FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 357 



expedient. This liquor, if not thus preserved, by the floor 

 of the stercorary, so.:ks away into the ground on which the 

 heap of dung is laid, and is almost entirely lost. 



The shed is for keeping oft* the rains, which by constantly 

 falling on, and soaking away through the dung, carry much 

 ot us richest pans into the ground below. The shed may 

 be of cheap construction. The roof may be ot boards, or of 

 slight thatch-work, as it is not essential that it should be 

 Wholly impervious to che rams; 



The floor should be made so solid and compact, that 

 little or no water could pass through it. It should be a 

 little rising from the gutter, on every side, to the middle. 

 One made of pounded clay, ot suitable thickness* and then 

 closely paved on the top with stones is perhaps as good and 

 as durable as any. It should be paved, to enable carts to 

 go upon it for unloading the dung, when it is to be laid 

 there tor preparing; as well as tor carrying it away, when 

 prepared. 



The dung should be laid in the stercorary to the height 

 of, say, five feet. It should be laid lightly, without any 

 further compression than that of its own weight. If it be 

 stired up from the bottom, once at least, the process of its 

 preparation will be proportionately accelerated. The ster- 

 corary may also be found very useful in preparing composts, 

 where barn-dung is an ingredient. 

 See further, MANURES- 



It is believed that lor ail crops which are most assisted 

 by roten barn dung* or by composts, in which barn-dung 

 forms a very considerable proportion, a great saving may be 

 made by rodng and fermenting the manure in a stercorary. 

 One of the dimension ol eighteen teet by forty- five would 

 probably be found sufficient for preparing one hundred and 

 fiiiy tons of manure at a time; and the expense ot such a 

 building need not exceed one hundred dollars. 



From the best information we have been able to obtain, 

 we are induced to believe that barn-dung, in particular, 

 when prepared in a stercorary, will be tound worth one- 

 fourth more, than if merely roted in a heap, uncovered, on 

 the bare grtmnd. It should also be remembered, that the 

 stercorary may be so constructed, and situated, as to be 

 used for a sheep-pen, during Winter. 



STOCK. When an English Farmer speaks of stocking 

 a farm, he means the requisite number of ploughs, harrows, 

 carts, and other implements of husbandry, beside catde of 

 different kinds, for carrying on the business of husbandry 

 on that farm to advantage; in the same way that a Merchant 

 or Manufacturer speaks of the stock, or capital, which is 

 requisite to carry on any branch of trade or manufacture. 



