42 FRUIT CULTURE. 



heating, and will reduce the manure to a fine, 

 rotten condition. But every turning gives a 

 fresh opportunity for the air to penetrate and 

 the ammonia to escape, until so little is left that 

 fermentation ceases. A much better way is to 

 compost the stable manure with an equal, or a 

 double amount of loam. This amount of loam 

 will absorb the gases, and there will be little 

 loss. The compost can be used freely without 

 danger of injury, but a great deal of labor is 

 involved in collecting, manipulating, and apply- 

 ing the compost. Experienced cultivators are 

 now adopting the plan of conveying the manure 

 as speedily as possible from the horse to the soil. 

 If the quantity is not too large it will not injure 

 the roots of trees. There is little danger of this 

 when the roots are active. Cow manure is a 

 cooler and safer material and may be used in 

 large quantities at any season. More will be re- 

 quired than of horse manure. In making appli- 

 cation of fertilizers it is to be remembered that 

 the roots are not confined to a narrow circle 

 around the trunk. Most of the feeding roots 

 are roaming at a distance in search of nourish- 

 ment. The height and size of the top will in- 

 dicate in some degree how far the fertilizers 

 should be spread. 



Commercial fertilizers, so-called, embrace all 



