THK MAKIXU ()K FARM-YARD MANURE. 477 



escape of valuable materials by surface drainage and evaporation. Manx- 

 good farmers endeavour to take a middle course, by allowing their courts 

 come miry, or the black liquid to be seen once or twice a week, before 

 fresh straw is added. Another point of importance is the thorough mixing 

 of the x r arious sorts of dung. Buildings, as already mentioned, should be 

 contrived with a special view to this end. Stables and stalls should open 

 into, or be placed opposite, the gates of fold-yards, that the half-made 

 manure may be spread abroad and thoroughly mixed. On no account 

 ild horse dung be alloxved to accumulate in masses by itself. Pigsties 

 should be so placed that the swine may have access to the yards, where 

 th v xv ill not only act as scavengers, but root up and mix the manure- 

 Pains should be taken to litter the yards evenly, and xvhen necessary, to 

 level the surface. Lastl} 7 , the more the yards are protected from rain and 

 snow, the better will be the quality of the manure produced. 



AFTER-TRKATMENT. Passing over the management of dung during its 



accumulation, as already sufficiently indicated, we come to the after- 



trnent, which must be allowed to exert an important influence upon its 



efficacy. The tendency of late years has been in the direction of simplify - 



the processes by which dung xvas formerly prepared for application. 



In the opinion of many leading agriculturists, the best plan is to haul direct 



from the yard or box, spread the dung on the land, and plough it in. The 



limits xvithin which this method may be recommended are, during th<- 



autumn or early xvinter, when "long" or "green" dung maybe safely 



ploughed in ; upon stiff and deep land, that are capable of retaining 



valuable matters contained in the manure, and are also physically 



improv* -d by the decay of the straw and other organic matter. On the 



r hand, it is not advisable to plough in manure in the autumn, xvhen 



l.y so luir,Lj it is brought into close proximity with rock, gravel, or coarse 



1. Whcnyanl manure is applied in the spring it should be well rotted, 



at once available for the use of the crop, and to avoid drying 



iii-l ivnil.-rini: it hollow. 



( ii '-OMPANYIV; TIM: K..TTIN-Q OF FARMYARD MANURE. These 



en carefully noted by Voelcker. They consist (1) in loss 

 lit. \\liirli amounts to from one-third to one-half, an. 1 even two- 

 rds of tli- mass of fresh manure, according to the degree to which 



cesses of decay are alloxved to proceed ; (2) tin- quantity of valuable 

 : in a soluble state are materially increased; (3) tin- 

 i ntlii-r of the most valuable con^itm-nK i 

 ased. Tin- following analysis of fiv>h. lon^ manure, composed of cow 



and pig dung, and -f well-rotted dung that hud U-<-n k-|.t in the limp 



