80 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



while making any such investment. Loss of liquid manure by leach- 

 ing is prevented, but on the other hand it is apt to accumulate in 

 such quantities 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 ma- 

 terial 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 sloping side 

 so carts can be readily backed in for filling, are cheaper than tanks 

 and if they have a clay subsoil for a floor or can be puddled with 

 clay on the concave bottom they will hold most of the liquid unless 

 water flushing of 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 satisfaction : 



I have a manure pit large enough to hold all the manure 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 required on top of the manure. Thus by continually 

 wheeling 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 stable 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 together. 



This use of absorbents prevents accumulation of excessive 

 liquid and there is consequently little loss by leaching. The com- 

 pacting of the mass prevents too free access of the air and fit con- 

 ditions for slowly breaking down the coarse manure are assured. 

 The addition of wood ashes which causes loss of nitrogen in open 

 mixtures is innocent when covered into a mass of absorptive ma- 

 terial. 



Composting in Piles. The method usually followed by mar- 

 ket 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 shoveling, 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 for a 

 few weeks. Then chop it down with sharp spades, mix thoroughly 

 and stack it again; then wet it well once more, and after a few 

 weeks it will be ready to put upon the field. This process of com- 

 posting destroys all weed and other seeds, prevents the manure 

 from burning, as well as the escape of volatile parts, especially 

 when a small amount of loam is intermixed when stacking it. Com- 



