182 AGRICULTURE 



i* decays slowly, and therefore its effects 

 are more lasting. 



On the other hand, manure produced by 

 horses fed, as they are, on drier food, con- 

 tains less water, and is not so thoroughly 

 disintegrated ; the result being that it is 

 more porous, and being better permeated 

 by air it ferments more rapidly, and is of 

 the character to which the term " hot " 

 is applied. It is, therefore, only manure 

 furnished by stables that is utilized by 

 gardeners as material for imparting heat 

 to a forcing frame. But just because the 

 manure of horses ferments so readily there is 

 a greater risk of loss of nitrogen during the 

 time of storage. That nitrogen is more 

 abundant in the air of a stable than of a 

 cowhouse is evident from the characteristic 

 smell of ammonia which is associated with 

 ill -ventilated stables. 



The manure furnished by piggeries rather 

 resembles that produced by bovine animals, 

 though a good deal depends upon the char- 

 acter of the food supplied to the pigs, which, 

 if sloppy in character, produces a cold, low- 

 class manure ; whereas if the pigs are get- 

 ting large quantities of such a substance as 

 pea meal, the resultant manure may be 

 comparatively rich. 



