6 9 7 



it to maintain a healthy and rapid growth at the most critical 

 period. Hv the filtration of the liquid into the soil, carrying with 

 it the soluble manure to the roots of the plants, they have an imme- 

 diate supply ot" food and are not placed under the necessity to the 

 same extent to expand in all directions in search of food ; and in 

 the later stages ot their growth they will be better able to take up 

 supplies from the more insoluble manures. A healthy and rapid 

 growth in the early stages will better enable the crops to resist the 

 attacks ot" the various pests that they are liable to. This is pure 

 and simple a method of top dressing. The great benelits to be 

 derived from top dressing will be treated later on. Liquid manure 

 should be applied in a very dilute state. It is too concentrated as 

 it runs from the stable or barn drains or from the manure heap ; it 

 should be diluted with a large addition of water. If the liquid 

 manure is applied in a concentrated form it is liable to do more 

 harm than good. 



Liquid manure is not a complete manure. We have seen that 

 the liquid excreta of cows, horses, sheep, and pigs contains a large 

 percentage of nitrogen, and most of the potash and the solid excreta 

 contains all the phosphoric acid. To convert the liquid portion 

 into a more complete manure the tank for the reception of the 

 liquid manure should be placed at the end of the manure heap. 

 The heap should be drenched occasionally with water to dissolve 

 out as much as possible of the mineral and organic matter which is 

 allowed to run into the tank. 



The following device taken from SI awl's Irrigation for the 

 Farm ami Garden for a cheap and simple manure tank, of which- a 

 section is shown in the accompanying woodcut, may be made as 

 follows : A pit or vat, D, is dug and cemented with water-lime, or 

 lined with plank, so as to be perfectly water-tight. This vat is 

 covered with a plank floor, through which a wooden pump passes, 

 and rests upon the bottom of the tank. The si/e of the vat, of course, 

 will correspond with what is required of it. A useful size for a 

 market garden, or for a farm where a few acres of soiling crops are 

 raised each year, w r ill be 16 feet square and 8 feet deep. At the 

 end of the \ at another excavation is made sufficiently large to con- 

 tain the pile of manure or materials for a compost that can be 

 gathered and used. This excavation, seen at B, may be 24 to 30 

 feet long, as wide as the vat, and gradually increasing in depth from 

 3 or 4 feet at the further end, to 6 or 8 inches more at the end 

 connecting with the vat. The excavation should be floored with 

 double boards, with a coating of .isplialt or tar between them, and 

 the sides cemented. A coarse grating of stout poles or timbers are 

 laid across this shallow portion of the vat, and is supported in the 

 centre by blocks or short posts placed at intervals beneath it. 

 Smaller poles or rails are laid upon these timbers not more than 6 

 or 8 inches apart. 



