42 W A L L ' S M A N U A L 



of ages as to the importance of composting animal 

 and vegetable substances together in the manure heap, 

 so as to retain in proper combination the most valuble 

 fertilizers. But farmers are not generally informed as 

 to the reason for this operation, and often commit 

 grave errors by not knowing the principles involved. 

 Liquid manure from the stalls, or urine, is too often 

 allowed to escape and waste itself in drains, because 

 the farmer is not aware of the fact that it is as good 

 as a saturated solution of the best Peruvian guano, 

 containing ammonia-producing materials, phosphate 

 of lime, and all of the alkalies. It forms an excellent 

 ferment to mix with the vegetable matter of the 

 compost heap. 



Caustic lime or fixed alkalies should never be intro- 

 duced into the manure heap consisting chiefly of 

 animal droppings, unless an abundance of vegetable 

 mold is ready to spread on it immediately, to absorb 

 the disengaged ammonia, by covering the heap with 

 a thick layer of it. The cases where lime is required 

 to be used are not {infrequent, as for instance, where 

 animal offal or night-soil is composted, the odor of 

 the manure heap would be insupportable; but by 

 throwing in a liberal supply of freshly slacked lime, 

 and covering the whole heap with a thick layer of 

 moist vegetable mold or rotten wood, all the ammonia 

 will be saved, and the compost be no longer offensive. 



Concentrated fertilizers, such as guano, superphos- 

 phate of lime, and sulphate of ammonia, are now 

 extensively used by farmers. These concentrated 

 manures generally prove to be very efficient, but in a 

 very dry season their effects are not so valuable, unless 

 they have been composted with vegetable matter. All 



