COMPOSTING. 185 



age water into the ditch. The farmer would also 

 consult his interest by having the floor of the 

 heap covered entirely with boards. 



Everything being prepared for constructing 

 the heap, we will make a few suggestions about 

 the collection and depositing the materials pre- 

 paratory to mixing. Barn-yard manure and 

 muck are the principal ingredients. Every cart 

 load of barn-yard manure should be mixed with 

 two cart loads of swamp muck, or with any 

 other deposit that contains plenty of vegetable 

 matter, except weeds that have gone to seed. 

 The muck should be dug in a dry season, and 

 spread out, so that it may be deprived of a great 

 deal of its water, which will greatly lessen the 

 labor and expense of hauling it to the compost 

 heap ; and when there, it will be in much better 

 condition for fermentation and consequent de- 

 composition. The materials should be hauled 

 to the heap in the proper proportions, so that 

 they can be thoroughly mixed, and the work of 

 piling up be commenced at one end, and the 

 heap be finished to the top as fast as sufficient 

 material is procured. The advantage gained by 

 this course, over that of putting layer upon 

 layer over the whole ground plan of the heap, is 

 that if the heap is finished as you proceed, fer- 

 mentation sets in sooner; and as the pile gradu- 

 ally lengthens, the fenjienting process passes 



