804 MANURE-HEAPS — HEDGES — DITCHES. 



The farmer should take particular care to destroy 

 theiHj and never allow them to come to seed, in such 

 situations. It is unnecessary to describe the bad ef- 

 fects produced by the abundant crops of weeds which 

 too often are left to seed in the immediate vicinity of 

 the manure-heaps. 



806. A very bad custom, too, is often followed of 

 leaving manure-heaps too long untouched, so that 

 they become in fact covered with a mass of weeds, 

 which are left to flower and seed. The labor saved 

 in not turning over and trimming the. heap, is not a 

 tenth part of that required to remedy the evil done 

 in thus rendering the land foul. 



807. One of the greatest obstacles to good farm- 

 ing is the practice of keeping wide and foul hedges ; 

 they serve not merely as harbors for vermin, but as 

 nurseries for weeds. The preservation of game is, in 

 fact, the bane of the farmer ; for his farm is at least 

 diminished in value by one half, from the various 

 evils which are thus introduced. 



808. Those, however, who advocate the total re- 

 moval of hedges certainly go too far ; for hedges are 

 useful as shelter, and in other ways. A small and 

 well-trimmed hedge, if constantly attended to, does 

 not, after all, require very much labor to keep it in 

 good order. 



809. The extremely offensive odor of night-soil is 

 a great obstacle to its collection and use as manure. 

 In its fluid state the expense of conveying it to any 

 distance is of course great, and accordingly various 



