i:;i Agricultural Chemistry. 



packed by the feet of the animal and allowed to remain through- 

 out the winter. The manure produced is of excellent quality, 

 but for sanitary reasons the practice is hardly commendable, es- 

 pecially in the case of dairy cows. 



Composting manure. Where well rotted manure is desired, 

 as in market gardening, the practice of composting is in general 

 use. This is largely done to avoid the deleterious heating effect 

 that would result from applying large quantities of raw manure. 

 In addition it is sometimes resorted to in order to destroy noxious 

 weed seeds. A favorite method with some market gardeners is 

 to compost the manure with earth, peat, or muck. This is done 

 by making a foundation of about 6 inches of dirt, and on top of 

 this placing alternate layers of manure and soil, moistening the 

 mass as the heap grows. The mass is finally covered with a thin 

 layer of earth to prevent loss of nitrogen. After about 2 months 

 the pile should be turned over, the materials well mixed and more 

 water added, if necessary, to keep the compost moist. Sometimes 

 sod is used in place of the soil, which gives a fibrous compost very 

 desirable for pot and bench work. Refuse materials, such as 

 kitchen waste, dead animals, etc., can be added with advantage 

 to the compost heap, thereby enriching the mass and disposing of 

 such materials without the production of offensive odors. Where 

 further enrichment is necessary, it is good practice to add bone 

 meal or rock phosphate (floats) and one of the potash salts to 

 the heap. Tn this way the plant food in the phosphates is made 

 more available to plants and the compost more valuable. 



When it is desired to produce well rotted manure in a v( 

 short time, a small quantity of slaked lime can be mixed with 

 fresh manure This occasions a rapid decay of the mass, but 

 it also entails a loss of more or less nitrogen, the method is 

 to be recommended for general use. 



Applying manure. A manure can be effective only when 

 constituents are brought into contact with the roots of the crop. | 

 To obtain this contact to its fullest extent, the manure must be 

 thoroughly ami evenly distributed throughout the depth of the 



