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FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



MANURE FUE, Management of.— 

 Every manure heap consists of three por- 

 tions, and all of these require very differ- 

 ent means for their preservation. We 

 have first the carbonaceous matter. This 

 forms the chief bulk of every manure 

 heap, and from the fact that it came orig- 

 inally from the atmosphere, and that it 

 can be replaced from the same source, 

 theorists who have not carefully watched 

 the results attained in the practice are apt 

 to depreciate its value. It is not as valu- 

 able as the other two constituents, but it 

 serves to bring the land into fine, friable, 

 mellow condition, and it is by no means 

 certain that the carbonic acid, furnished 

 by its decomposition, is not a source of 

 plant-food. Under any circumstacnes, 

 however, it is well to be economical of it, 

 and allow none to go to waste. 



The second portion is the inorganic 

 plant-food of animals. It consists of 

 phosphoric acid, lime, potash, soda, mag- 

 nesia, soluble silica, etc., and the great 

 source of loss of these constituents is 

 from their being washed out. They can- 

 not evaporate, but if the rain and liquid 

 manure are allowed to fall on a manure 

 heap, and drain through it and out of it, 

 the manure pile becomes a mere caput 

 mortuum — a worthless residuum of origi- 

 nally valuable materials. Hence every 

 barnyard where manure is kept exposed 

 to the weather, should be hollowed out 

 in the centre and well puddled, so as to 

 prevent the soluble matters from draining 

 or soaking away. Moreover, if the farm- 

 is located in a region where a great deal 

 of rain falls, it is necessary to place a 

 large portion of the barnyard under the 

 cover of sheds, which prevent excessive 

 wetting. Some moisture is absolutely 

 necessary. Too much is decidedly in- 

 jurious. 



The third constituent of the manure 

 heap is nitrogen. This is a substance of 

 great and undoubted value, and every 

 care should be taken to preserve and in- 

 crease it. When vegetable substances 

 containing nitrogen undergo putrefaction, 

 in a moist state, the nitrogen in general 

 becomes converted into ammonia. The 

 same process of putrefaction, however, 

 produces carbonic acid in large quantities, 

 and this combines with the ammonia 

 to form carbonate of ammonia. This 

 salt is comparatively volatile, and if 



the manure is allowed to dry up, while 

 exposed, in thin layers, the ammonia dis- 

 appears. Several agents may be set to- 

 work to fix and retain it. 



Water is one of these — carbonate of 

 ammonia dissolves very readily in water, 

 and does not then evaporate to the same 

 extent that it would do from a dry mass. 



The great agent in the fixing of ammo- 

 nia on the manure heap is the humic and 

 similar acids, produced during the decom- 

 position of the straw. These acids do it 

 very effectually, and hence the importance 

 of mixing animal excrement with a large 

 proportion of moist straw. 



One of the most powerful fixers of am- 

 monia is plaster or sulphate of lime. 

 When this meets carbonate of ammonia 

 in solution decomposition ensues. Car- 

 bonate of lime and sulphate of ammonia 

 are formed, and as sulphate of ammonia 

 is not volatile at ordinary temperatures, 

 there is no danger of loss except by its 

 being washed out. 



Hence a few simple rules will enable us 

 to manage a manure heap so as to avoid 

 any very great loss : 



i. Prevent all loss by drainage and 

 soaking. 



2. See that the animal excrements are 

 covered with moist straw. 



3. See that, while too much water is 

 avoided, there is a sufficiency to keep the 

 manure moist. 



4. Moisture and packing prevent fire 

 fanging — that is, too rapid fermentation. 



5. If you find it convenient to use a 

 few bushels of plaster, sprinkle them over 

 the heap so that the plaster will be incor- 

 porated with the successive layers. It 

 will thus prove of great service. 



MANURE, to Shelter.— We lose a 

 great deal from the washing of manure, 

 when out of doors, as well as by evapo- 

 ration. My experience has led me to the 

 conclusion that we want a tight bottom to 

 our manure receptacle as much as we 

 want a tight roof overhead. When I 

 raised my old barn to put a cellar under 

 it I saw that the earth underneath looked 

 damp and very rich, and I dug out and 

 put away as manure all that had the 

 slightest tinge showing that it had been 

 colored by the manure that had soaked 

 through the floor. I have no doubt I 

 had lost for years quite a quantity of val- 

 uable manure in that way. But when I 



