CONSTRUCTION OF MANURE HOTBEDS 



61 



manure should contain a fair amount of litter but should not be 

 too strawy. If it is rather dry, it should be moistened with water 

 as it is being piled. As soon as fermentation has become well 

 started, the manure should be thoroughly forked over and re- 

 piled. Care should be taken to break up all lumps and place the 

 coolest manure from the outside of the original pile in the midst 

 of the new pile, to insure uniform fermentation of the entire mass. 

 As soon as the whole pile is steaming, the manure may be placed 

 in the pit, or in a flat pile if the bed is to be constructed entirely 



Fig. 34. — Simplest form of manure hotbed. The frame is placed on a pile of fermenting 



manure. 



above ground. The manure should be thoroughly tramped as it 

 is being piled, and care taken to have it uniformly compact through- 

 out the bed, so that it will not settle unevenly and let the soil sink 

 in spots after the bed is in operation. A good plan is to put the 

 manure on in layers about six inches deep, and tramp each layer 

 thoroughly before putting on the next. When the bed is com- 

 pleted, the manure should be about two feet deep. If a pit has 

 been used, the manure should extend approximately to the level 

 of the ground. 



As soon as the manure has been placed in the bed, the frame 



