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cellence of this stimulant, and without the animal matter, or nitro- 

 gen, it would be nothing more than decayed wood and salts. It is 

 a common idea that the activity of stable manure is due entirely to 

 the animal excrements. It is due rather to the happy combination 

 of ammonia, geine, and salts, such as no chemist can manufacture 

 from the food of the cow. Were this possible, a pile of rotted hay 

 and turnips would supply all these united elements. But effort has 

 demonstrated that it cannot be done. Nor does the food of a cow 

 affect, but little, the elements of dung. A cow fed on rich nitro- 

 genous food, such as corn or oats, will give some more nitrogen in 

 the dung, and form more ammonia, but the salts and geine will be 

 but little changed. 



Horse dung is much richer in manures than cow dung; but 

 horse dung very quickly ferments, and, by fermentation, it will lose 

 one- third its value in one month. It is, therefore, very necessary 

 to remove, as often as possible, the horse dung from the stable, and 

 place it in the compost heap with the cattle dung, or with alternate 

 layers of soil, and sprinkled with lime or plaster. These salts will 

 catch and fix the escaping ammonia, and prevent much loss. After 

 horse dung has fermented, if alone, it is of far less value than cow 

 dung, but before it ferments it is much more valuable. When that 

 process is completed fully, nine-tents of its value, according to our 

 best writers, is lost. These are statements based, not only on ex- 

 perience and observation, but also on absolute chemical analyses. 

 How much it stands the farmer in hand then to observe a system- 

 atic saving and storing of these treasures of agricultural wealth ! 

 A compost heap, under a good shelter, is to the uninformed a heap 

 reeking with filth, repulsive to the eye and offensive to the olfacto- 

 ries. But to the scientific farmer it is a bed of power. In it are 

 contained the yellow grain and the luscious fruit ; over it hovers 

 the spirit of the rose and the lily, and sweet' odors are stored in it,, 

 to make the fragrant pink and the delicious heliotrope. Let every 

 consideration of economy and enterprise stimulate the farmer, then,, 

 to save every waste of the farm. The Chinese are so sensible of 

 the importance of manure, in a country teeming with an over pop- 

 ulation, where the soil is tasked to its utmost to carry its popula- 

 tion, they even save the parings of their finger and toe nails to add 

 to its fertility. The farmer has a wonderful bank to draw upon for 

 this purpose. Cattle and horse dung and urine, the scrapings of 

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