52 GARDENING FOB THE SOUTH. 



absorbent, tan-bark is not without its value, but the weeds, 

 sweepings of walks, and other refuse of the garden, particu- 

 larly leaf-mould and the dark top-soil of pastures, are to 

 be preferred. Urine may be diluted with three times its 

 bulk of water and permitted to grow stale, and be applied 

 at night or in moist weather directly to the growing crops. 



The principal animal manures are those of the horse, 

 the hog, the cow, and the sheep. Of these horse manure 

 is most valuable in its fresh state. That of the hog comes 

 next, then that , of the ox, while the cow is at the bottom 

 of the list, because most of the enriching substances in 

 her food go to the formation of milk, leaving the manure 

 comparatively weakened. The richer the food given to 

 animals, the more powerful is the manure. If animal ma- 

 nures are employed in a fresh state, they should be mixed 

 intimately with the soil, and given to such coarse feeding 

 crops as corn and the garden pea. But nearly all plants 

 do better if the manure is composted and fully fermented 

 before use. Pig manure, used alone, is considered per- 

 nicious to the growth of the cabbage and turnip tribe, and 

 gives an unpleasant taste to many other vegetables, but 

 composted with muck or mould, it is much more beneficial 

 as well as more durable. 



In managing animal manures, decomposition must be 

 promoted the volatile parts must be preserved from dis- 

 sipation in the air, and the soluble portions from being 

 washed out by rains. That it may ferment, it must be 

 nept in a body, that heat may be generated and its natural 

 moisture retained, while beneath it a layer of some ab- 

 sorbent substance should be placed, to receive and retain 

 its soluble parts, and as fast as it is thrown from the sta- 

 bles, it should be covered with layers of muck to retain 

 the ammonia. Horse manure, especially, should not be 

 exposed at all ; it begins to heat and lose ammonia almost 

 immediately, as may be perceived by the smell. Mix it 

 with other manures and cover it with absorbents as soon 



