readily done when the mill is placed upon a plat- 
form above the yard.* 
The decomposition of the trash is promoted in a higher 
degree in the barn-yard than elsewhere. When dry, the 
- great bulk of it consists of woody fiber, some sugar and 
salts, constituting about 30 to 35 per cent. of its original 
weight; but in its ordinary condition more than half of its 
whole weight is juice, which the mill has failed to extract. 
It is a well ascertained fact, that there are some substances 
which are in a high degree promotive of the decomposition 
of woody fiber by enabling it to absorb oxygen. Others, 
in an equal degree; retard this process. Of the former 
class are alkalies, and of the latter, acids. When the fresh 
trash is suffered to lie in a loose heap, fermentation of the 
juice which it contains, almost immediately sets in, but the 
acetic acid then formed becomes concentrated by evapora- 
tion, and this, with the absence of sufficient moisture, pre- 
vents. the speedy decay of the woody and cellular matter. 
On the other hand, alkalies, by inducing oxidation, rapidly 
promote decomposition when assisted by an elevated tem- 
perature, and free access of air, and the presence of a suffi- 
cient amount of moisture. Hence, in a barn-yard, where 
the stable manures, and all the refuse of a farm, the ashes, 
etc., are mingled with the cane trash spread in a broad bed 
over the yard, the alkalies which they contain come in 
contact with it. Where evaporation is checked, and an 
* Refer to Ch. XXV. 
