176 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cannot see the fish in an}' part of the soil of tlie compost heap as 

 they pitch it over, such soil can have no richness. 



Now, one of the wonderful properties of di\y soil is the avidity 

 with which it takes ammonia to itself; and it ma}' always be safely 

 inferred that, in a well-mixed compost heap of fish-waste, the 

 ammonia has diffused itself through every portion, and, all being 

 assumed to be rich plant food, it should be used accordingly. 

 Owing to the great richness of manure made from fish in bulk it 

 is wiser, even after composting it, to use it broadcast, rather than 

 in the hill. 



Fish chum or pomace, may be used eitlier broadcast and 

 harrowed in, or by first composting with poor manure, to enrich 

 the latter. If, after being broken up fine, it is put in tliin layers 

 with the manure, it will help the development of heat, which will 

 tend to fine it up, so that it will combine with the mass when it is 

 pitched over. A third way is to compost it with soil, waste turf, 

 muck, or sawdust. In whatever way composted it is always good 

 farming to take careful note of how many barrels go into the heap, 

 so that we may know how much of potash, ammonia, and phos- 

 phoric acid we are applying to any given crop, and govern our- 

 selves accordingly. There are two mistakes made in applying too 

 heavily to one in applying too sparingly. 



It is surprising how penetrating is the ammonia in fish-compost. 

 For this reason, in making a heap, the bottom layer of soil should 

 be a foot or more in thickness. I have seen cases where, the fish 

 being used liberally, the soil was full of ammonia for several feet 

 below the surface. In making the compost heap, after spreading 

 the bottom layer, which should be thiclrer when whole fish, or the 

 coarser waste, is to be used, cover with waste sufficient to just hide 

 the soil ; then cover with sod or soil about six times the depth of 

 the fish, and thus proceed, scattering raw ground plaster over each 

 layer of fish before covering with soil, at the rate of fifty pounds 

 of plaster to five hundred weight of fish. The chemical changes 

 which take place through the agency of the plaster produce sul- 

 phate of ammonia and carbonate of lime. After the pile has been 

 built to four or five feet in height, suiround the entire heap (it 

 should be on level ground) with a little embankment of fine soil. 

 This will catch the liquid that often runs from it when the fish 

 begins to decompose, as well as catch what may be soaked from it 

 by heavy rains ; while it will also be handy for filling up the holes 



