56 AMERICAN AGRICULTITRF.. 



walls and replace it with new. If required to hasten decay, 

 and especially if there be intractable vegetables, as broom 

 and other corn-stalks, or such as have seeds that ought to be 

 destroyed, they may be well moistened and thrown together 

 in layers three or four inches thick; and on each may be 

 strewn a liberal coating of fresh unslacked lime reduced to 

 powder. This promotes decomposition, and when it is far 

 enough advanced, the whole may be sparingly added to the 

 general mass, as the lime will by that time have become 

 mild. These coarse materials, when remote from the cattle 

 yard, mav be at once burned, and the ashes added to the soil, 

 or they may be buried in furrows, where the ground will not 

 be disturbed, till they are entirely rotted. 



When thoroughly decomposed, the manure heap will have 

 lost half its original weight, most of which has escaped as 

 water and carbonic acid. It may then bo carted on to the 

 ground, and at once incorporated with it; or if intended for 

 a top dressing, it should be scattered over it immediately 

 before or during wet weather. For the protection of the 

 manure, it would be well to cover it with a roof and convey 

 off all the water from the eaves. This will prevent any 

 waste of the soluble matter and promote the escape of mois- 

 ture by the free circulation of air, which to the extent of this 

 evaporation, will lessen the labor of hauling. 



TANKS FOR HOLDING LIQUID MANURE have long been in 

 use. They should be convenient to the stalls and yards, and 

 tight drains should convey into them every particle of the 

 urine and drainage from the manure. In compact clay they 

 may be made by simply excavating the earth, and the sides 

 can be kept from falling in, by a rough wall or by planks sup- 

 ported in an upright position, by a frame-work of joice. But 

 in all cases the cisterns should be closely covered to prevent 

 the escape of the ammonia, which is developed while ferment- 

 ing. In porous soils, it is necessary to construct them with 

 stone or brick laid in water-lime or cement. 



When, partially filled, fermentation will soon take place in 

 the tank, and especially in warm weather ; gypsum or char- 

 coal should then be thrown in to absorb the ammonia. A few 

 days after decomposition commences, it should be pumped 

 into casks and carried on to the land. If intended for water- 

 ing plants, it must be diluted sufficiently to prevent injury to 

 them. The quantity will depend on the strength of the 

 liquid, and the time it is applied, much less water being 

 necessary to dilute it in a wet than in a dry time. By fer- 



