•74 iPALLOVVING. 



few stout posts with crotches should be planted in a 

 line along the middle of the pit, and shorter ones should 

 be placed at the sides, to receive strong poles, on 

 which to erect a shed of common boards. Having thus 

 cheaply made a shelter, which secures the manure from 

 the sun, from rain, and from water running into it, 

 (while by removing a few of the boards, a little rain can 

 be admitted in a dry time) the materials can be thrown 

 together. A quantity of top earth or soils, and if the 

 soil of the farm is stiff, a quantity of sand should be 

 mixed and laid in the pit a foot thick. On this may be 

 laid every ingredient that can be gathered together, 

 that is calculated to manure the soil for which it is in- 

 tended. Clay, sand, mud, lime, peat, &.c. may therefore 

 be parts. To these may be added the scrapings of the 

 back yard, turfs on which cattle have long dunged, old 

 rubbish of buildings, earth that has been long covered, 

 banks of rich earth thrown up by the plough against 

 fences, weeds, some animal manure, leached ashes, old 

 fodder, feathers, refuse wool, woolen rags, hoofs of cat- 

 tle, burnt bones, raw skins, bits of leather, curriers 

 shavings, olTall of fish, moss, old brine, soap suds, &c. 

 These substances should be mixed as much as p- ssible in 

 forming the heap ; which should be about five feet high, 

 and when this settles by decomposition, more must be 

 added. The heap should have such a degree of mois- 

 ture as best promotes fermentation and corruption. This 

 should proceed no farther than to destroy the seeds of 

 weeds. Complete putrefaction seems of importance 

 with regard to these ; if they remain sound, they are 

 carried out with the manure, and infest the ground. A 

 cavity may be made at one side of the heap, to receive 

 any liquid that runs from it, and this should be thrown 

 from time to time, on the top of it with a scooping 

 shovel. To prevent swine or fowls from disturbing the 

 heap, it may be enclosed with wide boards, or walled 

 two or three feet high. It should not be prepared too 

 long before used. 



Composts are well calculated for grass lands, and 

 ought to supercede the offensive, and wasteful practice, 

 of laying putrescent matter on the surface of the soil. 



If our farmers in general would be persuaded to avail 

 themselves of as many of these manures as fall in their 



