PREPARATION OF MANURE. 261 



principles must be dissipated and lost in the same proportion as their 

 points of contact with the air are multiplied. 



The plan of collecting all the litter of the farm into one particular 

 and appropriate place, is that which is generally adopted. Never- 

 theless, there are countries in which the dung is left to accumulate in 

 the cattle- stalls, it being merely covered with fresh straw every day. 

 The ground thus rises continually under *he feet of the cattle, so 

 that it is necessary to have moveable cribs which can also be raised 

 by degrees. This method is so far convenient, that the necessity 

 for cleaning out the stable continually is avoided ; but little is gain- 

 ed in the end in the matter of labor, for the same mass of manure has 

 still nltimately to be removed. The fermentation of the manure 

 would be greatly accelerated by the usual high temperature of the 

 stables, did not the feet of the -cattle tread the mass very closely, 

 and this and the daily addition of straw together produce the same 

 effect as I have indicated in treating of the management of the dung- 

 heap out of doors : it condenses vapors and volatile particles, and 

 prevents evaporation. The fact is, that in stalls and stables in which 

 the dung is allowed to accumulate in this way, we are not sensible 

 of any very offensive odor, and the animals which live in them breathe 

 without inconvenience, it being always understood that all communi- 

 cation with the exterior is not interrupted, which in fact it ought 

 never to be, even in cases where the stables and stalls are kept per- 

 fectly clean. This method of proceeding becomes almost impracti- 

 cable when cattle are fed upon food that is not dry, but on the contrary 

 that is extremely watery, such as roots, green clover, &c. ; the 

 quantity of urine that is then passed is so considerable, and the 

 excrements themselves are so copious and so liquid, that an enormous 

 quantity of straw would be required to absorb the liquid parts ; in 

 spite of any reasonable addition of litter, indeed, the animals would 

 still be exposed to be kept in the mire, which would doubtless become 

 a powerful cause of insalubrity among them. 



In Belgium, according to Schwertz, manure is accumulated in the 

 stables by guarding against the inconveniences which the last mode 

 of proceeding generally implies. The cattle are placed upon a kind 

 of platform raised above the pavement of the stable, and the drop- 

 pings being withdrawn from under them., are trodden down and allowed 

 to accumulate upon the floor. 



One inconvenience attending the use of straw, is that it is frequently 

 dear ; it is also scarce in some countries. In those parts of Swit- 

 zerland, for instance, where all the available lands are meadows, they 

 are obliged to economize' litter as much as possible, so that they 

 even wash it, and thus make it serve repeatedly. Although it would 

 be difficult to give a reason for a practice which has the effect of 

 increasing the bulk of the manure, adding to the expense of transport, 

 and at the same time diminishing its quality ; it is, nevertheless, a 

 fact that this mode of proceeding has been long in use in various 

 Cantons. We probably only see here another means of securing 

 even the last particle of the excrementitious matters passed by cat- 

 tle, the process employed being in fact identical with that used hy 



