100 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



decay, and any available mineral wastes, like ashes, which 

 contains plant food. If all these are added to the animal 

 manure and treatment adopted which will promote the 

 proper fermentation in it, the manure will assist in re- 

 ducing the other materials to proper condition for garden 

 use. 



The conditions for such fermentation are adequate mois- 

 ture accompanied with stirring and aeration enough to 

 distribute the action evenly throughout the mass and to 

 bring all the materials under its influence. There are nu- 

 merous ways of accomplishing this, and each operator will 

 probably have his own notions about their relative ease 

 and cheapness. 



Manure Tanks. These are cemented, water-tight, exca- 

 vations of various sizes. A Napa county farmer built one 

 a few years ago which cost him nearly two hundred dol- 

 lars, with all its appurtenances. It was thirteen by twenty 

 and one-half feet in size, about six feet deep and exceed- 

 ingly well built. The floor has a slant, inclining to a 

 well at one end, where, with the aid of a wooden pump, 

 the juices as they settle are raised to the top and poured 

 over the mass to again percolate through it. It is quite 

 a question whether it is worth while making such invest- 

 ment. Loss of liquid manure by leaching is prevented, but 

 on the other hand it is apt to accumulate in such quanti- 

 ties in the pit that, unless the pit is roofed, the addition 

 of the rainfall will result in the submergence of -all the 

 manure and this excludes the air and prevents the proper 

 fermentation. The result is that there is great cost in 

 excavating the water-logged material from the tank, a 

 large amount of heavy and disagreeable shoveling and the 

 manure not in the best condition after all. 



Manure Pits. Manure pits if excavated with one slop- 

 ing side so carts can be readily backed in for filling, are 

 cheaper than tanks and if they have a clay sub-soil for a 

 floor or can be puddled with clay on the concave bottom 

 they will hold most of the liquid, unless water flushing of 



