92 TALKS OX MANURES. 



" I practised it here," said I, " for some years. I plowed and 

 scraped a large hole or basin in the yard four or five feet deep, with 

 a gradual slope at one end for convenience in drawing out the 

 loads the other sides being much steeper. I also made a tank at 

 the bottom to hold the drainage, and had a pump in it to pump 

 the liquid back on to the heap in dry weather. We threw or 

 wheeled the manure from the stables and pig-pens into this basin, 

 but I did not like the plan, for two reasons : (1,) the manure being 

 spread over so large a surface froze during winter, and (2,) during 

 the spring there was so much water in the basin that it checked 

 fermentation." 



Now, instead of spreading it all over the basin, we commenced a 

 small heap on one of the sloping sides of the basin ; with a horse 

 and cart we drew to this heap, just as winter set in, every bit of 

 manure that could be found on the premises, and everything that 

 would make manure. When got all together, it made a heap seven 

 or eight feet wide, twenty feet long, and three or four feet high. 

 We then laid planks on the heap, and every day, as the pig-pens, 

 cow and horse stables were cleaned out, the manure was wheeled 

 on to the heap and shaken out and spread about. The heap soon 

 commenced to ferment, and when the cold weather set in, although 

 the sides and some parts of the top froze a little, the inside kept 

 quite warm. Little chimneys were formed in the heap, where the 

 heat and steam escaped. Other parts of the heap would be covered 

 with a thin crust of frozen manure. By taking a few forkfuls of 

 the latter, and placing them on the top of the "chimneys," they 

 checked the escape of steam, and had a tendency to distribute the 

 heat to other parts of the heap. In this way the fermentation be- 

 came more general throughout all the mass, and not so violent at 

 any one spot. 



" But why be at all this trouble ? " For several reasons. First. 

 It saves labor in the end. Two hours' work, in winter, will save 

 three hours' work in the spring. And three hours' work in the 

 spring is worth more than four hours' work in the winter. So 

 that we save half the expense of handling the manure. 3d. When 

 manure is allowed to lie scattered about over a large surface, it is 

 liable to have much of its value washed out by the rain. In a com- 

 pact heap of this kind, the rain or snow that falls on it is not more 

 than the manure needs to keep it moist enough for fermentation. 

 3d. There is as much fascination in this fermenting heap of 

 manure as there is in having money in a savings bank. One is 

 continually trying to add to it. Many a cart-load or wheel-barrow- 

 ful of material will be deposited that would otherwise be allowed 



