FARMYARD MANURE 187 



should not be resorted to unless obvious 

 advantages are to be obtained. But if it 

 is resolved to empty the dungstead, and to 

 form a temporary heap in the field, one 

 should endeavour to secure in the shortest 

 time as great compactness as possible ; and 

 this object is gained most effectively by 

 making what is called a " draw " heap, that 

 is to say a heap over which each load of 

 manure as it arrives from the homestead is 

 drawn or carted. The passage of the carts 

 consolidates the mass in the best possible way, 

 and if subsequently the sloping ends are 

 cut off, and the material thrown on to the 

 top of the heap, much will be done to obviate 

 loss and produce good material. In order 

 further to consolidate the mass and exclude 

 air, it is good practice to throw about a foot 

 of soil on to the top of the mass. 



When farmyard manure is carted on to 

 the land for the purpose of being spread, it 

 should not be left to lie for a longer time 

 than is possible in the small heaps that are 

 formed when it is dragged from the cart. 

 The practice that one sometimes sees of 

 leaving these small heaps unspread for days, 

 and even for weeks, cannot be too strongly 

 condemned, for the reason that the liquids 

 drain away and percolate into the soil on 



