LIQUID MANURE. 103 



drying out during the long, hot summer, as well as cause it 

 to retain most of the ammonia, etc., that would otherwise 

 have evaporated and escaped. Late in the fall it will be 

 found entirely rotten, cutting like old cheese." 



Liquid Manure. Liquid extract of animal manures is 

 of great efficacy in vegetable growing if carefully used. 

 It is made by filling a barrel with manure, pouring water 

 on above and drawing it out below as it leaches through 

 the mass. Another way is to have a barrel with water in 

 a handy place and throw into it enough manure to make 

 an extract of the right strength. No matter how it is 

 done care must be taken not to have the extract too strong. 

 This can generally be told by the color, which should not 

 be darker than tea of medium strength. The quality to 

 apply in the hot-bed or the open ground must be learned 

 by experience. Enough to produce generous and still vig- 

 orous growth is the rule. With plants to bear fruit like 

 tomatoes much less stimulant can be used than with plants 

 for foliage, for the stimulant always acts away from fruit- 

 ing and toward leaf and stem extension. 



Absorbents. As has already been intimated, the free 

 use of absorbents is very desirable both for valuable li- 

 quids, likely to leach away, and for gases which are prone 

 to fly off. Probably the best absorbent for both purposes 

 is ground gypsum, which is now very cheaply furnished 

 from local sources in several parts of the State. It adds 

 value of its own in addition to its absorbent properties. 

 A very abundant material in an arid country is road dust. 

 It, too, will take up both liquids and gases. In village 

 gardens with paved streets and well-watered soil, sifted 

 coal ashes act well in the hen-house and on the manure 

 pile, and the cinders which are sifted out are a good foun- 

 dation for permanent garden walks. The free use of the 

 fine coal ashes for years kept the writer's fowls without 

 a case of swell-head, rid the hen-house of all odor, and fur- 

 nished many wagon loads of home-made fertilizer which 

 is perfectly safe to use freely as the hen manure is dif- 



