MANURE PITS AND TANKS. 101 



the stable is indulged in. A large grower of beets and 

 other roots for stock-feeding in San Mateo county has 

 for a number of years used this arrangement with satisfac- 

 tion: 



"I have a manure pit large enough to hold all the ma- 

 nure made in a year. A hole about three feet deep is dug 

 out of the side of a hill. A sloping platform, up which all 

 the manure is wheeled, raises it about four feet above 

 the ground on the upper side, which gives a drop for the 

 manure of about seven feet. When filled up to a level 

 with the end of the platform, loose planks are laid as re- 

 quired on top of the manure. Thus by continually wheel- 

 ing each day's manure over the older manure, its solidity 

 is insured, and all the manure made on the farm has to 

 go up the said platform. After the cow barn is cleaned out, 

 the lightest of the manure from the horse stable, bull 

 stalls, etc., or any other absorbent, is put behind the cows, 

 taking up fluids, and thus insuring a regular quality 

 throughout the heap. Another important item added to 

 the general heap is the hen manure and ashes, the latter 

 being kept in a large tin, which, when full, is emptied 

 into the fowl-house, and all goes in the manure heap to- 

 gether." 



This use of absorbents prevents accumulation of exces- 

 sive liquid and there is consequently little loss by leach- 

 ing. The compacting of the mass prevents too free access 

 of the air and fit conditions for slowly breaking down the 

 coarse manure are assured. 



Composting in Piles. The method usually followed by 

 market gardeners seems on the whole the most convenient 

 and best for this climate, where the winter rainfall is, 

 as a rule, not so heavy as to occasion much leaching, if 

 the pile is of several feet in depth. It involves some shov- 

 eling, but it facilitates rapid curing of the manure and 

 brings it into excellent condition for garden use. Stack 

 the fresh manure in a pile several feet high. Then give it 

 a thorough wetting from a hose and allow it to decompose 



