t 547 1 



lye (solution made out of ashes), quick lime or freshly cal- 

 cined wood ashes. A simple plan is to pack the bones layer 

 by layer, with freshly calcined wood ashes, in a barrel, and 

 keep the mixture moistened for some months. Casks or old 

 packing cases may be kept in constant use for this purpose 

 on a farm, and bones and ashes may be put layer "after layer 

 as they are collected. 



890. A quicker method is to boil the bones in an iron or 

 copper boiler with strong caustic lye. The proportion of 

 bones and lye to be used is roughly 15 parts by weight of 

 bones to 5 parts by weight of caustic soda or 7 parts by 

 weight of caustic potash dissolved in 15 parts by weight of 

 water. The boiling should be done for 2 or 3 hours. But 

 even without boiling the bones will become disintegrated 

 being simply kept in the caustic liquor for about a week. 



891. Another method of softening bones is by mixing 

 them in heaps with quicklime and loam. A layer of loam 

 4 " deep is first spread, and on this is put a layer of bones 6 " 

 deep and above this a layer of quicklime 3 " deep. The 

 layers of loam, bones and quicklime are repeated until the 

 heap reaches a convenient height, when it is covered all over 

 with a thick layer of earth. Holes are then bored in the heap 

 from the top and water poured down them to slake the 

 lime. The mass will become hot and remain so for 2 or 3 

 months after which the bones will become friable and the whole 

 heap may then be mixed up and spread as manure on land. 



892. Another method of bringing bones into a fine state 

 of division without the help of a mill is to mix themwith half 

 or a third of their weight of clay or earth, saturating the 

 mixture with urine, placing it in a pit and covering the pit 

 up with 2 or 3 inches of earth. In 2 or 3 weeks the bones 

 get disintegrated and the addition of urine makes them a 

 better general manure. Fermented bones act more readily 

 in the soil, and they are more valuable than bone-meal for 

 light soil. 



