Holding and Increasing Fertility of Soil 



from a well-tended compost heap and one horse 

 stable, I had hauled on to the garden ten large, 

 two-horse loads of fertilizer, and put the garden 

 in excellent shape, and not only this, — it had kept 

 the premises tidy as nothing else would have 

 done. The gatherings of the summer and fall 

 will, by spring, have rotted down into available 

 form and the action of the soil, sun and rain will 

 complete the process. 



The growing of pet stock on a place adds so 

 greatly to the upkeep of the land that it consti- 

 tutes an object in itself. Poultry is an abundant 

 source of manure which may be composted in 

 barrels with alternate layers of soil, of lime or 

 of any absorbent material or may be piled on the 

 compost heap and mixed with the vegetable mat- 

 ter. To this will be added the litter from the 

 hen house floors which is rich in droppings and 

 full of earth and ground up leaves and straw. 

 But another source of manure, not enough con- 

 sidered, is found in the droppings from the rabbit 

 hutches. If one raises Belgian hares, as every 

 one who wishes to conserve meat, should, one 

 will find that, in addition to a supply of delicious 



77 



