Soil Fertility 



75 



farm, fresh manure is so very wet and heavy that it is neces- 

 sary to have a tight wagon-box in which to carry it. A manure- 

 spreader cannot spread the wet, heavy mass of material. A 

 wagon-box lined with metal has not proved very satisfactory, 

 because the acids of the manure soon corrode the metal and 

 cause the box to leak. 



A home-made tank-like box, illustrated in Fig. 26, has been 

 used successfully. The sides of the box are of cypress plank 

 If inches thick. The middle bottom piece is a 3-inch by 8- 

 inch oak plank and the piece on each side of the oak plank is 



FIG. 26. Home-made tank wagon-box for hauling fresh manure to the fields. 



cypress, 3 inches thick, tapered to If inches to fit the side 

 pieces. The ends are of 2-inch plank and rabbeted. The box 

 planks are beveled together to conform to this shape and are 

 plowed for a slip tongue-and-lead joint. They are also plowed 

 at each end to receive the rabbet of the end pieces. When 

 put together the box is drawn tight by the band-iron and clip. 

 Use of a concrete pit. Many farmers make use of a concrete 

 pit as a place in which to store manure. Such a pit should 

 have a concrete bottom and sides in order to prevent excessive 

 leaching of the plant-food from the pile. The manure should be 

 spread out over the surface of the pit and be kept moist ; this 



