94 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES. 



In this formula it may be noted that substances known 

 to be antagonistic are brought together ashes and hen 

 guano, lime and stable manure yet here their mutual de- 

 stroying propensities are conquered, and in achieving this 

 desirable result lay Mr. Bonner's patent. Let us look into 

 the chemical action that takes place among these various 

 materials and see how he explains it. 



The fermented liquor starts the heat, assisted by the 

 lime. The lime being a hydrate is caustic, and a re-ar- 

 rangement of the particles takes place, owing to the eager- 

 ness of the lime for carbonic acid, which is generated 

 immediately the heat begins. Ammonia is formed from 

 the ingredients of the heap, but first from the liquor in 

 the vat. The formation is also hastened by the lime and 

 potash ; the saltpeter also liberates nitric acid. Ammonia, 

 though gaseous, exerts a mysterious effect of its own in 

 the heap, and greatly assists decomposition. 



But it may be asked why the lime and potash do not set 

 free the ammonia from the heap. Such would be the case 

 in an ordinary barn-yard heap, but here the process of de- 

 cay progresses under different conditions. First, the heap 

 is kept wet with the liquor, as the wetting occurs every 

 few days; second, the muck, sawdust, and other absorb- 

 ents are a protection. Water absorbs and retains ammo- 

 nia, and the rotting of the heap is so rapid, and the chem- 

 ical changes are so numerous, that it is finished before an 

 escape can be made. 



At the end of fifteen days, as we have said, fermentation 

 ceases, and then the mass should be overhauled, well mixed 

 with dry earth, muck, or sand, and put away under shelter, 

 which will prevent its heating again, and preserve the vol- 

 atile matters until ready for use. So thorough is the fer- 

 mentation that it would be a difficult matter to create heat 

 again, even if desired. 



