Manures and Fertilizers 



florists' purposes, as they may be used by persons having a much less knowl- 

 edge of the action of fertilizers than is necessary in the case of fertilizer chem- 

 icals, without danger of serious adverse results. Ordinary barnyard or stable 

 manure should be well composted before being used, and in this connection 

 there is an old work published by the Orange Judd Company, entitled "The 

 Bommer Method of Making Manure," which can be profitably studied by 

 every florist. Briefly stated, this method consists of stacking the manure in a 

 square heap upon a grated platform placed over a cement-lined excavation, 

 the drainage from this heap being carried to a vat or cistern. This heap 

 is made under cover, and the stable cleanings are thrown upon it each day, 

 as taken from the stable. A pump is placed in the vat, and the drainage 

 from the heap is pumped back upon it at intervals and allowed to percolate 

 through and drain off again. All of the drainage from the stable is also car- 

 ried into this vat, and is supplemented by the addition of water whenever 

 the liquid drained from the heap is not sufficient for the purpose of wetting 

 it down well. By this method stable manures are composted and rendered 

 fit for use in a very short time, and with comparatively little loss of any of 

 the fertilizer constituents, as by packing the manure firmly in the heap and 

 wetting it thoroughly at stated intervals all danger of heating or firing is 

 obviated, and the manure is decomposed with almost no loss of nitrogen. 



In making such a manure heap all the refuse found about a greenhouse, 

 such as old plants, dust, leaves, sods, muck, straw, grass, weeds, plaster, marl, 

 as well as scraps from the dwelling house, may be put into it and decomposed 

 together. The author has such a heap, which has been in operation for 

 several years in connection with his stables, and he has found that the manure 

 thus produced is much stronger and richer than anything he is able to pur- 

 chase. 



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