STABLE MANURE. 283 



the manure lies loosely, more air then coming in contact with 

 it ; it is least active when the manure heap is consolidated. 

 When fermentation occurs in consolidated, wet manure, in 

 a place protected from rain, a considerable part of the 

 carbonaceous matter is destroyed, but comparatively little 

 loss of nitrogen takes place ; if, however, the manure gets 

 dry, and mould appears, a serious loss of free nitrogen may 

 occur. The losses of nitrogen in the heap may be prevented 

 by introducing a shallow layer of earth each day while the 

 heap is in construction. 



" Rotten manure, when well made, is more concentrated 

 than the fresh, having greatly diminished in weight during 

 fermentation without a corresponding loss of valuable con- 

 stituents. Some of the constituents have also become more 

 soluble. It is often, however, best to cart the fresh manure 

 directly on to the land, and plough it in. Loss in the heap 

 is thus prevented, and the full physical benefits of the manure 

 obtained. Manure heaps in the open field should be protected 

 from waste by covering them with a layer of earth 6 inches 

 thick " (Warington's Chemistry of the Farm). 



The British Moss Litter Company give the following 

 directions for converting peat which has been used in a 

 stable, into good manure : " The moss litter after use as 

 bedding should be made into a heap and saturated with 

 liquid manure or water until it will hold no more ; then make 

 level on the top and cover up with fine ashes or earth. In 

 about two months it will be quite black and rotten and fit 

 to go on to the land." 



Before stable manure can be utilised as a food by plants, 

 a large proportion of its nutritive material has to undergo 

 decomposition by means of bacteria, which convert more or 

 less of its constituents into soluble compounds, and thus 

 perform the office of digestion for the plants. Oxidation, 

 which in this case is a process of destruction, also takes place 



