32 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



in nitrogen ferment most rapidly, other things being equal. 

 The urine is generally rich in nitrogen, and since all it con- 

 tains is soluble it is of more value than the solid excrements 

 of animals, and special effort should be made to save it. 



The heating of manures and other organic material is 

 due to the presence of various kinds of bacteria that 

 break down the composition of the materials in which 

 they grow and produce chemical changes that result in 

 the formation of heat. Fire fanged is a term applied to 

 manure which has heated, by the action of fungi, to a very 

 high temperature without sufficient moisture. It is gen- 

 erally white in color and has lost much of its texture, and 

 parts of it may appear to have been burned to ashes. 

 When in this condition manure is regarded as of little value, 

 for it has probably lost much if not all of its nitrogen, and 

 all the ferments which it contained are destroyed. 

 And it is probable that the bacteria and other ferments 

 which are added to soils by manure are often of much 

 importance to them. 



Horse manure is loose and light, and ferments very 

 quickly. On this account it is especially valuable for early 

 spring crops, as it makes the soil loose, thus permitting 

 the air to penetrate it easily, while by its rapid fermen- 

 tation it warms the land. It is valuable to mix with cow 

 and swine manure, since it hastens the fermentation of these 

 cold manures. On account of its heating qualities it is used 

 to warm hotbeds. 



Near the large cities gardeners pay from 25 cents to 

 $2 per load of from two to four tons for horse manure, in 

 some cases buying out the product of a barn for a year 

 or series of years at a fixed price. The difficulty of ob- 

 taining horse manure is compelling some gardeners to 

 use glass structures or to take up some other line of work. 



