FARMERS' REGISTER— FERMENTATION OF MANURES. 



139 



different places showed the following degrees of tem- 

 perature— 118°, 110°, 110°, and 100°. Some spots 

 were "fire-fanged" or mouldy — and these were evi- 

 dently caused in most cases by the mixture of stalile 

 manure, which I then iirst learned had been made. 

 In some of these mouldy spots, the heat was 142° 

 and 146°. The interior and lower part of the heap, 

 from the earth to two and a half feet high, was 

 116°, quite moist, and more sothan the upper part, 

 but was very little reduced by rotting, from being 

 so much compressed. The vapor poured from all 

 this digging as from a kettle of boiling water. By 

 the next day all visible escape of vapor had ceas- 

 ed, except a barely perceptible issue at a fire- 

 fanged spot — but it again poured out, though in 

 less quantity, upon cutting in with a lioe, for in- 

 spection. At eighteen to twenty-four inches with- 

 in the perpendicular cut, in the upper and most 

 rotted part, the temperature had fallen to 96° — and 

 to 90° and 92°, at the same distance within the 

 lower and unrotted part. In a fire-fanged spot it 

 was 112°. Dug into the opposite (south) side of 

 the heap, and discovered no mouldiness, except a 

 spot so small that it would have escaped common 

 observation. On this side, tlie unrotted manure 

 came nearer to the surface. Temperature two or 

 two and a half feet in, was 93° in the most rotted, 

 and 92° in the least. The weather had become 

 much warmer within the preceding twenty four 

 hours. 



The observations made on this body of manure 

 seemed to justify the following inferences : 1st. 

 That the heap was made too high, to allow the 

 lower part to rot speedily ; 2d. that the heat and 

 moisture remaining in that bottom, proved that the 

 fermentation, though retarded, was still going on, 

 and in time, would be effectual ; 3d. that as no 

 perceptible vapor had escaped (with the single 

 slight exception stated before,) after the heap was 

 finished and while covered, there could not have 

 been any material loss of fertilizing matter, from 

 the process of ferinenfation. A paper moistened 

 with diluted muriatic acid was exposed this day 

 (January 15th,) to the vapor, as was also the open 

 vial containin^it, and no dense fumes were pro- 

 duced, which Davy tells us woidd indicate a loss. 



On the 14th, began to heap the litter of the farm- 

 yard (No. 3,) making the heap in the middle and 

 lowest part. The litter there was eighteen to 

 twenty inches thick. The part which remained 

 to form the foundation of the heap, (as was done 

 in the other cases,) was first dug and well loosen- 

 ed before throwing more on. The temperature 

 was highest in the thickest part of the bed, and in 

 different parts of the yard was 66°, 64°, 55°, 62°. 

 To my surprise, after so much rain and snow, the 

 litter was not saturated with water, nor indeed was 

 every spot moist. Fearing that this would make 

 fermentation imperfect or irregular, stopped the 

 work, after making the heap about seven feet high, 

 on a circular base of twenty to twenty two feet 

 across. Fenced it around, to prevent its being 

 trodden by the cattle, and filled the space on the 

 yard just cleared, with fresh litter. 



Notwithstanding the change to warmer v/eath- 

 er, this heap (No. 3,) was, on the morning of the 

 17tli, still so much frozen on the surface general- 

 ly, that on walking on it, my weight did not al- 

 ways break the crust of frozen litter, though the 

 lightness of the mass caused the surface to be de- 

 pressed where trodden upon. Vapor (which seem- 



ed altogether watery, from its want of odor,) was 

 issuing from one point, the highest of the heap. — 

 The tliermometer sunk two feet in that place, 

 showed 74°. No where else did the heap exhibit 

 any evidence of fermentation being excited. In 

 the side, one foot in, it was 50°. 



No vapor was issuing from either of the two 

 older heaps. No. 2 showed a slight internal 

 warmth, (not measured,) but no vapor from pull- 

 ing out a stick thrust in three feet deep. The heat 

 had increased somewhat by the 19th, but still no 

 vapor perceptible, until the heap was dug into for 

 examination, when it issued, but as from a very 

 moderate internal heat. The thermometer at a foot, 

 and a half below tlie top showed 66° only — and on 

 the slope and something deeper in the body, 77°. 



The oldestheap (No. 1,) wasexamined also.on thie 

 19th on the south side, and deeper in the sapai? place 

 tried last. The rotting had gone still lower^ not jiiore. 

 than a foot of the bottom now remaining quite unrot-- 

 ted. The general temperature was much lower, 

 (which was very desirable,) except in the unrotted, 

 bottom. This part was at 74° near the junction 

 with the more reduced body above, and 60° in a 

 mass of wet straw, which had not even changed 

 to a dark color. The upper and more rotted part 

 was, in diiferent places, 72°, 80°, and 94°— the 

 last in the only visible fii-e-fanged spot, and where 

 most vapor showed, upon digging in the mass. 



From the heap commenced in the cow-yard, 

 (No. 3,) vapor was now issuing at most parts of 

 the top — and on thrusting a stick down two and a 

 half feet through the loose and open materials, 

 where most vapor came out, the heat was found to 

 be 128° — and 106° at another place. The sloping 

 sides slightly frozen, and at one foot and a half in, 

 showed 50° only. The vapor, from its want of 

 odor, seemed still to carry off little or nothing ex- 

 cept moisture. On the 21st, it issued still more 

 abundantly from the top, and conveyed a scent of 

 rotting vegetable matter — not ammoniacal. Tem- 

 perature 124° at one foot and a half deep. This heap 

 was not only too dry, but was certainly of very 

 poor materials, and its rapid and violent fermenta- 

 tion was quite unexpected. Was it caused by the 

 loose and open texture of the mass, and the quan- 

 tity of air consequently enclosed ? Threw a cover 

 of a foot's thickness of litter (cut from the edges 

 of the heap) over the top, to arrest and save the 

 vapor. By thus cutting into the sides, it was 

 found that fermentation was going on throughout. 

 At different places, from five to seven feet within 

 the first circumference, and from eighteen to twen- 

 ty-four inches from the earth, the following vari- 

 ous degrees of temperature were exhibited — 60°, 

 65°, 85°, 76°, 91°, and 94°. The greatest heat of 

 the sides was generally near the bottom. On the 

 22d, again covered tlie top with a coat of cold lit- 

 ter from the sides, as vapor was pouring out in 

 greater quantity than before. Where most issued, 

 a hole was opened for the thermometer to the depth 

 of two feet, and the heat found to be 148°, the 

 highest yet known. Another place from which 

 less issued was only 76°. The weather Avarm then, 

 and for several days previous. 



This day the first vapor was seen to rise from 

 the mule pen heap, (N o. 2.) On Jan. 24th, a heavy 

 rain, which however did not make the litter of the 

 farm-yard wet enough ; but as no better state 

 could be expected soon, we proceeded to heap it 

 around the first part of No. 3.' The heat of tbi§ 



