238 City Homes on Country Lanes 



sprinkling. To obtain good results not less than three 

 cubic yards of manure should be worked. If less is 

 needed in your case, let the surplus go to the garden. 

 Choose a spot of ground which is hard and even, on 

 which to work the manure, and preferably protected 

 from the rains. Every forkful should be well shaken out 

 to render it evenly mixed, and laid out to form a pile 

 8 ft. long, 3 ft. wide, and 1 ft. high. If the manure is 

 dry, sprinkle with a very fine sprinkler, so that the wet 

 parts are on the outside, while the dryer material stays 

 inside. 



After this first layer is made, begin a second on top, 

 and so continue until the pile is 4 ft. high. Tramp this 

 well down and clean off the sides with the fork to pre- 

 vent undue loss of humidity. This operation must be 

 repeated three times — in summer every five days ; in 

 winter, every eight days. The manure is ready for the 

 cave when it has lost its first odor. It must be humid 

 and of a dark brown color, and when pressed between 

 the fingers must not drip. The odor must have changed 

 and resemble more the odor of mushrooms. 



Before installing the manure, prepare the frames on 

 the floor of your cave, for which purpose lumber 1x12 

 is used. The size of the bed must not exceed 4 ft. in 

 width, as a larger bed might give an excess of fermenta- 

 tion, which is very dangerous in this culture. 



These frames are filled in layers with the prepared 

 manure, shaking it up again, forkful after forkful. 

 The manure will now undergo another process of fer- 

 mentation. With the thermometer, carefully assure 

 yourself of the temperature of the bed, which should be 

 after eight days about 70 to 75 degrees, to fall to 60 



