HOW TO MAKE MANURE. 41 



they were centuries back. Grass alone will not make rich land. 

 It is a good " savings bank." It gathers up and saves plant-food 

 from running to waste. It pays a good interest, and is a capital 

 institution. But the real source of fertility must be looked for in 

 the stores of plant-food lying dormant in the soil. Tillage, under- 

 draining, and thorough cultivation, are the means by which we 

 develop and render this plant-food available. Grass, clover, peas, 

 or any other crop consumed on the farm, merely affords us the 

 means of saving this plant-food and making it pay a good interest. 



CHAPTER X. 

 HOW TO MAKE MANURE. 



If we have the necessary materials, it is not a difficult matter to 

 make manure ; in fact, the manure will make itself. We some- 

 times need to hasten the process, and to see that none of the fer- 

 tilizing matter runs to waste. This is about all that we can do. 

 We cannot create an atom of plant-food. It is ready formed to 

 our hands ; but we must know where to look for it, and how to 

 get it in the easiest, cheapest, and best way, and how to save and 

 use it. The science of manure-making is a profound studj 7 . It is 

 intimately connected with nearly every branch of agriculture. 



If weeds grow and decay on the land, they make manure. If 

 we grow a crop of buckwheat, or spurry, or mustard, or rape, or 

 clover, and mow it, and let it lie on the land, it makes manure ; or 

 if we plow it under, it forms manure ; or if, after it is mown, we 

 rake up the green crop, and put it into a heap, it will ferment, 

 heat will be produced by the slow combustion of a portion of the 

 carbonaceous and nitrogenous matter, and the result will be a mass 

 of material, which we should all recognize as " manure." If, in- 

 stead of putting the crop into a heap and letting it ferment, we 

 feed it to animals, the digestible carbonaceous and nitrogenous 

 matter will be consumed to produce animal heat and to sustain 

 the vital functions, and the refuse, or the solid and liquid drop- 

 pings of the animals, will be manure. 



If the crop rots on the ground, nothing is added to it. If it fer- 

 ments, and gives out heat, in a heap, nothing is added to it. If it 



