384 HORTICULTURAL MANUAL. 



at least six months in advance by turning and breaking up 

 to prevent heating. Hogs will do this work if given an 

 opportunity. The manure-pile with a continued supply 

 of well-rotted manure is an essential part of satisfactory 

 gardening. The pile may be made a kind of compost-heap 

 where sods, rotten vegetables, and fruits, weeds, soapsuds, 

 and even water are thrown; watering at times of turning 

 the pile if the top appears to be dry. 



The commercial manures extensively applied east of the 

 Lakes and on the Western coast are not much used in 

 the prairie States. 



Aside from the application of well-rotted manure, the 

 use of wood-ashes or one of the potash combinations of 

 the trade seems to give the best results with a system 

 of rotation (383) in which a clover or other legume sod is 

 turned under once in two or three years to give the needed 

 supply of nitrogen and the bacterial action that seems to 

 enliven the soil in a way not fully understood. Slaughter- 

 house tankage is also useful in the prairie States, as it is 

 rich in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, which are in avail- 

 able form to be taken up by plant-roots. In the "West it 

 is the cheapest form in which nitrogen and phosphoric 

 acid can be obtained. 



In private gardens, however, in all parts of the Union, 

 stable manure properly composted, with occasional rotation 

 of clover or cow-peas, will give the most satisfactory 

 results on a small scale. But in addition, in the humid 

 belt, it is always in order to use wood-ashes, kainite, or 

 other form of potash, not too expensive, at least once in 

 three years. 



389. Preservation of Vegetables. It is usual with most 

 home owners to store vegetables in the cellar under the 

 house. This plan has many objections, not the least of 

 which are the smells, the possible effect on health from 



