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CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



of this general truth is seen in the analysis just given of sheep 

 manure which has passed through many years of exposure to the 

 weather in an arid interior valley of California and still retains so 

 much fertilizing value. Another means by which fermentation is 

 reduced and controlled is by compacting the mass so that free access 

 of air and free passage of water are prevented. This compacting 

 is currently accomplished by the tread of the sheep confined by 

 night in large numbers in small inclosure. The prevention of leach- 

 ing in this case is also due to the fact that the local rainfall never 

 reaches in any short period volume enough to accomplish percolation 

 through a thick layer of manure to the soil. We have then in the 

 case of a dry interior valley of California all the conditions for the 

 preservation of manure which the progressive farmers of humid 

 climates secure by means of covered cattle yards, covered pits, 

 manure sheds and other devices. 



And yet manure will go to destruction in California as fast as 

 elsewhere unless the conditions mentioned are secured. Loose piles 

 of manure, except in the most arid localities, have, or subsequently 

 receive, moisture enough to start active fermentation and will "fire- 

 fang" and become nearly worthless in a very short time during our 

 hot summer. Such loose piles thrown to the weather in the rainy 

 season will be largely leached of their soluble matters wherever 

 rainfall is considerable. Probably the easiest way to preserve 

 manure in California is to allow it to lie in the corral during the 

 summer, for there it is free from leaching rain, usually from June 

 to November, and all its coarse straw, etc., dry and brittle, is reduced 

 almost to powder by the tramp of the animals. If then this fine 

 material is scraped up, spread and plowed in at the beginning of 

 the rainy season it will readily ferment in the soil and all its value 

 be retained, if the application is made to a heavy soil under a good 

 rainfall. The winter-made manure should not be allowed to lie in 

 the corral to be leached by drenching rain. It should be gathered 

 frequently and applied fresh to the land so that the leachings may 



Co to useful purposes in the soil and the coarse material should 

 e plowed in while there is still moisture enough in the soil to make 

 the process safe and efficacious. 



This easiest way to handle animal manures in California may 

 do for ordinary farm crops, if the soil is heavy enough and moist 

 enough to receive unfermented manure without danger to the crop 

 from loss of moisture, but it is not the best way to handle manure, 



